The Holocaust

What is the Holocaust? The word comes from the Greek language Meant a sacrifice totally burned by fire Currently can be used to describe a large scale slaughter When capitalized, refers to the murder of six million Jews and millions of others by Nazi Germany ( ) Genocide: the deliberate and systematic destruction of an entire people who belong to one racial, political, cultural, or religious group

Anti-Semitism Prejudices and discrimination toward Jewish people Is the root of the Holocaust Jews were subject to discrimination, because they did not believe that Jesus was the son of God and Jews were believed to be responsible for Jesus death Modern historians recognize that the Roman government executed Jesus Jews were also used as scapegoats in Europe for many things (i.e. the Plague)

Adolf Hitler Born April 20, 1889 in Austria Moved to Germany in 1913 Fought in WWI and was wounded twice Returned to Germany after the war was lost

Adolf Hitler Joined the National Socialist German Workers Party (the Nazi party) in 1919 Published Mein Kampf in 1925 Explicitly revealed Hitlers views towards Jews (pg. 9) Committed suicide on Apr. 30, 1945 weeks before Germany surrenders

Rise of the Nazi Party Hitler was appointed chancellor of Germany on Jan. 30, 1933 Feb. 27, 1933: German parliament building set on fire This led to Hitler convincing his cabinet to declare a state of emergency in the country and, therefore, suspending civil liberties (freedom of press, speech, and assembly and loss of individual privacy)

Forces of the Nazi Party Nazi Storm Troopers (Sturmabteilungen)- called SA; were in the streets and took care of Nazi opposition Protective Squad (Schutzstaffel)- called SS; elite group that eventually ran concentration camps- were the private army of the Nazi party Secret State Police (Geheime Staatspolizei)- called Gestapo; non- uniformed; identified and arrested political opponents and other lawbreakers

Forces of the Nazi Party Special Action Groups (Einsatzgruppen)- firing squads that eliminated Jews in conquered areas Order Police (Ordnungspolizei)- uniformed police that assisted the Special Action Groups and aided in the Final Solution

Nazi Racism Hitler was obsessed with racial purity Believed that the Germanic race was superior The ideal person was blond, blue-eyed, and tall Nazi party wanted to limit reproduction of inferior races

Nazi Racism Started forced sterilizations in 1933 Gypsies, handicapped, and African-German children were targeted Viewed Jews as a race, not religion Measured skull size, nose length, and hair and eye color

Nazi Racism

Harassment of Jews April 1, 1933: First nationwide boycott of Jewish businesses Put graffiti on store fronts and posted guards outside businesses Lasted just a day One week later, laws restricting employment were passed Nazis spread propaganda and hate of Jews to children through textbooks

Harassment of Jews Nuremberg Race Laws: 1935; made Jews second class citizens Took away voting rights; could not hold public office Marriage was restricted between Jews & non- Jews Jew defined as one who descended from at least three Jewish grandparents

Harassment of Jews Nov. 9, 1938: Kristallnacht (Night of Broken Glass) Polish born Jews were forced to leave country Herschel Grynszpans parents were forced to leave In rage, Herschel killed a minor official at the German embassy in Paris

Harassment of Jews Nov. 9, 1938: Kristallnacht (Night of Broken Glass) The Nazis struck back by carefully planning a pogroms of Jewish stores 91 Jews were killed throughout Germany 30,000+ Jewish males were sent to concentration camps 1000 synagogues were burned and demolished 7500 businesses were burned

Harassment of Jews Sept. 1941: Law to wear Star of David Oct. 1941: Jews not allowed to leave homes without permission

Other Victims of the Holocaust Gypsies Were targeted as racial inferiors Were rounded up, fingerprinted, and placed in special camps

Other Victims of the Holocaust Jehovahs Witnesses Were targeted because their religion prevented them from showing obedience to any government Sent to concentration camps

Other Victims of the Holocaust Homosexuals Targeted because their behavior was abnormal and could not further the German race by reproducing Were arrested and sent to concentration camps

Other Victims of the Holocaust Incurably ill Viewed as useless to society T-4 program was implemented Mentally retarded, physically handicapped, mentally ill targeted for murder Selected victims were sent to gas chambers in Germany and Austria

Other Victims of the Holocaust Incurably ill Infants and children were killed by lethal injection or by starvation Public protested in 1941 and the program was officially stopped but continued in secret until ,000 + were murdered between

Other Victims of the Holocaust Victims, Jews and not, were located through a government census Identity cards were issued that were marked with J for Jewish or used color to identify other groups of people

World War II Hitler wanted German domination of Europe Austria added to Reich in Mar Western Czechoslovakia in the following year Sept. 1, 1939: Germany invaded Poland This officially started the war when England and France came to Polands defense

World War II Allied Powers: Great Britain, France, USA, & Russia Axis Powers: Germany, Italy, & Japan Germans had conquered France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Holland, Denmark, and Norway by 1940

Europe during WWII

World War II June 22, 1941: Germany invades Soviet Union and the Special Order Groups start mass murders Dec. 7, 1941: Japan attacks Pearl Harbor Dec. 11, 1941: War declared on USA by Germany June 6, 1944: Allied powers invade Western Europe

World War II Jan. 17, 1945: Soviet troops enter Auschwitz Apr. 1945: USA liberate Buchenwald & Dachau May 7, 1945: Germany surrenders and war ends

The Ghettos Jews were confined to ghettos throughout German occupied Europe The ghettos were overcrowded, dirty, and running rampant with disease Jews were given very little food (pg. 36) Many died in ghettos

The Warshaw Ghetto January898 February1,023 March1,608 April2,061 May3,821 June4,290 July5,550 August5,560 Death Tolls in the Warsaw Ghetto in Poland, 1941

The Final Solution to the Jewish Question in Europe Wannsee Conference Jan. 20, 1942 Nazi officials and others met at Wannsee to discuss the total extermination of Jews in Europe Mobile killing squads were already in operation No one at the conference objected

The Final Solution to the Jewish Question in Europe Deportations Jews were rounded up and sent to six camps in Poland Most deportees were immediately murdered Jews were transported using trains Trains designed to hold 8 horses or 40 soldiers; people were transported in them Many died on the trip

The Final Solution to the Jewish Question in Europe Death Camps When arriving at one of the death camps, Jews were sent through a selection Babies, young children, pregnant women, the elderly, the handicapped, and the sick were immediately sent to their deaths Gas chambers were usually the chosen method of execution

The Final Solution to the Jewish Question in Europe

Death Camps Victims were led to believe that they were being prepared for work Bodies were disposed of by sonderkommando (special commando) who were Jews that were chosen to burn the bodies of executed Jews

Death Camp Information CAMPVICTIMSKNOWN SURVIVORS Chelmno60,0003 Belzec600,0002 Sobibor250,00064 Treblinka900,000Under 40 Maidanek500,000Under 600 Auschwitz1,100,000Several thousand, because it was both a concentration camp and a death camp

Estimated Numbers of Jews Murdered during the Holocaust Poland 3,000,000 Soviet Union 1,316,000 Hungary 569,000 Romania 287,000 Czechoslovakia 149,150 Germany 141,000 Netherlands 100,000 France 77,320 Greece 67,000

Estimated Numbers of Jews Murdered during the Holocaust Yugoslavia 63,300 Austria 50,000 Belgium 28,900 Italy 7,500 Luxembourg 1,950 Norway 762 Denmark 51 Finland 7 Total 5,858,940

The Nuremberg Trials: After the war, some of the people responsible for the Holocaust were brought to trial. Twenty-two Nazis were brought to trial Twelve were sentenced to death Three were sentenced to life imprisonment Four were sentenced to lesser prison terms Three were found innocent Most of the Nazis used the defense that they were simply following orders. Hitler committed suicide prior to the trials

Why learn about the Holocaust? Poet and philosopher George Santayana once said: "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. Other incidences of genocide have happened in lesser scale. Native Americans Rwanda