World War II The Holocaust
Hitler and Nazism Hitler’s
vision of Europe Germanic people- Aryans All non-Aryan people were inferior Lead to Holocaust- systematic mass slaughter of Jews and other groups judged inferior by Nazis
Jews in Germany Jews
were blamed for defeat in WWI and economic problems 1935- Nuremburg Laws- deprived Jews of their rights to German citizenship – No marriages Jews to non-Jews Limited
work they could do
Kristallnacht (night of broken glass)
November
9, 1938 Nazi storm troopers attacked Jewish homes, businesses, synagogues Murdered 100+ Jews Marked start of eradication of Jewish population
Refugees Many
Jews began to flee to other countries to seek refuge France, GB, USA- later started to refuse admission of Jewish Refugees.
Hitler
began to think of another plan.
Isolation Made
Jews move to designated
cities. Made them go to ghettossegregated areas
– Sealed areas with barbed wire and stone walls Hoped
they would starve and die
Jews
fought hard to stay alive
– Keep traditions – Created theaters and schools – Kept records of happenings. Still
have these today.
“Final Solution” Hitler
wanted a more direct action Genocide Believed
they had to eliminate all non-German society Gypsies, Poles, Russians, homosexuals, insane, disabled, ill ESPECIALLY Jews
Killing Begins SS
moves from town to town looking for Jews – Rounded up men, women, children – Put in pits and killed.
Those
not found by killing squads sent to concentration camps, or slave-labor prisons
Concentration Camps Worked
7 days a week Guards severely beat or killed prisoners who were not working fast enough Given very little food (some ate mud instead)- lost weight very quickly AND
THESE WERE THE EASY TIMES!!
ď ľ
View of the entrance to the main camp of Auschwitz (Auschwitz I). The gate bears the motto "Arbeit Macht Frei" (Work makes one free).
“Final Solution” End Stage Nazis built extermination camps equipped with huge gas chambers Could kill 6,000+ a day Auschwitz- largest of extermination camps
Auschwitz
Prisoners would walk in front of SS doctors Strong were separatedmostly men Rest were labeled weak and take to take a shower Undressed, put into showers with fake showerheads. Then gassed Later Nazis installed ovens to cremate the bodies
The note reads: Harmful gas! Entering endangers your life
Survivors Elie Wiesel “Never shall I forget the little faces of the children, whose bodies I saw turned into wreaths of smoke beneath the silent blue sky. Never shall I forget those flames which consumed my faith forever…Never shall I forget those moments which murdered my God and my soul and turned my dreams to dust…Never.”
– Night
Original Jewish Population 3,300,000
Jews Killed Percent Surviving 2,800,000
15%
2,100,000
1,500,000
29%
Hungary
404,000
200,000
49%
Romania
850,000
425,000
50%
Germany/
270,000
210,000
22%
Poland Soviet Untion
(occupied
by Germany
Questions 1.
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6.
Define: Aryan, Holocaust, ghetto, “final solution”, genocide What Nazi actions were part of the “final solution”? What was the reaction of Jews when Hitler made his views on a “master race” public? What Nazi action marked the final stage of the “final solution”? Why might people want to blame a minority group for most of their country’s problems? What impact did the Holocaust have on the Jewish population of Europe?