Topic #4 Review The Holocaust

Kristallnacht – "Night of the Broken Glass", November 9 & 10, 1938 Coordinated attacked, lead by Nazis and civilian supporters, against Jews in Germany and parts of Austria Mobs went through cities and attacked Jews on the streets, in their homes and businesses and in their places of worship Over 1000 Synagogues were burned and more than 7000 business were destroyed More than 90 Jews were killed and were arrested and send to concentration camps Joseph Goebbels, the Nazi's propaganda officer, said the outbursts were spontaneous and that his party was not responsible for organizing it This is now seen as the start of the Holocaust

The Final Solution Nazi Germany's plan and execution of genocide of the Jewish people and other "undesirable" sub-human peoples throughout Europe (Slavs, Gypsys, Homosexuals, Mentally Ill, Disabled) Hitler sent his SS guards out to "round up" Jewish people in Europe and send them to concentration and death camps In the late 1930's the Nazis killed thousands of handicapped Germans by lethal injection and poisonous gas. After the German invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941, mobile killing units following in the wake of the German Army began shooting massive numbers of Jews and Gypsies in open fields and ravines on the outskirts of conquered cities and towns Started at first killing Jews using guns, but soon developed gas chambers Many Jews also died of starvation in the camps, or were deemed weak or ill by doctors and were killed in "showers" that would pump out poisonous gas Bodies were then gathered and burned in crematoriums

Ghettos – Physical isolation of the Jewish people – Turned entire neighbourhoods into "prisons" and hoped that the Jewish population would deteriorate and succumb to starvation, disease and cold – Forced into manual labour as factories were often built alongside Ghettos – Ghettos were also placed near rail lines so that mass expulsion of the Jews from the cities was more easily facilitated – They were overcrowded, sanitation was poor, little medicine was available, and diseases became rampant – As the war progressed and Jews from ghettos were exported to death and concentration camps, ghettos were used as a "stopping over" point for other Jews that were rounded up by Nazi's throughout the war

Concentration vs. Death Camps – People that Hitler thought were of sub-human races were sent to these camps – Concentration camps were meant for political prisoners at first or "enemies of the Reich" and people had to wear overalls with coloured badges that identified them by their race or political affiliation; were also forced into manual labour to produce goods and supplies for the German army KZ Dachau was the first concentration camp established in Nazi Germany - the camp was opened on March 22, 1933 The camp's first inmates were primarily political prisoners, Social Democrats, Communists, trade unionists, habitual criminals, homosexuals, Jehovah's Witnesses, beggars, vagrants, hawkers – Death camps were meant for large-scale murder by gas and body disposal through cremation Six such death camps existed: Auschwitz-Birkenau, Belzac, Chelmno, Majdanek, Sobibor and Treblinka

Liberation of Concentration Camps – Allied troops moving across Europe discovered these camps – Nazi's tried to hide their existence by destroying them before leaving areas when they were challenged by Allied forces They also marched prisoners away from camps as the front lines approached so they would not be discovered; they would kill those who couldn't keep up – Some of the camps were not completely destroyed once the Germans fled – Prisoners were liberated by troops, but most were suffering from disease or malnutrition and were weak; many died after liberation

Nuremburg Trials – Put to trial those who were involved in the Holocaust In October 1945, the IMT formally indicted the Nuremberg defendants on four counts: crimes against peace, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and conspiracy to commit these crimes 24 leaders major political and military leaders were indicted Many more (100+) tried in subsequent trials in the US Happened between – These trials were not just put in place to punish people for the Holocaust alone, but also for the other crimes committed during WWII