1. The Holocaust

2. Background to the Holocaust
In his autobiography Mein Kampf, Hitler claimed the “Jewish question” needed to be answered once and for all
Nazi ideology promoted the idea of “Aryan” superiority over other races
When the Nazis came to power in Germany in 1933, anti-Semitism became official policy

3. 1933 Hitler rises to power. Approx. 566,000 Jews in Germany
Boycott Jewish businesses
Define non-Aryans
Gestapo created

4. 1935 - Nuremberg Laws Stripped of citizenship
Jewish was not a “religious choice” - determined by blood
No marriage or dating with “Germans”
Can’t employ German women
Can’t fly German flag
In addition to other discriminations

5. 1938-1939 Jews try to flee - no where to go Kristallnacht
Must hand over gold and silver

9. 1939 - In Poland 3.35 million Jews Forced labor decree
Must wear yellow star
German Jews deported to Poland

10. 1940 “You will not live among us.” Ghettos established
Later are sealed off
Disease, illness, unemployment, starvation
Smuggling - in and out
Start to liquidate in ‘42

11. The German invasion of Poland in 1939 led to the creation of “ghettos” where Jews confined

12. Typical Conditions in the Warsaw Ghetto

13. Wannsee Conference January 20, 1942 Prepare “Final Solution”
Attempt to exterminate all Jews from Europe
Est. 11 million people

14. Final Solution Phase I Phase II Phase III Shooting Gas Vans
Camps (Concentration & Extermination)
Speed up the process

15. The Einsatzgruppen were created to murder Jews and Hitler’s political enemies throughout Poland and Russia

16. Jews are shot and dumped in mass graves

17. Mobile gas van used by the Einsatzgruppen

18. Extermination camps were established throughout Eastern Europe to kill
primarily Jews, but also gypsies, the handicapped, and others the Nazis
considered “subhuman”

19. At Auschwitz-Birkenau in Poland, 1
At Auschwitz-Birkenau in Poland, 1.5 m people were gassed and about 90% of these were Jews

21. Auschwitz

22. Auschwitz Opened January 1940 4 gas chambers/crematories by 1943
Recored 12,000 kills in one day
SS must take all possessions

23. Cylinder Containing Zyklon B Gas

26. Aerial photo taken by
the Allies in 1944
showing a plume of
smoke near Birkenau
death camp

27. About 6 million Jews and 5 million others were murdered during the Holocaust
Allies insisted the best way to end the genocide was to win the war
When the concentration camps were liberated in 1945, the world saw the true extent of Nazi horrors

31. The Nuremberg Trials
After the war, many demanded that the perpetrators of Nazi genocide be punished
The Nuremberg Trials were established to bring Nazi war criminals to justice