HISTORICAL CONTEXT When was it set? Where was it set? THE FIFTIETH GATE

Who has studied WWI and/or WWII? What do you know about the Holocaust?

End of WWI Germany is blamed for the war. Constitutional Monarchy ends.

Germany becomes a Republic- Weimar Republic. Cost of war- reparations, demilitarized, dignity, depression Weimar is associated with defeat- breeding ground for radical political figures and parties- Nazism Germany, in its desperate state was looking for a strong leader Adolf Hitler

WWII Hitler becomes Chancellor of Germany and immediately enforces his views and beliefs on the nation. Hitler wanted absolute control- totalitarianism; dictator. He convinced the Germans that they were superior and used this to wage WWII

Hitler’s political views: Hitler believed that the Aryan people and Germany was destined to rule the world. He also felt that democracy and workers’ rights would disrupt society. He thought Germans should have enough ‘lebensraum’/ ‘living space’ and that only people of German or Aryan blood should live in Germany. He believed that no non-Germans should have any say in Germany. He did not believe that Jews could be Germans. Hitler believed that communism was a huge threat to Germany and should be destroyed. He thought that communism was a Jewish invention and that was another reason why he hated the Jews. He also wanted to rid Germany of the mentally and physically disabled, because they were seen as imperfect and also a drain on the resources of the ‘master race’. Hitler wanted to create a generation of young Aryans who were physically fit and totally obedient. They would create a new Germany that would rule the world for a thousand years.

Anti-semitism Antisemitism is the term used when people are prejudiced against Jews just because they are Jewish. Antisemitism is a modern racial term that was invented in 1879 by a German journalist called Wilhelm Marr. However, anti- Jewish feelings are much older than that.

The Holocaust The Holocaust (Shoah) was a unique event in 20th century history. It evolved slowly between 1933 and It began with discrimination; where the Jews were separated from their communities and persecuted; and finally they were treated as less than human beings and murdered. During the Second World War the Nazis sought to murder the entire Jewish population of Europe and to destroy its culture. In 1941 there were about 11 million Jews living in Europe; by May 1945 the Nazis had murdered six million of them. One-and-a-half million of these were children. Whilst the Jews of Europe were the Nazis’ primary target, many millions of other people were also imprisoned, enslaved and murdered. These people included Roma, those with mental or physical disabilities, homosexuals, Jehovah's Witnesses, trade unionists, political opponents, Poles and Soviet prisoners of war. The Nazis did not act alone. They were supported and assisted by people from within the countries they occupied across Europe. Most countries stood by while the Nazis and their accomplices carried out the mass murder of the Jewish people.

Camps After Hitler came to power in 1931, his police force, the SS (Schutzstaffel) and the SA (Sturmabteilung) began rounding up political opponents, religious figures and anyone else who he thought would criticize the Nazi party. As prisoners were physically concentrated in one place the Nazis called these first camps concentration camps. Over the next 12 years, as they invaded and occupied lands all over Europe, the Nazis would build over 20,000 camps of various kinds. These included concentration camps, transit camps, forced labour or work camps and death camps.

Auschwitz The infamous gateway at Auschwitz 1 concentration camp. The sign reads; 'Work makes you free'.

Treblinka

Tombstones at Treblinka, today.

Words to know SS (Schutzstaffel)- formed as the Nazi protection squad. The Gestapo was one part of the SS SA (Sturmabteilung)- Gangs organized to protect Nazi rallies and terrorize people not sympathetic to the Nazis. Also called ‘Brownshirts’ due to the colour of their uniform. Einsatzgruppen- special duty troops of the SS’s security service and security police, were assigned to each of the German armies invading the Soviet Union. They rounded up the Jews and killed them. The Jews were loaded on trucks or marched to remote areas. They were machine gunned into natural ravines, antitank trenches or the mass graves they were ordered to dig.

Holocaust Denial There are many people who deny the Holocaust. How do we deal with claims such as these? How does our text assist with this?