Download Aspects of the Holocaust - World History with Miss Bunnell

The Big Numbers
• It is estimated that 12 million people were killed
during the Holocaust.
– Approx. 6 million of those people were Jews.
– Approx. over 1 million children were also murdered.
• The Nazis alone killed roughly two-thirds of all
the Jews living in Europe.
The Road to the Holocaust
• Hitler blamed the Jews
for Germany’s loss of
WWI.
• The Nazi party failed to
take over Germany, and
Hitler was sent to prison
for treason.
– Wrote “Mein Kampf,”
which means “My
Struggle.”
• Mein Kampf details his
political & financial plans
for Germany’s future.
The Road to the Holocaust
• Mein Kampf
– Denounces Communism
– Denounces Judaism
• Saw them as weak and
untrustable.
• People to get rid of in order
to make a better, stronger
Germany.  “Pure race”
– Demands more living space
for the German people.
– Blames the Weimar
Republic for being weak
and accepting the terms of
the Treaty of Versailles.
The Road to the Holocaust
• 1933: Hitler named the
Chancellor of Germany.
• 1934: Anointed himself
as “Fuhrer” and the
supreme ruler.
• 1933-1939: The Nazi
party under Hitler’s
leadership will begin to
persecute anyone who
opposes the Fuhrer and
the new order.
The Road to the Holocaust
Quick Reminder…
How this all plays into World War II…
Policy of Appeasement, 1938
-Prime Minister of Britain, Neville Chamberlain, failed to
keep Hitler & Nazi Germany in check during the 1930s.
-The policy was a way of securing peace in Europe, giving
Hitler the Sudetenland to avoid going to war. Hitler promised to not
invade Poland because he was given the land he had demanded.
September 1, 1939
-Hitler invaded Poland
Beginning of Persecution
• People that Nazi’s
targeted…
–
–
–
–
Political opponents
Jews
Homosexuals
“Inferiors”
• Disabled, Russians, Polish,
Gypsies
Beginning of Persecution
• 1939: Euthanasia Program
– Nazis chose ~70,000 people
that had been
institutionalized for mental
illness or disabilities.
– They were gassed to death
because they were not
considered “good enough” to
be part of the German
population.
– Hitler put an official end to
the program in 1941 due to
religious protest, but the
killings continued in secrecy.
Beginning of Persecution
• April 1, 1933: The Nazis
instigated their first action
against German Jews by
announcing a boycott of all
Jewish-run businesses.
• September 15, 1935: Laws
that excluded Jews from
public life.
– “Nuremberg Laws”
– Took away German
citizenship from Jews
– Restricted intermarriage
More Laws of Persecution
Over the next few years the Nazis
will create more laws to further put
down the Jews in Germany.
• Must wear yellow star of David at
all times.
• Restricted from public places
• Denied civil service jobs
• Had to register all of their
property
• Jewish doctors could not treat
anyone other than Jews.
• Jewish lawyers could not help
anyone other than Jews.
Kristallnacht
• “Night of Broken Glass”
• November 9-10, 1938
• Nazi military and non-Jewish citizens carried out
several attacks on Jewish businesses and homes.
– Stores, homes, and synagogues were often shattered
and burned.
• Cost of Life
– “91+ Dead”
– 300+ suicides
– 30, 000 incarcerated and taken to camps
The Final Solution
In July 1941 Hitler
established what he called
the “Final Solution” - what
to do with the “Jewish
question” in Germany and
its dominated territories.
Starting in September
1941, anyone labeled as a
Jew was targeted.
They were made to pack
up and move to ghettos,
concentration/death
camps, or face immediate
death.
Aspects of the Holocaust
Ghettos
• Areas of cities that were
closed off. Jews were
forced to live there.
• The purpose was to
isolate the Jews from
the “normal” NonJewish population.
Aspects of the Holocaust
Ghettos
• Started as “Open” Ghettos.
– Could go & leave as you
wanted, but had to be back by
curfew.
• Changed to “Closed”
Ghettos.
– Jews were trapped within the
area.
– Ghettos were not kept clean.
– Only had the food that was
delivered to the ghetto.
Aspects of the Holocaust
Ghettos
• Life in the ghetto could be
short or long. There was no
telling who would stay or who
would go.
• Deportations happened very
suddenly.
– 1,000 per day
– Sent to either concentration
camp or a death camp
• This was called “liquidating”
the ghetto.
Aspects of the Holocaust
Ghettos
• Warsaw Ghetto Uprising
– Nazis tried to liquidate the
Warsaw Ghetto in April of 1943.
– The Jews organized themselves
and fought back. Their
resistance held out for 28 days.
• Longer than most European
countries were able to do.
Aspects of the Holocaust
Trains
• When Jews were taken
from ghettos and put on
trains they were told they
were being “resettled in
the east.”
• Many times they were
told they were going to
work on farms.
• Were not allowed to take
most of their belongings
with them.
– There was no room.
Aspects of the Holocaust
Trains
• The rides could be for days
or weeks.
• Did not provide food or
water.
• People suffered through
heat in the summer and
freezing temps in the
winter.
• There was no where to use
the bathroom.
– Had to sit in urine and feces.
• Sadly, many people died
in the trains before they
reached their destination.
Aspects of the Holocaust
The Camps
• Concentration camp
– Also known as a “work” camp
– You would work yourself to
death, work until you were
weak and then put to death,
or you’d be taken off the train
and immediately die.
• Death camp
– Solely used for extermination
and immediate death of all
who entered.
– Largest one was Auschwitz.
Aspects of the Holocaust
The Camps
• The first concentration camp
was in Dachau (1933).
• 1933-1938: Most prisoners
were political opponents who
had spoken out against Hitler
and the Nazi party.
• At a number of the camps
there were Nazi doctors who
used the prisoners as “test
subjects” for their medical
experiments.
Aspects of the Holocaust
Camp Conditions
• Absolutely horrible!
• Forced to do hard labor
• Lived in bunk houses
with small beds –
multiple people per
bed.
• Very little food
• Dirty and no sanitation
• Sickness or weakness
often got you killed.
Aspects of the Holocaust
Camp Conditions
• Torture was a part of daily
life for the Jews.
• Beaten, ridiculed, and
given demeaning and
disgusting jobs.
• Women were sometimes
made to be prostitutes
for Nazi SS.
• Gay Nazi SS would force
themselves upon the
men.
Aspects of the Holocaust
Modes of Death
• Gunfire
• Hanging
• Crematorium (fire)
• Gas chamber
Aspects of the Holocaust
Death Marches
• As Russia and the USA
started closing in on
Germany during WWII
the Nazis knew they
needed to start
covering up their crimes
of the Holocaust.
• Graves were dug up and
the bodies burned.
• Camps were evacuated.
• “Death Marches” were
the last moments of travel
before prisoners were
pushed into
extermination camps and
immediately killed in
massive amounts.
Aspects of the Holocaust
Death Marches
• SS organized people into
rows – usually 5 across.
• Guards stayed on the
outside of the rows and
held guns pointed at the
prisoners.
• Anyone who was already
sick, weak, or injured
could not possibly finish
the march.
• Anyone who stopped,
rested, fell out of line, or
tried to run away was
immediately shot by the
SS guards.
Liberation
•
•
•
•
Most liberations happened in 1945.
Russia liberated Auschwitz in January 1945.
US forces liberated Buchenwald in April 1945.
Many survivors were so weak and starved that they still did
not live even after liberation.
• Disease was very dangerous and spread quickly through the
weakened people.
Liberation
• Liberating forces were shocked by the horror and starvation
that they saw among the people.
• In the beginning they readily gave the prisoners food, but this
often had consequences, because their stomachs were not
able to take in that much.
– Stomachs & intestines often ruptured and tore, making the
person bleed incessantly.
• Most commonly, liberated people did not know where their
families were (or if they were alive) and often had to start a
new life all alone.