השואה

The Holocaust Term generally used to describe the genocide of approximately 6 million European Jews during World War II, as part of a program of deliberate extermination planned and executed by the Nazi Party

The Holocaust Inclusion of other groups brings the total to 9-11 million Other groups targeted: Roma (Gypsies) Poles, Russians, Czechs, etc. Religious & Political opponents Homosexuals Disabled (mental & physical)

At the time of Hitler’s rise to power, 9 million Jews lived in Europe Nazi Anti-Semitism At the time of Hitler’s rise to power, 9 million Jews lived in Europe Hitler blamed Jews for Germany’s problems Promoted belief of racial superiority of German people (Mein Kampf) No factual basis for anti-Semitism No factual basis for claims about “master race” Many Germans found Hitler’s twisted vision appealing Germans had suffered through World War I Humiliation of Treaty of Versailles Economic crises of 1920s and 1930s Jews were a convenient scapegoat

Anti-Semitism "Germans! Protect yourselves! Do not buy from Jewish stores" These posters posted by Nazis often spread messages that encouraged the Germans to boycott Jewish businesses.

Anti-Semitic Cartoons

Der Stürmer Julius Streicher The Experience of Hans and Else with a Strange Man: "Here, kids, I have some candy for you. But you both have to come with me..." How to Tell a Jew: "The Jewish nose is bent. It looks like the number six..."

Legal & Social Discrimination Germany 1930s April 4, 1933 (Aryanization) “Non-Aryans” removed from government jobs 1935 Nuremberg Laws Removed Jews of German citizenship Deprived Jews of jobs and property Forbid marriage between Jews and non Jews Jews over six years old forced to wear the yellow Star of David

Kristallnacht Night of Broken Glass November 9, 1938 Herschel Grynszpan (Jewish youth) shot an employee of the German Embassy in Paris to avenge his father's deportation Nazi leaders launched a violent attack on Jewish community. Nazis murdered around 100 Jews. Nazis destroyed Jewish homes, businesses, and synagogues.

Jewish Emigration After "Kristallnacht" many Jews were still living in Germany and in the lands that Hitler took control of. To solve this "Jewish Problem", Hitler took a powerful action by forcing Jews into emigration. The Central Office for Jewish Emigration was established by the high-ranking Nazi Adolf Eichmann; this office pressured and forced Jews to emigrate from Nazi Germany. Since the number of Jewish refugees were increasing rapidly in countries that accepted the Jews, it created a problem. Nations stop taking refugees

The Plight of Jewish Refugees “We all want to get ride of our Jews. The difficulty is that no country wishes to receive them.” German Foreign Minister 1938 France, Great Britain, Latin America, United States Issues Strict Immigration Laws Scarce Jobs Fear of enemy agents ANTI – SEMITISM!!

Emigration outlawed in 1941

Concentration Camps The term concentration camp refers to a camp in which people are detained or confined usually under harsh conditions without regard to legal norms of arrest and imprisonment

Einsatzgruppen Mobile killing units of squads composed primarily of German SS and police personnel Their task was the murder of those perceived to be racial or political enemies found behind German combat lines in the occupied Soviet Union

Einsatzgruppen Shooting was the most common form of killing Heinrich Himmler Noting the psychological burden that mass shootings produced on his men, requested that a more convenient mode of killing be developed Gas Van Mobile gas chamber which employed carbon monoxide from the truck's exhaust to kill its victims.

Ghettos Term originated from the name of the Jewish quarter in Venice, established in 1516, in which the Venetian authorities compelled the city's Jews to live Hitler put his second plan of solving "the Jewish problem" into action. Polish Ghettos Caged in by wire and stone walls Many people died of hunger and sickness Many made everyday life as pleasant and normal as possible

The Final Solution Die Endlösung Wannsee Conference January 20, 1942 15 high-ranking Nazi party and German government officials gathered at a villa in the Berlin suburb discuss and coordinate the implementation of the "Final Solution" The Nazis' code name for the deliberate, carefully planned destruction of European Jewry No one objected.

The Final Solution Concentration Camps Problem Overwork Starvation Beatings Bullets Did not kill fast enough to satisfy the Nazis Solution Six Polish death camps with gas chambers Could kill 6,000 daily What happened to all the bodies?

Heinrich Himmler Reinhard Heydrich

Liberation

Why did non-Jews risk their lives to save Jews? religious beliefs and humanitarian concerns resistance against the Nazis regardless of feelings about the Jews payment provided by Jews who were hidden

Why did people not help the Jews? anti-Semitism fear of reprisals didn't want to get involved in the problems of others

Why governments got involved? public pressure from the world community humanitarian concerns

Why did governments refuse to get involved? did not believe the Holocaust was occurring had leaders which were anti-Semitic did not feel saving Jews would have any benefit to the war effort felt that all war efforts to defeat the Germans would be the best response to stopping German atrocities against the Jews

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