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Important Jewish Terms

Judaism – the faith and practice of the Jewish people Judaism – the faith and practice of the Jewish people. It emphasizes belief in one God, who is the Creator of the universe and the highest source of morality and values.

Hasidic Jews – Members of a strict Jewish sect Hasidic Jews – Members of a strict Jewish sect. Hasidim means “pious one.”

Cabbala – A system of Jewish theosophy (intuitive knowledge of spiritual reality), mysticism, and magic.

Synagogue – the meeting place for Jewish worship.

Torah – the first five books of the Hebrew Bible.

Talmud – a collection of teachings of early rabbis Talmud – a collection of teachings of early rabbis. It is next in importance to the Hebrew Bible.

Kaddish – a prayer said as part of the mourning rituals in Judaism at funerals and memorials.

Sabbath – the 7th day – and the holy day – of the Jewish week Sabbath – the 7th day – and the holy day – of the Jewish week. It is set aside for worship and rest.

Passover – an 8-day festival commemorating the freeing of the Israelites from Egypt.

Rosh Hashanah – the Jewish New Year

Yom Kippur – the holiest day of the Jewish calendar Yom Kippur – the holiest day of the Jewish calendar. It is a solemn day of fasting and atonement.

Symbols of the Holocaust

The Swastika – the symbol of the Nazi Party

The Original Meaning The word "swastika" comes from the Sanskrit svastika - "su" meaning "good," "asti" meaning "to be," and "ka" as a suffix. Until the Nazis used this symbol, the swastika was used by many cultures throughout the past 3,000 years to represent life, sun, power, strength, and good luck.

Even in the early twentieth century, the swastika was still a symbol with positive connotations. During World War I, the swastika could even be found on the shoulder patches of the American 45th Division and on the Finnish air force until after World War II.

Change in Meaning In the 1800s, countries around Germany were growing much larger, forming empires; yet Germany was not a unified country until 1871. To counter the feeling of vulnerability and the stigma of youth, German nationalists in the mid-nineteenth century began to use the swastika, because it had ancient Aryan/Indian origins, to represent a long Germanic/Aryan history.

By the end of the nineteenth century, the swastika could be found on nationalist German volkisch periodicals and was the official emblem of the German Gymnasts' League. In the beginning of the twentieth century, the swastika was a common symbol of German nationalism and could be found in a multitude of places such as the emblem for the Wandervogel, a German youth movement; on Jörg Lanz von Liebenfels' antisemitic periodical Ostara; on various Freikorps units; and as an emblem of the Thule Society.

Hitler and the Nazis In 1920, Adolf Hitler decided that the Nazi Party needed its own insignia and flag. For Hitler, the new flag had to be "a symbol of our own struggle" as well as "highly effective as a poster." (Mein Kampf, pg. 495) On August 7, 1920, at the Salzburg Congress, this flag became the official emblem of the Nazi Party.

Yellow Star- Yellow cloth Star of David sewn to clothing to identify Jews

Holocaust Terminology

Holocaust- Term used to refer to the systematic murder of 6 million Jews by the Nazis between 1933 and 1945. Also included the extermination of Gypsies and Poles. Holo- whole Caustos – burned Religious rite in which an offering was consumed by fire

Nazi- Acronym for the National Socialist German Workers Party

Third Reich – Meaning “third regime or empire,” the Nazi designation of Germany and its regimes from 1933 – 1945. Historically, the First Reich was the medieval Holy Roman Empire, which lasted until 1806. The Second Reich included the German empire from 1871 – 1918.

abbreviation for Geheime Staatspolizei (Secret State Police). SS- Guard detachments originally formed in 1925 as Hitler’s personal guard. The SS developed into the most powerful affiliated organization of the Nazi party. In 1934, they established control of the police and security systems, forming the basis of the Nazi police state and the major instrument of racial terror in the concentration camps and occupied Europe. Gestapo - abbreviation for Geheime Staatspolizei (Secret State Police).

Prejudice– An attitude toward a person or a group of people formed without adequate information Anti-Semitism - discrimination or persecution of Jews Juden- German word for “Jews” Aryan- racial term used by Nazis to describe a “race” they believed to be superior. It has no biological validity.

Ghetto- Usually established in the poor section of a city where Jews, from the city and surrounding area, were forced to live.

Often surrounded by barbed wire or walls, the ghettos were sealed Often surrounded by barbed wire or walls, the ghettos were sealed. Established mostly in eastern Europe (e.g., Lodz, Warsaw, Vilna, Riga, or Minsk), the ghettos were characterized by overcrowding, malnutrition, and heavy labor. All were eventually dissolved, and the Jews murdered.

Deportation- The forced removal of Jews in Nazi occupied lands to concentration camps

Concentration Camp a place where political prisoners were kept Dachau the first German concentration camp established on March 20, 1933 and liberated on April 28, 1945 Auschwitz a Nazi camp located in Poland, notorious as an extermination center

Belsen a Nazi concentration camp and extermination center in Germany Buchenwald a Nazi concentration camp and extermination center in Germany. It is liberated on April 11, 1945 Mauthausen a Nazi concentration camp in Austria

Rabbi - Leader of a Jewish congregation, similar to the role of a priest or minister Kapo - A concentration camp inmate appointed by the SS to be in charge of a work gang

Selection: the process of choosing victims for the gas chambers in the Nazi camps by separating them from those considered fit to work

Death Camps-Nazi centers of murder and extermination

Death Camps All were located in Poland Death Camps All were located in Poland. Chelmno Sobibor Belzec Treblinka Auschwitz-Birchenau Majdanek

Gas chambers: Large chambers in which people were executed by poison gas. These were built and used in Nazi death camps. Zyklon-B- The gas used to kill Jews in the gas chamber at the death camps.

Crematoriums - furnaces where human bodies were burned

Death Marches- The marches imposed upon prisoners by the Nazis in order to keep them from liberation by the Allied forces.

Genocide: The deliberate and systematic destruction of a racial, political, cultural, or religious group. Final Solution: The Nazi plan to exterminate all of the Jews in Europe.

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