WORLD WAR II THE HOLOCAUST

WHAT IS GENOCIDE? “Genocide” is a Greek word that means “group-killing” The intent of genocide is to deliberately destroy an entire racial, ethnic, or religious group of people The perpetrators inflict serious bodily harm, prevent new births, or create conditions that will result in death There have been numerous genocides throughout history

THE CENTURY OF HATRED There have been more genocides in the 20 th Century than in all other centuries combined Genocides in the past were carried out to maintain empires, obtain wealth, and terrorize enemies During the 20 th Century, nations lose money carrying out genocides, but choose to do so out of hatred

REASONS TO COMMIT GENOCIDE One group blaming another for social or economic problems A group being seen as a threat during times of war Extreme racism or patriotism Anti-immigration policies or xenophobia (fear of foreigners) Religious extremism

WHAT WAS THE HOLOCAUST? “Holocaust” means “burnt offering”The Holocaust refers to the systematic murder in Europe of the Jewish people and other groups deemed “inferior” before and during World War II The extermination was carried out by the German Nazis at the order of Adolf Hitler

THREE STEPS OF THE HOLOCAUST #1. IDENTIFICATION: marking all Jews in German society #2. CONCENTRATION: taking away Jews’ freedom, removing Jews from society and placing them together #3. EXTERMINATION: mass murder of the Jews in the death camps Killing the Jews was the Nazis’ main priority, more so than fighting the war

NAZI RACIAL THINKING According to German nationalists, pure-blooded Germans were part of a superior master race called “Aryans” Those not of pure German blood were considered “inferiors” Some races were considered to be subhumans The Jews were at the top of the Nazis’ list as “subhumans”

ROOTS OF ANTI-SEMITISM Anti-Semitism is hatred for Jewish people Europe’s mainly Christian population were anti-Jewish for the Jews’ perceived role in Jesus Christ’s death During the days of the Roman Empire, the Romans forcibly removed the rebellious Jews from of their homeland (modern day Israel) and spread them throughout the world

ROOTS OF ANTI-SEMITISM Scattered all over Europe and North Africa, Jews were usually seen as unwelcome strangers To survive, some Jews became skilled in finance and business When times were tough economically, people would view the Jews with jealousy Jealousy, dislike of foreigners, and the link to Christ’s death made for much anti-Semitism in Europe

ANTI-SEMITISM IN GERMANY When Germany lost World War I, German soldiers (like Adolf Hitler) could not accept defeat and looked for someone to blame The already-disliked Jews made a perfect scapegoat for the Germans, who said the war was lost because German Jews “stabbed soldiers in the back” by not supporting the war effort

GERMANY’S VICIOUS ANTI-SEMITISM In this German children’s book, a pious mother teaches her little son, “The Jew is the most poisonous mushroom in existence.” “The Jew is the most poisonous mushroom in existence.” The children’s book “Der Giftpilz” (The Poisonous Mushroom)

“DER PUDELMOPSDACKELPINSCHER” OR “THE MONGREL” Hitler predicted genetic disaster if Jews were allowed to marry “pure-blooded” Aryans. The title of this children’s book describes the genetically absurd poodle-pug-daschsund-pinscher mutt that adorns the cover. This collection of 11 fable-like short stories about lazy, parasitic creatures such as hyenas, serpents, locusts, leeches, tapeworms and others link each creature to the “parasitic” Jews, who must be destroyed.

HITLER IN POWER When Hitler became leader of Germany in 1933, he began to persecute German Jews, taking away their freedoms and rights The Nuremberg Laws were passed, which limited the work Jewish lawyers, doctors, and teachers could do in Europe Marriage between Germans and Jews was forbidden

Those Germans identified as Jewish by law had to have a letter “J” stamped on their IDs and had to wear the yellow Star of David on their jackets at all times

RACIAL PURITY Germans were instructed to have nothing to do with “inferior” races Race charts like this educated Germans on who was “pure” and who was “der untermensch” (inferior subhumans) The Nazis described all Jews, Slavs, Turks, Mongols, Gypsies, Africans, homosexuals, prostitutes, beggars, the physically or mentally disabled, or those with certain political or religious views (such as Communists and Jehovah’s Witnesses) as “Untermenschen” (biologically inferior subhumans)

NAZI VIEWPOINT OF THEIR VICTIMS This book contrasts carefully selected pictures of depraved “inferiors” with “beautiful Aryans”. The book warned that inferiors would overrun Europe, giving the Nazis justification for genocide

NAZI EUTHANASIA PROGRAM Hitler started a program to euthanize (ending life to stop pain) people with disabilities and deformities This Nazi policy’s purpose was to remove those “unworthy of life” The Nazis’ goal was to eliminate “useless eaters”: those who were a drain on German resources

"60,000 marks is what this person with genetic defects costs the community during his lifetime. Fellow German, that's your money, too…"

KRISTALLNACHT Taking away Jews’ rights was not enough: the Nazis wanted the Jews removed The Nazis organized violent attacks on Jewish businesses, homes, and synagogues to make Jews want to leave Germany The most infamous incident was in November 1938: the “Night of the Broken Glass” (Kristallnacht). This was a major step towards the genocide that would eventually happen

NEW TERRITORIES BRING NEW JEWISH VICTIMS When World War II began, Germany conquered countries that were populated by Jews (like Poland) Hitler was determined to also rid these new territories of Jews

JEWISH REFUGEES Some Jews in Germany and these new territories tried to leave and live elsewhere; Hitler was in favor of this emigration However, not ALL Jews could or would leave, so Hitler planned another way to deal with them

THE NAZIS’ NEW PLAN: ISOLATION GERMAN SOLDIERS ROUND UP JEWS INTO THE WARSAW GHETTO

ISOLATION IN THE GHETTOS Hitler ordered all Jews in his territories to be moved to certain cities, then herded into segregated areas These segregated areas of the cities were overcrowded and filthy; they were called ghettos

STARVATION IN THE GHETTOS The Nazis sealed off the ghettos with barbed wire and concrete walls The idea was for the trapped Jews to die of starvation and disease in these ghettos

CHILDREN DYING OF STARVATION IN THE WARSAW GHETTO

SCENES FROM THE GHETTOS

ANOTHER NEW PLAN: MOBILE DEATH SQUADS Hitler grew impatient waiting for the Jews to starve to death; he wanted them to die faster The SS (Hitler’s personal guards) sent special units called “Einsatzgruppen” into German-occupied territory The victims of Einsatzgruppen (death squads) were taken into deserted areas, shot, and buried in mass graves These death squads rounded up and killed at least one million Jews

HEINRICH HIMMLER Commander of the SS and Executor of the Holocaust

EINSATZGRUPPEN DEATH SQUADS A UKRAINIAN JEW IN KIEV TRIES TO SHIELD HER DAUGHTER AS ONE OF THE SS PREPARES TO SHOOT THEM TO DEATH

EINSATZGRUPPEN DEATH SQUADS A UKRAINIAN JEW ABOUT TO BE EXECUTED HIS CORPSE WILL JOIN OTHER MURDERED JEWS IN A MASS GRAVE

EINSATZGRUPPEN DEATH SQUADS

One of the SS executioners takes aim at a wounded survivor during a massacre of Russian-Jewish women

EINSATZGRUPPEN DEATH SQUADS THE SS EXPERIMENTED WITH ALTERNATIVES TO SHOOTING PRISONERS. ONE WAS “GAS VANS”, WHICH HAD A SEALED CABINS. JEWS WOULD BE PACKED INTO THE VANS AND KILLED BY CARBON MONOXIDE FUMES PUMPED INTO THE CABINS.

THE WANNSEE CONFERENCE Hitler grew impatient again, thinking that the death squads were too inefficient at eliminating the Jews In 1941, a meeting of top Nazis was held in the town of Wannsee, led by SS chief Heinrich Himmler, to decide what to do

At the Wannsee Conference, the Nazis decided on a “Final Solution” to their “Jewish problem” A high-ranking Nazi, Reinhart Heydrich, proposed that Jews should be worked to death, a method known as “destruction through work” Those Jews not strong enough for work would be immediately executed in death camps

After the Conference, several concentration camps (which already had enslaved prisoners) were converted into death camps Death camps were different in that the main purpose was to exterminate people and dispose of their remains Prisoners dying certainly occurred in the concentration camps, but the death camps were DESIGNED to kill on an industrialized scale

WHERE WERE THE DEATH CAMPS LOCATED? Why do you think the camps were primarily built here? The work of the Einsatzgruppen

WHAT TACTICS DID THE NAZIS USE TO GET THE JEWS TO LEAVE THE GHETTOS AND GO TO DEATH CAMPS? TACTICS STARVATION The Jews in the Warsaw Ghetto were only fed 1000 calories a day A human being needs 2400 calories a day to maintain their weight TERROR The SS publicly shot people for smuggling food or for any act of resistance DECEPTION The Jews were told that they were going to “resettlement areas” in the East In some Ghettos, the Jews had to purchase their own train tickets They were told to bring the tools of their trade and pots and pans Hungry people are easier to control New arrivals at the death camps were given postcards to send to their friends

SS TACTICS: DEHUMANIZATION  The SS guards who murdered the Jews were indoctrinated with Anti-Semitic propaganda; they were trained to think of Jews as less than human  The Jews were transported in cattle cars in terrible conditions (no food, no water, no room to lay down, standing in their own waste; especially sadistic SS men would spray the walls and floor of the cars with chemicals to irritate and burn skin)  Naked, dirty, and half starved people were made to look like animals, which helped to reinforce the Nazi propaganda  The SS used to train the death camp guards by encouraging them to set fire to a pit full of live victims: usually children

ENTRANCE TO AUSCHWITZ The worst of these death camps was Auschwitz

The front gate of Auschwitz, as well as other death camps, had the words “Arbeit Macht Frei” above it. This translates to “Work Sets You Free”. In reality, any prisoner entering these gates would not be set free; they would be murdered outright or worked to death

AUSCHWITZ ORCHESTRA

When trains arrived at the camps, the prisoners would be split into two lines Guards and camp doctors selected which line each prisoner went to… LEFT Immediate death in a gas chamber OR RIGHT Life as a slave being slowly worked and starved to death

“LIFE” IN A CONCENTRATION CAMP  Daily life in a concentration camp was miserable at best  The Jews knew they were there to die a horrible death  There was the daily drudgery of twelve hours of hard labor, disgusting food, and sleepless nights made hideous by screams and the sounds of crematoriums

“LIFE” IN A CONCENTRATION CAMP  Rats, lice, and other vermin infested the camps and afflicted the prisoners  The SS and prison guards were scum of the earth: murderers, rapists, and sadists, had run of the camps  These guards would take sick pleasure in torturing, beating, humiliating, and killing their victims (no adult, child, or baby was safe)

The SS men and the guards (both men and women) that ran the death camps spared no one, not even the youngest children

THE GAS CHAMBERS AN EXTERIOR VIEW The ovens conveniently located near the gas chambers

THE GAS CHAMBERS AN INTERIOR VIEW The Nazis would force large groups of prisoners into small cement rooms and drop canisters of lethal Zyklon B in its crystal form through small holes in the roof These gas chambers were sometimes disguised as showers or bathing houses The SS would try to pack up to 2000 people into this gas chamber

When captives died, their bodies would be processed. If they had gold or silver teeth, they would be smashed out of their mouths. The gold and silver would then be melted down and reused. Some Nazis often used their hair to stuff pillows and their skin to make various products, including jackets, gloves, and lampshades. The remains were then thrown into crematoriums. Ashes from the crematoriums were used as fertilizer for farms and gardens

THE OVENS AT DACHAU Once the bodies had everything of value taken from them, the remains were reduced to ashes in the crematoriums (ovens)

THE OVENS AT AUSCHWITZ

PROCESSING THE BODIES Specially selected Jews known as the “Sonderkommando” were used to remove the gold teeth and hair of people who died The Sonderkommando Jews were also forced to feed the dead bodies into the crematoriums

SHOES WAITING TO BE PROCESSED BY THE “SONDERKOMMANDO” This photo was taken inside a huge glass case in the Auschwitz Museum. This represents one day's collection at the peak of the gassings, about 25,000 pairs.

MEDICAL EXPERIMENTS THE ANGEL OF DEATH

Cruel (and often deadly) medical experiments were done on prisoners of all ages in the concentration camps Dr. Josef Mengele, also known as the “Angel of Death”, was the most infamous Nazi doctor, working at Auschwitz

Mengele often made selections of new prisoners, deciding who would be used as slaves and who would die immediately Mengele also selected prisoners that would become his “human mice”, unwilling subjects for medical experiments

MEDICAL EXPERIMENTS  Dr. Mengele was most interested with genetics and twins; he was determined to find ways to create more twin births, so the Nazis could populate the world with more “pure-blooded” Aryans at a faster rate  Mengele was also interested in finding ways to sterilize “inferior” races, preventing births  He also performed experiments to look for “battlefield cures”, new methods to help heal wounded soldiers (Of course, to research these “battlefield cures”, the wounds would have to be applied to the helpless prisoners first)  It is believed that Dr. Josef Mengele was personally responsible for the murders of 400,000 prisoners, either by his own hand during his “experiments” or by ordering them into the gas chambers

NAZI DOCTORS CALCULATE HOW LONG IT TAKES PEOPLE TO FREEZE TO DEATH BY IMMERSING THEM IN ICY WATER

HORRIFYING ATROCITIES The full list of atrocities committed by Josef Mengele and several other Nazi doctors is difficult to fathom Some of the horrors they inflicted on their victims include:  Surgery and amputations without anesthesia  Tests of endurance (seeing how long it took prisoners to die through freezing or boiling victims, sleep deprivation, high altitude exposure)  Testing drugs on wounds; cuts would be deliberately infected with gangrene or irritated with ground glass  Testing of poisons to see which were most effective  Sterilization through injecting drugs into uteruses and exposure of reproductive organs to radiation  Infecting prisoners with tuberculosis and searching for cures; those who did not die from the disease were killed so they could be dissected  Bone, muscle, and joint transplantation; doctors trying to find out if body parts could be transplanted would cut off parts of prisoners’ bodies and try to attach them to other prisoners’ bodies. They would also cut out bodily organs and try to re-grow them outside the body.  Injecting chemicals into eyes to change their color  Taking two healthy twins and attempting to create conjoined twins out of them by fusing their skin, bones, and organs together

THE WORST DEATH CAMPS Auschwitz 1,400,000 Belzec 600,000 Chelmno 320,000 Jasenovac 600,000 Majdanek 360,000 Maly Trostinets 65,000 Sobibór 250,000 Treblinka 870,000 CAMPDEATHS

LIBERATION When Germany was invaded and fell to the Allies (British, American, and Russian troops), the prisoners at the death camps were liberated. The Russians uncovered the worst of them in Poland.

LIBERATION THE INMATES OF DACHAU ARE FREED BY THE ALLIES

MANY OF THOSE LIBERATED WOULD NOT SURVIVE For many prisoners, help arrived too late Even after liberation, prisoners were dying daily by the hundreds

THE ALLIES ARE UNPREPARED FOR WHAT THEY SEE Battle-hardened soldiers were shocked at what they witnessed. General Dwight Eisenhower and General George Patton visited a liberated camp in April Patton, as tough a military leader as there has ever been, became physically sick from the sights and smells of death at the camp.

ABSOLUTE HORROR Eisenhower addressed officers around him, “I want every American unit not actually in the front lines to see this place. We are told that the American soldier does not know what he is fighting for. Now, at least, he will know what he is fighting AGAINST.” Eisenhower arranged for soldiers, politicians, reporters, and photographers to visit the liberated camps. He wanted many people to have first-hand evidence of what happened, in case people tried to claim that the stories of genocide were “propaganda”.

VENGEANCE ON THE OPPRESSORS ☼ The depth of the Nazi barbarism outraged the Allied soldiers ☼ Furious at what they found at Dachau, young GIs executed many of the guards and SS men immediately ☼ Allied military commanders mostly ignored instances of revenge beatings and killings of camp guards by former inmates still strong enough to do so FREED INMATES BEAT AND TAUNT A CAMP GUARD

VENGEANCE ON THE OPPRESSORS A FREED INMATE POINTS OUT A PARTICULARLY SADISTIC GUARD TO ALLIED TROOPS FEMALE GUARDS AT BERGEN-BELSEN ARE HUNG OUTSIDE THE CAMP

VENGEANCE ON THE OPPRESSORS THE BODIES OF SS MEN AFTER A RAMPAGE BY FREED PRISONERS

GERMAN CITIZENS FACE THE TRUTH Despite their protests of innocence and ignorance, local German civilians were forced to view the camps that were near them; in some cases, Allied soldiers forced the Germans to bury the dead bodies

VICTIMS OF THE HOLOCAUST: THE STATISTICS COUNTRY INITIAL POPULATION ESTIMATED % KILLED ESTIMATED NUMBER KILLED NUMBER OF SURVIVORS POLAND3,300,00091%3,000,000300,000 USSR3,020,00036%1,100,0001,920,000 HUNGARY800,00074%596,000204,000 GERMANY566,00036%200,000366,000 FRANCE350,00022%77,320272,680 ROMANIA342,00084%287,00055,000 AUSTRIA185,00035%65,000120,000 LITHUANIA168,00085%143,00025,000 NETHERLANDS140,00071%100,00040,000 BOHEMIA-MORAVIA (CZECH TERRITORY) 118,31060%71,15047,160 LATVIA95,00084%80,00015,000 SLOVAKIA88,95080%71,00017,950 YUGOSLAVIA78,00081%63,30014,700 GREECE77,38087%67,00010,380 BELGIUM65,70045%28,90036,800 ITALY44,50017%7,68036,820 BULGARIA50,0000%50,000 DENMARK7,800.8%607,740 ESTONIA4,50044%2,0002,500 LUXEMBOURG3,50055%1,9501,550 FINLAND2,000.03%71,993 NORWAY1,70045% TOTAL9,508,34063%5,962,1293,546,211 These numbers represent the number of Jews murdered by the Nazis during World War II The estimated number of murdered Jews in all of these European nations is NEARLY SIX MILLION

Not only Jews were exterminated by the Nazis In addition to the SIX MILLION murdered Jews, the Nazis also killed FIVE MILLION other “undesirables” They included:  Poles  Russians  Gypsies  Homosexuals  Disabled  Jehovah’s Witnesses  Germans who protested against Nazism ALTOGETHER, THE NAZIS MURDERED ABOUT ELEVEN MILLION PEOPLE

“I swore never to be silent whenever and wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation. We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.” Elie Wiesel

CREDIT WHERE IT IS DUE Created by Christopher J. Jaskowiak Special thanks to Rachel Mychajluk, David Muldoon, Lance Cayea, Eric Zastrow, Susan Pojer, and Professor Scott Masters for some of the images and information Some of the books used in creating this presentation: World War II Chronicles, Delivered From Evil, The Nazi Doctors, The Rise And Fall of the Third Reich