Holocaust Background

1933 Hitler rises to power as the leader of the Nazi party (ended the rule of the Weimar Republic) The Nazi State of Germany was also known as the Third Reich Hitler used extensive propaganda to spread the Nazi Party’s goals

Nazi Propaganda

Victims Although the group of people that is usually associated with the Holocaust is Jewish people, Nazis also targeted mentally disabled people, Gypsies, homosexuals, political opponents, Poles, and anyone else that Hitler viewed as inferior

Early Persecution 1933- German schools restricted Jewish children from attending schools, professional licenses were revoked,government employees were fired 1935- Nuremberg Laws- Jews and Aryans could not get married or date, Jews could not have Aryans as employees, Jews could never display the German flag (all punishable by imprisonment) 1938-Kristallnacht- over 1,000 synagogues burned and 7,000 Jewish businesses destroyed; 30,000 Jews were captured and taken to concentration camps by the SA (Nazi military storm troopers)

Ghettos People were placed in ghettos and separated from the rest of the country while the Nazis could decide how best to eliminate them Over 1,000 Ghettos were established in Germany and Poland alone

Life in Ghettos While being forced to live here, the residents of ghettos performed forced labor for the Nazis All Jews had to wear a yellow star to identify themselves Nazis used Jewish police officers to carry out orders Anyone not following orders would be killed immediately

Hitler’s “Final Solution” First step- Einsatzgruppen (mobile killing squads) These soldiers went to Jewish communities and massacred them They shot men, women, and children and buried them in mass graves By 1943, the Einsatzgruppen had killed over 1 million people

Evacuation When people were sent to concentration camps, they were forcibly transported in trains to the camps Passengers were not given food or water on the trains, even when the journey was days long There were no bathrooms, so the smell of urine and feces only added to the discomfort and humiliation of the situation

Concentration Camps These grew more popular from 1939-1942 Nazis used forced labor in concentration camps for economic profit and help with war material production Early concentration camps were used for labor

Medical Experiments In concentration camps, prisoners were used as test subjects for horrific medical experiments Joseph Mengele was the head of the medical experiments, and he was particularly interested in the study of twins to increase the spread of the Aryan race

Death camps To ease to conscience of the Nazi soldiers, Hitler wanted a more efficient method of killing people who weren’t valuable laborers Nearly 3 million people were killed in death camps The SS primarily used gas chambers At its height, SS at Auschwitz killed 6,000 people per day in gas chambers.

Death Marches When Allied forces began advancing in Germany, the SS chief, Heinrich Himmler, ordered that concentration camps be evacuated Nazis did not want Allies to find prisoners alive to tell their stories Nazis still needed prisoners to help with the war effort Himmler believed he could use prisoners as hostages to bargain with Allies

Liberation In 1945, Allied forces of Soviet, American, and British soldiers liberated camps Many had been abandoned Any prisoners found were on the verge of death from starvation and exhaustion