Download The Holocaust

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United States History & Government 11
Holocaust
Life During the Holocaust
Millions of lives were lost during World War II, but not all of them were due to combat. When the Nazis
came to power in Germany, they began to persecute Jews. Adolf Hitler, in a desire to promote a “master race” of
pure Aryans, was determined to wipe out the entire Jewish population. Because many German Jews were
economically successful, had good jobs, and owned nice houses, Hitler’s misguided reasoning held them responsible
for inflation, the Depression, and other German problems. Hitler also believed that the Aryan race was superior
and that Jews were polluting it. Many other people believed in this theory, too. In order to eliminate the “Jewish
problem,” Hitler built walled prisons called concentration camps in Germany, Poland, and Austria. Some of these
prisons were work camps, while others were nothing more than death factories. Prisoners at working camps like
Bergen-Belsen and Dachau in Germany made supplies for the German army. On their arrival at a camp, prisoners’
clothing and belongings were taken away. Their heads were shaved and numbers were tattooed on their arms for
identification. Conditions at these camps were deplorable. Many inhabitants froze to death; others died from
disease or lack of food. Some were killed when they were no longer able to work. At the death camps, such as
Auschwitz and Treblinka in Poland, prisoners were taken to a shower, but the rooms were locked and pumped full
of deadly gas through the shower heads. Later their bodies were burned in huge ovens. In addition, some prisoners
were subjected to supposedly scientific testing, surgeries without anesthesia, and gruesome experiments. In all, over
six million Jews were killed—that number represented 40% of the world’s
Jewish population. Additionally, five million disabled, homosexuals, Gypsies, and political opponents of the Nazis
were eliminated.
References
Never to Forget: The Jews of the Holocaust by Milton Meltzer (HarperCollins, 1976).
Smoke and Ashes: The Story of the Holocaust by Barbara Rogasky (Holiday, 1988).
Anne Frank by Richard Tames (Franklin Watts, 1989).
(Numerous books and articles exist on this topic.)
Dachau :
Nazi concentration camp in southern Germany. Erected in 1933, this
was the first Nazi concentration camp. Used mainly to incarcerate
German political prisoners until late 1938, whereupon large numbers of
Jews, Gypsies, Jehovah's Witnesses, homosexuals, and other supposed
enemies of the state and anti-social elements were sent as well. Nazi
doctors and scientists used many prisoners at Dachau as guinea pigs for experiments. Dachau
was liberated by American troops in April 1945.
Auschwitz:
A complex consisting of concentration, extermination,
and labor camps in Upper Silesia. It was established in
1940 as a concentration camp and included a killing
center in 1942. Auschwitz I: The main camp. Auschwitz
II (Also known as Birkenau): The extermination center.
Auschwitz III (Monowitz): The I.G. Farben labor camp,
also known as Buna. In addition, there were numerous subsidiary camps.
Treblinka:
Extermination camp on the Bug River in the General Government. Opened in July
1942, it was the largest of the three Operation Reinhardt killing centers. Between
700,000 and 900,000 persons were killed there. A revolt by the inmates on August 2,
1943, destroyed most of the camp, and it was closed in November 1943.
Chelmno:
Nazi extermination camp in western Poland, established in 1941, the first of the Nazi
extermination camps. Approximately 150,000 Jews were murdered there
between late 1941 and 1944, although not continuously. In comparison
to the other extermination camps, Chelmno was technologically
primitive, employing carbon monoxide gas vans as the main method of
killing. The Nazis dismantled the camp in late 1944 and early 1945.
The Commander of
the security police and
the SD
Einsatzkommando 3 Kauen [Kaunas], 1 December 1941
----------------------------| Secret Reich Business! |
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4th copy
Today I can confirm that our objective, to solve the Jewish problem for Lithuania, has been achieved by EK 3. In
Lithuania there are no more Jews, apart from Jewish workers and their families.
The distance between from the assembly point to the graves was on average 4 to 5 Km.
I consider the Jewish action more or less terminated as far as Einsatzkommando 3 is concerned. Those working Jews
and Jewesses still available are needed urgently and I can envisage that after the winter this workforce will be
required even more urgently. I am of the view that the sterilization program of the male worker Jews should be
started immediately so that reproduction is prevented. If despite sterilization a Jewess becomes pregnant she will be
liquidated.
(signed) Jager
SS-Standartenführer