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VII. The Post War World – seeds of a Cold War
¾ The Allies created a “wish list” of how they envisioned the way
the world should be after the war. It was called ….
The Atlantic Charter
(was designed at the Yalta Conference before FDR died)
Much like
President Wilson’s
14 Points
after World War I
¾ the United Nations is created. This time the United States joins this
International Organization in order to help prevent problems before
they start. “Intervention – Involvement – Control” Keep it small!!
¾ All the invaded countries liberated from Nazi control were to NOT be
occupied by the Allied powers – the Allied Powers were to leave and
allow these countries “self determination” . Stalin and USSR kept the
countries they liberated as a buffer zone – AKA – Satellites.
¾ The United States and the Soviet Union become a “Super Power”.
♦ We are one of the few countries that are still “strong”
after the war ends. We also the most powerful weapon on
Earth - the Atomic Bomb.
♦ Once again the war is not fought in the United States and
we will continue to supply Europe with the necessary food,
materials and supplies to rebuild. This effort is referred
to as the Marshall Plan.
♦ The Marshall Plan is also designed to help the “losers” of
the war to rebuild. The reason for this is so the Soviet
Union does not have the chance to change these countries
to Communism. We want to keep them on “our side”. We
want to keep Communism from spreading and to stay where
it is = Containment (think container)
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tlPPLIE5 To ALL
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THE ATLANTIC CHARTER,
AUCUsr 14, 1941
~
What can the Atlantic
Charter be compared to?
~
What was the function and
purpose of the Atlantic
Charter?
The President of the United States of America and the
Prime Minister, Mr. Churchill, representing His Majesty'~
Goverrunent in the United Kingdom, being met together.
d-eem it right'to make known certai ll common principles
in the national policies of their respective countries o~
which they base their hopes for a better future for the
world.
_ FIRST, their countries seek no aggt_ndizement, terri­
torial or other;
SJ;GOND, they desire to see no territorial changes
that do not accord with the freely expre~ed wishes of
the peoples concerned;
THIRD, they respect the right of all peoples to choose
the form of goverrunent under which they will live; and
they ·wish to see sovereign rights and self-goVernment
restored to those' who have been forcibly deprived of
them;
FOURTH, they will endea,vor; with due respect for
their existing obligations, to further the enjoyment by all
States, great or small, victor or vanquished, of access, on
equal terms, to the trade and to the raw materials of the
world which are needed for their economic prosperity;'
FIFTII, they desire to bring· about the fullest col­
laboration between all nations in the economic field with
the object of securing, for all, irriproved labor standards,
economic adjustment and sociai security;
SIXTH, after the final destruction of the Nazi tyranny,
they hope to see established a peace which will afford to
all nations· the means of dwelling in safety within their
own boundaries, and which I will afford ~urance that
all the men in all the lands ··'m'ay live out their lives in
freedom from fear and want;
SEVENTH, such' a peace should enable all men to
traverse the high seas and oceans without hindrance;· _
EIGHTH, they believe that all of the nations of the
world, for realistic as well as spiritual reasons, must come
to the abandonment of the use of force. Since no future
peace can be maintained if land, sea or air armaments
continue to be employed by nations which threaten, or
may threaten, aggression, outside of their frontiers, they
believe, pending the establishment of a wider and perma~
nent system of genera.~ security, that the disarmament of
such nations is esser.tial. They will likewise aid and
encourage all other practicable measures which will lighter:
for peace-loving peoples the - crushing burden of arma~
ments.
F'RANKLIN D. ROOS.EVELT
WINSTON
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S.
CHuRClllLL
¾ The world seems to be divided into two sides with the “Super Powers”
acting like team captains that supplied the equipment:
The Cold
War
The United States
The Soviet Union
N.A.T.O
North Atlantic
Treaty Organization
Warsaw Pact
¾ During the liberation of Europe, the Allies discovered the
horrible atrocities (crimes) of Hitler’s “Final Solution” –
The Holocaust. The Nuremberg Trials were held to hold
those Nazi officials accountable for their actions and participation
in their “crimes against humanity” (they were used to counteract
the Nuremberg laws that took away the rights and humanity of the
Jewish people in Nazi Germany). Just “following orders” was not
an acceptable excuse for the Genocide and ethnic cleansing that
they were a part of.
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A Brief History for Teachers
What was the Holocaust and why was it unique?
The Holocaust took place in Europe between 1933 and 1945. During this time the attempt
to destroy the Jewish people was undertaken by the Nazis and their collaborators under
Adolf Hitler. This was the only time in history that there was an attempt to exterminate all
Jews. Many other innocent people were persecuted and killed during the Holocaust, such as
the communists, political prisoners, Jehovah's Witnesses, homosexuals, the disabled, and
Romani (Gypsies).
Genocide is the term used for the mass killing of a people. The word was first used in
1933. It comes from the Greek word "genos" meaning "race," and the Latin work "caedes"
meaning "killing."
Why the Jews?
The origins of anti-Semitism, the hatred of the Jews, go back many centuries. As a result
of the teachings of the Church, the Jews, who lived throughout the Christian world, were
periodically persecuted. Though they were few in number, they were also attacked as
economic competitors and were sometimes used as political scapegoats. There were times
and places in Europe where Jews were accepted, allowed to become citizens and to play an
active role in the community. However, anti-Semitism remained part of the culture.
What was Jewish life like before the Holocaust?
The Jewish people in pre-Holocaust Eastern Europe lived normal lives. They were
occupied with their professions and jobs, homes and families, friends and organizations.
Many Jews lived in small towns called "Shtetls." They spoke their own language, Yiddish,
read Yiddish newspapers, and went to the Yiddish theater. Religion played an important part
in their daily lives.
Jews in Western Europe were more fully integrated into their societies and they tended to
adopt the mannerisms and culture of the non-Jewish neighbors. In Germany, Jews were full
citizens. They were lawyers, professors, doctors, and business people. They distinguished
themselves in the sciences and the arts. Though the Jews of Germany made up only one
percent of the total population, their impact on German culture was enormous.
Who was Adolf Hitler?
Adolf Hitler was born in Braunau, Austria in 1889, but he considered Linz his
hometown. He was a poor student and dropped out of school before the age of 16. When he
was 19, he set for Vienna, the capital of Austria, to pursue a career in art. He failed at this. It
was in Vienna that he developed his hatred for Jews. At the age of24, because of his
disappointments in Vienna and his keen interest in German history, he moved to Germany
and joined the army. After World War I, unable to accept Germany's defeat, he decided to go
into politics. He was a powerful speaker and drew crowds. Before long, Hitler formed the
Nazi party. In 1923, he tried to seize power in what became known as the "Beer Hall
Putsch" and was imprisoned for nine months. In prison, Hitler wrote Mein Kampf (My
Struggle), which outlined his main ideas concerning anti-Semitism, racism, "living space,"
and the "Jewish plot." During the next ten years, Hitler traveled all over Germany spreading
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his ideas, and by 1930 the Nazi party had become the second largest in Germany. It consisted
of average citizens as well as doctors, professors, lawyers, teachers and scientists. Hitler was
also successful in recruiting young people and indoctrinating them into the teachings of
Nazism. In 1933 he was appointed Chancellor of the Third Reich and became absolute
dictator.
In 1945, when Hitler realized that his defeat was near, he committed suicide.
How did the persecution start?
In 1933, the Nazi Government issued orders that no German should buy from a Jewish­
owned store. In May of that year there was a public burning of books written by Jews and
opponents of the Nazis.
In September 1935, a set of laws was passed restricting the civil rights of the Jewish
people. These were known as the Nuremburg Laws and were a direct order from Hitler. Some
of the laws were: Jews were forbidden to vote in German elections, their jobs were taken away;
men had to add "Israel" and women "Sarah" to their names so they would not be taken as
Germans; and Jewish children were expelled from German schools.
One of the ways that Hitler was able to spread lies to promote his cause was through
propaganda. He named Joseph Goebbels as his Minister of Propaganda. Through newspapers
and radio, Goebbels was able to publicize to the Germans the superiority of the German people.
Two of the methods of showing allegiance to Hitler and the Nazi party were the straight arm
salute and the use of the Nazi emblem, the swastika.
To promote his racist views, Hitler wanted Germany to be made up of a pure Aryan race,
which he defined as white with blue eyes and blond hair.
During the mid-thirties, the Nazi's main objective was to make Germany "Judenrein"
(cleansed of Jews). Many Jews left, but they were not allowed to take any of their possessions.
In July 1938, President Theodore Roosevelt organized the Evian Conference in Evian,
France which included delegates from 32 countries to discuss the problem of the refugees. All
but one of these countries refused to allow the Jews to enter. The Dominican Republic was the
only country that would allow Jews to come. The Germans now saw that they could go ahead
with their policies against the Jews, since no country wanted them and therefore had no right to
criticize the Germans.
In 1938 Hitler annexed Austria to the Third Reich. This was called the "Anschluss." In
1939, Czechoslovakia also became part of the Third Reich. The same anti-Semitic laws were
implemented in these countries as in Germany.
What was Kristallnacht?
On the evening of November 9, 1938, rioting began as synagogues were burned and
Jewish-owned stores were looted throughout Germany and Austria. These riots, called
"Kristallnacht" (Night of Broken Glass), were the first anti-Jewish pogroms planned by the
government and the Gestapo, the political police. The local police did not interfere and the
looting went on for two days. Over 1,000 synagogues were burned and 7,000 Jewish businesses
were looted and destroyed. Approximately 30,000 Jewish men were arrested by the Gestapo and
sent to concentration camps. The "excuse" for this action was the assassination of Ernst vom
Rath, third secretary of the German Embassy in Paris by Herschel Grynszpan, a Jewish
teenager studying in France whose parents had been sent back to Poland and Poland would not
accept them.
What was a Ghetto?
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The word ghetto was first used in the 16th century in Italy and denoted the walled-in area
where Jews were forced to live. The Nazis borrowed this idea, establishing the first ghettos in
Poland, in the poorest areas of each city. The entire Jewish population of each city was forced to
live within a few square blocks. The Jews were not allowed to leave the ghettos except in groups
under armed escorts, for work at German installations. Since there was little food and poor
sanitary and medical conditions, many died of starvation and disease.
What is meant by the term "Final Solution?"
Beginning in December 1941, Jews were rounded up and sent to extermination camps
in the East. The program was deceptively disguised as "resettlement in the East." After the Jews
were rounded up from the ghettos, they were transported by cattle cars to various concentration
camps. They were forced to stand in packed cars with no sanitary facilities and no food for
several days, until they reached their destination. Many died during the trip under these
conditions.
The "final solution" was the term used by Nazi officials that referred to the "Jewish
question" and which meant that all Jews were to be killed. In January 1942, in Wannsee,
Germany, a conference was held to develop plans for the destruction of the Jewish people.
What were the Concentration Camps and Extermination Camps?
The Nazis established concentration camps to imprison all "enemies" of Germany.
These included communists, socialists, Jehovah's Witnesses, homosexuals, gypsies and other
asocials. Jews were targeted solely because they were Jewish. Those Jews who were strong
enough were selected by the Nazis for forced labor. They had to rise very early in the morning
and do heavy work until late at night, with only a meager diet of watered-down soup and coffee
and dried-up bread.
The extermination camps were created to carry out the Final Solution plan for the
extermination of the Jews. Also known as death camps, which included Auschwitz-Birkenau,
Belzec, Chelmno, Majdanek, Sobibor, and Treblinka. These camps were located in Poland. In
the extermination camps the Nazis systematically murdered the Jews by hanging, gassing and
firing squads. The elderly, the very young and the handicapped were immediately put to death by
the Nazis. In some camps, the prisoners were tattooed with numbers on their arms and were no
longer known by name, only by number. Their heads were shaved and they had to wear special
clothes and a badge denoting what type of prisoner they were.
Were the Jews able to fight back?
There was physical resistance. There were several uprisings in the ghettos and the camps,
as well as Jewish resistance fighters, called partisans, in the forests. In the Warsaw Ghetto,
Jews managed to smuggle in small amounts of ammunition and were able to resist the Nazis
(though the Jews were outnumbered and weak) for several weeks. Most of the Jewish fighters
were killed but some escaped to the forests through the sewers of the ghetto.
Another kind of resistance was spiritual resistance. Jews continued to pray, hold services,
honor the holidays even though it was not allowed in the ghettos. Secret schools were set up, as
well as an underground press.
Though the camps were surrounded by electrified barbed-wire fences and watch-towers,
revolts occurred in Auschwitz, Treblinka and Sobibor.
Did anyone help?
There were individuals in every country who risked their lives and the lives of their
families to hide Jews. Many priests and nuns hid Jews in convents and monasteries. These
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Glossary
ALLIES - Nations that joined the war against Nazi Germany, including the United States and
Great Britain.
ANSCHLUSS - German word for union; it was the term applied to the Nazi takeover of Austria.
ANTI-SEMITISM - The prejudice and discrimination toward Jews.
ARYAN - Term used by Nazis to describe the German people as the "superior" race.
AUSCHWITZ-BIRKENAU - The largest of the Nazi concentration camps. It was a forced
labor camp and an extermination camp. It was established in Poland in 1940. More than 1.3
million Jews were murdered in the gas chambers.
BEER HALL PUTSCH - Attempt by Hitler to overthrow the German Republic and seize
political power in 1923. Armed storm troopers entered a large beer hall in Munich to start the
uprising. Hitler was arrested and sent to prison.
BYSTANDERS - People who lived in Europe during the time Nazi Germany was in power and
were not involved, not willing to hurt the victims and not wishing to be hurt by the perpetrators.
They were people who stood by and watched what was happening to the victims and did nothing
to stop it.
CHANCELLOR - Prime minister, head of the government.
CONCENTRATION CAMPS - Prison camps built to hold Jews, Gypsies, homosexuals,
political prisoners, resisters, and anyone the Nazis considered socially or racially undesirable.
DEATH MARCH - A forced march with brutal treatment by the SS.
DISPLACED PERSONS (DP) CAMPS - Set up after the war for victims freed from the Nazi
camps. Cared for by Allied occupation forces and administered by United Nations Relief and
Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA).
EVIAN - President Franklin D. Roosevelt convened this conference in July 1938 to discuss the
problem of refugees. There were thirty-two countries that met at Evian-Ies-Bains, France, but not
much was accomplished since most countries were reluctant to accept Jewish refugees.
EXTERMINATION CAMPS - Nazi camps that were equipped with gassing facilities and
crematoria for the mass murder of Jews. Also known as death camps which included Auschwitz­
Birkenau, Belzec, Chelmno, Majdanek, Sobibor, and Treblinka. These camps were all located in
Poland.
FINAL SOLUTION - Code words used by the Nazis referring to the destruction of the Jewish
people of Europe.
FRANK, ANNE (1929 - 1945) - German-born Jewish teenager who resided in Amsterdam. Her
diary was left behind after a police raid on her family's secret hideout. The Diary ofAnne Frank,
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a document about her experiences in hiding and the anguish of being a teenager, was first
published in 1947. She died in Bergen-Belsen on March 15, 1945.
GENOCIDE - The deliberate and systematic destruction of a racial, religious, cultural, or
national group.
GESTAPO - The secret State Police of the Third Reich
GHETTO - Sections of towns and cities in which Jews were forced to live. By placing Jews in
ghettos, Germans were able to isolate and control them.
GOEBBELS, JOSEPH - Nazi minister ofPropaganda, organizing in this capacity repeated
anti-Jewish campaigns. Responsible for the Kristallnacht pogrom in November 1938 and later
the deportation of Jews from Berlin. Committed suicide in Hitler's bunker on April 30, 1945.
GRYNSZPAN, HERSCHEL - A Polish Jewish youth who had immigrated to Paris. His
parents were part of the roundup of Polish Jews living in Germany, and deported to the Polish
frontier. On November 7, 1938, he went to the German Embassy where he shot and mortally
wounded Third Secretary Ernst vom Rath.
GYPSIES - Wandering sect of people also known as Roma, and Sinti, living in Europe from the
15 th century bound by a common language and culture. It is believed they had originally come
from northwest India. Nazis singled out the Gypsies for persecution. Up to 500,000 Gypsies
were killed in the camps.
IDTLER, ADOLF (1889 - 1945) - Leader of the Third Reich, Chancellor of Germany from
1933-1945. Committed suicide before the war ended.
JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES - A religious sect that base their beliefs on the Bible and have no
official ministers, recognizing only the kingdom of God. Their members were sent to
concentration camps for their refusal to make the "Heil Hitler" salute or fight for the Third
Reich.
JUDENREIN - German word meaning "cleansed of Jews."
KINDERTRANSPORT - In 1938 Great Britain agreed to receive Jewish Children from
Austria, German and Czechoslovakia, to be cared for by Jewish institutions and private citizens.
The children were unescorted and their parents were left behind.
KRISTALLNACHT - "Night of Broken Glass." Anti-Jewish riots of November 9-10, 1938.
Planned by the German government and the Gestapo. Over 1,000 synagogues were burned,
Jewish stores looted and Jewish men arrested.
LIDERATION - Term used when concentration and death camps were overrun by the Soviet,
American, British, Canadian, or French armies. Most of the camps were captured or turned over
to Allied control between January-April 1945, although there was no direct order to capture these
sites.
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MElN KAMPF (My Struggle) - Book written by Adolf Hitler outlining his ideas about race and
anti-Semitism.
NAZI - Term used for the National Socialist German Workers Party, a radical, anti-Semitic
political party formed in 1919 and headed by Adolf Hitler from 1921 - 1945.
NUREMBERG LAWS - Laws formulated in 1935 which stripped the Jewish people in
Germany of their civil rights and restricted their political and social life.
NUREMBERG TRIALS - A series of public trials set up by the Allies. The first of these trials
was held from November 1945 until October 1946. Twenty-two major Nazi officials were tried.
PARTISAN - Resistance fighter operating behind enemy lines, mostly in the Forest.
PERPETRATORS - People who played a specific role in the formulation or implementation of
anti-Jewish measures. In most cases, the person knew what he was doing. He knew his role and
carried out his position or duties. He was empowered or instructed to carry out his mission. No
one man and no one organization was solely responsible for the destruction of the Jews. The
work was diffused in a widespread bureaucracy, each person's part was a small contribution to
the destruction of the Jewish people. The perpetrator was the administrator, clerk, or uniformed
guard. The foremost perpetrator was Adolf Hitler, but most of the labor was done by people
under him, including lawyers and physicians. As Germany entered other territories throughout
Europe, Germany was joined by governments in satellite states and by individual collaborators in
occupied countries.
RIGHTEOUS GENTILES - Non-Jews who saved Jews at the risk of their own lives.
POGROM - Russian word used to describe organized violence against Jews, often with the
consent of the government or police.
RATH, ERNST YOM - Third secretary at the German Embassy in Paris who was assassinated
on November 7, 1938 by Herschel Grynszpan.
SHTETL - Yiddish word for a small town or village in Eastern Europe where many Jews lived.
SS (Schutzstaffel) - They were originally organized in 1925 to protect Hitler. They were also
known as the "Black Shirts." Later the SS served as political police and administered the
concentration and extermination camps.
SWASTIKA - Symbol of Nazi Germany and centerpiece ofthe German -flag designed by Hitler.
The twisted cross dates back to Indian antiquity where the Aryan symbol is considered a sign of
good luck.
THIRD REICH - Nazi terminology for Germany from January 1933 - May 1945.
UPSTANDER - A new term for someone who stands up for others and does not allow bigotry,
hatred, or intolerance to happen.
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VICTIMS - Civilians of Europe who were selected by official Nazi policy for destruction
independent of war. Millions of people such as Poles, Gypsies, Ukrainians, and Belorussians fell
victim to the Nazi policies of genocide. These were civilians chosen for racial, religious, cultural
or political reasons for destruction along with the Jews.
WANNSEE CONFERENCE - Meeting held on January 20, 1942 in Wannsee, Germany,
where the Final Solution, the plan for the killing of all of the Jews was adopted.
WARSAW - Capital of Poland where 375,000 Jews lived before World War II. A ghetto was
established there in 1940. Thousands died of disease and starvation, hundreds of thousands were
sent to Treblinka and other camps. There was an uprising in the ghetto by Jewish resistance
fighters in 1943.
YIDDISH - Language spoken mainly by the Jews ofEastern Europe, which combines Hebrew
and German.
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