1. Holocaust

2. Before Hitler
Before Hitler, Germany was not overtly anti-semitic. Most people got along well within their small communities.
Minorities were generally not persecuted
It was not until Hitler’s message of hate that Germans started to distinguish “differences”.
Note: Judaism was not (and is not) a race. Hitler made it a race to justify persecution of Jewish peoples and denote them as different

3. Life Before Hitler

4. 1933 Hitler was appointed Chancellor
After he legally came to power he waited for the opportune moment to take over the government.
In 1933 there was a fire in the main building of the government (Reichstag) and Hitler used this as an excuse to blame “those working against the government”
He suspended all civil liberties and took complete control of the government (for the “protection” of Germany)
To make sure everyone was conforming to Hitler’s new rules, new laws were passed

5. Boycott of Jewish Businesses

6. Burning of non-Nazi Books

7. Arrests of Enemies of the State
Enemies included:
Jews
Communists
Gypsies
Homosexuals
This list also came to include those who would “weaken” the German race, ie. the physically and mentally handicapped

8. Enforcers of Hitler’s Laws
SS Troops
Gestapo
H.J. (Hitler Youth)

9. Everyday Germans also helped to support Hitler’s regime

10. 1935 Nuremburg Laws Separated Aryans from non-Aryans
Restricted lives of non-German citizens (especially those that did not have 4 German, non-Jewish Grandparents)
Jews forced to wear yellow stars
Marriage was not allowed between Jews and non-Jews
Jewish business were further boycotted and even closed

11. Nuremburg Laws cont.

12. 1938 Kristallnacht Massive violence against Jews included:
Destruction of property
Murders
Beatings
Arrests
Costs millions in damage and Jews were expected to pay for it
Enacted to encourage Jews to leave Germany
Many tried to, but very few were able to get out.

13. 1939 WWII Begins
With each country that Hitler took over, all “non-desirables” were rounded-up and disposed of.
Many were sent to Ghettos and later to concentration camps.

14. 1940 Ghettos
Ghettos were built all over Germany and Eastern Europe as temporary holding locations for Jews until a solution of what to do with them was agreed upon.
Ghettos were usually in areas of towns that the Jewish community already lived in, they were just confined there now.
Those that did not already live in a Jewish community were “relocated” to the ghettos.

15. Relocation

16. Greek Ghetto

17. Polish Ghetto (Lodz)

18. Warsaw Ghetto (largest ghetto)

19. Lithuania Ghetto (Kovno)

20. 1941 Einsatzgruppen (mobile killing units)
Followed behind advancing German armies liquidating “undesirables” from conquered towns (mostly Jews)
Many of those doing the killing were not officially German military, they were “average” people being swept up by the fervor of the Nazis and turning on their neighbors.
U.S. joins the war in the end of 1941

21. 1942 Wannsee Conference
German officials decided on the “Final Solution”
Gassing at certain concentration camps began as an efficient method of extermination

22. Concentration Camps

24. Gas Chambers

25. Auschwitz-Birkenau

26. 1943 Warsaw Ghetto Uprising
Jews in one of the largest Ghettos fought back against the Germans. Though almost all died, they did try to defend themselves.
The Germans were infuriated because the Jews were successful at holding them back for 1 month!

27. 1944 - 1945 D-Day Soviets begin moving into Germany
Many camps are discovered and liberated
Nazis retreated from the Soviets and Allies.
They began to destroy evidence:
Mass murder of prisoners
Death Marches = evacuation of other camps to interior camps
End of 1945 – Germany surrenders = V-E Day!
Full evil of the Nazis discovered

28. Death Marches

29. Liberation of Camps

30. Innocent Victims

31. Between 8-12 Million people were executed. This is referred to as
THE HOLOCAUST