THE HOLOCAUST Chapter 13 Section 3

THE HOLOCAUST NAZI PERSECUTION OF THE JEWS Main Idea Nazi laws stripped Jews of citizenship and all fundamental rights; immigration restrictions in other countries made leave Germany difficult

NAZI PERSCUTION OF THE JEWS During the Holocaust, the Nazis killed nearly 6 million European Jews Also killed millions of other people considered inferior Name of Holocaust in Hebrew = “Shoah” Means catastrophe but used specifically for Holocaust.

NAZI PERSCUTION OF THE JEWS The Nuremberg Laws Nazi’s persecuted anyone who opposed them and others considered inferior Disabled, Gypsies, homosexuals, and Slavic people BUT reserved strongest hatred for Jews. Went beyond Europe Anti-Semitism at the time Jews had always been discriminated against (lived in Ghettos etc.) When Nazi’s took power established the “Nuremberg Laws”

NAZI PERSCUTION OF THE JEWS The Nuremberg Laws Took away citizenship from Jewish Germans Banned marriage between Jews and other Germans Declared that a Jewish person was someone with at least 1 Jewish grandparent By summer of 1936, Half of German’s Jews were jobless 1938 Jews could not work as lawyers, doctors and own businesses

NAZI PERSCUTION OF THE JEWS Many Jews chose to remain in Germany during early years of Nazi Rule They felt well integrated into German society and did not want to have to rebuild lives in a new country Many also felt that conditions would improve after time

NAZI PERSCUTION OF THE JEWS Kristallnacht November 7 1938 a Jewish refugee named Herschel Grynszpan shot and killed a German diplomat in Paris Hitler was infuriated and order minister of propaganda, Joseph Goebbels to stage attacks against the Jews Wanted it to seem like a spontaneous reaction to the murder November 9th was a spree of destruction of Jewish homes and businesses

NAZI PERSCUTION OF THE JEWS Violence against Jews in Germany and Austria became known as Kirstallnacht (Night of Broken glass) Broken glass littered the street afterwards The next morning 90 Jews were dead hundreds badly injured and thousands more terrorized Police were forbidden to interfere while 7,500 Jewish businesses and hundreds of synagogues were destroyed

NAZI PERSCUTION OF THE JEWS Lawlessness of Kristallnacht persisted and the “Gestapo” (gov’t secret police) arrested 30,000 Jewish men Were only released if they agreed to emigrate and surrender all their possessions State also confiscated insurance payments owed to Jewish business owners

NAZI PERSCUTION OF THE JEWS Jewish Refugees try to Flee Kristallnacht marked significant escalation of Nazi persecution against the Jews Many Jews decided it time to flee to the United States At beginning of WWII in 1939, 350,000 Jews escaped Nazi-controlled Germany. Immigrants included prominent scientists (Albert Einstein) and business owners like Otto Frank (went to Amsterdam) Daughter Ann Frank kept diary of family’s life in hiding after German occupation of Netherlands

NAZI PERSCUTION OF THE JEWS Limits on Jewish Immigration 1939 American consulate in Germany had more than 100,000 visa applications from Jews trying to get To US After Anschluss 3,000 Austrian Jews applied for American Visa’s each day MOST never received Visas to US or other countries where they applied Millions remained trapped in Nazi controlled Europe

NAZI PERSCUTION OF THE JEWS Reasons for Limits In the US Nazi law only allowed Jews to take $4 with them when leaving, but US law forbade granting Visa to another likely to become “Public Charge” Assumed this applied to Jews b/c had to leave things behind High unemployment in 1930s made immigration unpopular and American’s didn’t want to raise quotas Quota only 150,000 immigrants annually, no exceptions for refugees or victims of persecution American’s also held Anti-Semitic attitudes

NAZI PERSCUTION OF THE JEWS International Response International conference on refugees, other European and Latin American countries agreed with US about not raising quota’s for Germany’s Jews. Hitler and Nazi propaganda wanted Jews out Many left on boats headed to Latin America/USA with forged Visas and were turned away

NAZI PERSCUTION OF THE JEWS The St. Louis Affair May 27th 1939 SS St. Louis entered harbor in Havana Cuba with 930 Jewish refugees Most wanted to go to the United States but had certificates to land in Cuba (were not correct certificates/forged) When arrived, Cuba revoked certificates and refused to let refugees come ashore Ship circled off Florida waited to get permission to land in US but it never came. Ship returned to Europe and Jews dispersed between France, Holland, Belgium and Great Britain… All but Britain came under Nazi rule within the next 2 years

THE HOLOCAUST THE FINAL SOLUTION Main Idea Nazi atrocities included sending millions of Jews, Gypsies, Slavs, the disabled and others to concentration camps and extermination camps

THE FINAL SOLUTION “Wannsee Conference” January 20th 1942, Nazi leaders met to determine the “final solution to Jewish question” Previous solutions Rounding up Jews and others and shooting them then putting in mass graves Forced into trucks and piped in exhaust fumes to kill them Found previous solutions slow and inefficient for Nazis

THE FINAL SOLUTION At conference, planned to round up Jews and take them to detention centers Aka: “concentration camps” Would world as slave laborers until died of malnutrition, exhaustion or disease Others (elderly, infirm and young children) were taken to “extermination camps” Attached to concentration camps (mass gas chambers)

THE FINAL SOLUTION Concentration Camps First concentration camp in 1933 to jail political opponents. After war began, built camps throughout Europe Buchenwald – one of the largest concentration camps, built near Weimar Germany 1937 200,000 prisoners worked 12 hour shifts as slave laborers in factories near by Did not have gas chamber but hundreds died every month When American’s finally saw camp, saw 150 people crammed into a room meant to hold 50

THE FINAL SOLUTION Extermination Camps After Wannsee Conference, built extermination facilities in concentration camps Was a way to kill Jews more efficiently Camps with extermination facilities included Auschwitz and Trebinka and Jews were main victims Gas chambers built to kill 2,000 people at a time sometimes killed 12,000 a day Of 1,600,000 who died at Auschwitz, 1,300,000 were Jews

THE FINAL SOLUTION Auschwitz When arrived healthy prisoners would be selected for slave labor Elderly, disabled, mothers and children went directly to gas chambers Bodies were then burned in giant crematoriums In only a few years the Jewish culture (which had been in Europe for over 1,000 years) was virtually obliterated by Nazis in a few years Still a big debate about why and how the Holocaust occurred (number of factors)

REVIEW QUESTIONS Why did many Jews stay in Germany even though they were persecuted? How did Hitler try to exterminate Europe’s Jewish population? What early steps did Germany take in persecution of Jewish people? What was the purpose of the Wannsee Conference? What was Kristallnacht? Explain what happened in the St. Louis Affair.