What Was The Holocaust? The Holocaust was the systematic persecution & murder of approximately six million Jews by the Nazi regime and its collaborators. "Holocaust" is a word of Greek origin meaning "sacrifice by fire.”

What Was Adolph Hitler’s Role? He was influenced by antisemitic ideas (anti- Jew), and believed that some races were naturally superior to others. He used German’s resentment of the Versailles Treaty & widespread hatred of Jews to gain political support. Jews were used as scapegoats to explain away Germany’s problems and punished through economic & political means. Hitler’s perfect “Aryan” race: blonde hair, blue eyes, full German blood

Many Germans rallied behind the Nazis & Hitler. Hitler was seen as providing relief from Germany’s economic depression. Citizens wanted to believe the government’s promise to restore national pride after the humiliation of WWI. Spectators give the Nazi salute as they attend a rally in Nuremberg. September How Did Germans React To Hitler?

Germans read a poster affixed to a pillar in a busy Berlin street warning them not to buy from Jews. April How Did Attacks On Jews Begin? After Hitler became German chancellor, the Nuremburg Laws (1935) were passed: -Jews were segregated -Jewish citizenship was revoked -Intermarriage was outlawed -Jews were forced from their jobs & businesses

What Was Kristallnacht? November 9-10, 1938: The Night of Broken Glass Jewish homes, hospitals, and schools were damaged by anti-Semitic Germans. Over 1,000 synagogues were burned and thousands of Jewish businesses were destroyed or damaged. The destruction was followed by huge waves of deportations to ghettos & concentration camps.

Ghettoes (walled-off sections of cities) were used in German- controlled areas to contain Jews. Jews held there were used as forced labor for German businesses. Living conditions were impoverished & filthy. How Were Jews Treated? As the war progressed, it was no secret what would happen to the ghetto’s residents.

Concentration camps were set up across German- occupied Europe to hold huge numbers of Nazi- captured prisoners. Others were imprisoned in ghettoes, transit camps, forced-labor, and death camps. Prisoners stand at roll call at Buchenwald camp. 1938–1941. Where Were Jews Kept?

Nazis believed gypsies, Jehovah Witnesses, and physically/mentally disabled to be “racially inferior”, murdering hundreds of thousands. Jews remained their primary target. The Holocaust saw the loss of approximately 6 million Jews. Nazis spread hate-filled propaganda to justify their message of “Aryan purity”. What Groups Were Targeted By Nazis? Roma (Gypsy) prisoners in the Belzec forced-labor camp. Poland, Concentration camp badges bearing purple triangles worn by Jehovah’s Witnesses. 1940– 1945.

Nazis used poison gas to kill mentally handicapped patients, seen as “incurable”. Children & the elderly were often sent to gas chambers, as they offered no labor value to Nazi work camps. Hard labor in the camps led many to die of exhaustion, starvation, or illness. Firing squads were also common. How Were Victims Of The Holocaust Murdered?

Families fleeing the Nazis usually had to leave almost everything behind. Those arriving as prisoners to the camps were usually stripped of all belongings. Other inmates then sorted through the items for valuables and items that could be re-sold. Women inmates in Auschwitz sort through a huge pile of shoes from a transport of Hungarian Jews. May In What Ways Were Holocaust Victims Abused? Bales of hair shaven from women at Auschwitz, used to make felt-yarn. A stash of gold wedding rings taken from victims at Buchenwald

As the Allies closed in on Germany, the Nazis: -Ordered the bodies of the buried to be dug up & burned to destroy all traces -Began forced marches of prisoners to save their labor for the Reich & hide the crimes of the Nazi regime A view of concentration camp prisoners marching through a village while on a death march from Dachau to Wolfratshausen. How Did Nazis React As The War’s End Drew Near? Soviet POWs in 1943 exhuming bodies in the ravine at Babi Yar, where the Nazis had murdered over 33,000 Jews in September of 1941.

As Allied soldiers found & liberated Nazi concentration camps, they were astonished at the condition of prisoners. Most were starving, sick, and heartbroken. Many had no homes or families to return to. Rebuilding their lives was a long & difficult process. Many spent months/years in displaced persons camps, waiting to return to a place they could call home. Mauthausen camp survivors cheer American soldiers soon after their liberation. May What Happened To Victims Who Survived Until The War’s End?

Resistance

Jews living in the Warsaw ghetto created a record of their lives in the ghetto and buried it before they were deported to the camps. This was a form of spiritual resistance. There were others who chose armed resistance, avoiding capture and escaping to uninhabited areas to become partisans. They often led raids on Nazi troops, and in a sense, lived as bandits. One of the three milk cans which stored the “Oneg Shabbat” archives, chronicling the history of the Warsaw ghetto. How Did Those Victimized Get Their Story Heard? Jewish partisans in the forests of Lithuania. 1941–1944.

Some chose not to be passive bystanders, but to rescue those targeted by the Nazis, in spite of the danger to themselves. Their motivations varied from financial to moral. Less than ½ of 1% of Europeans were rescuers. What Role Did Non-Victims Play In The Holocaust?