The Holocaust
The Holocaust (1933-1945) The Holocaust will begin when Hitler gains complete control of Germany in 1933 Goal: Remove “undesirables” from Germany and the rest of Europe 11,000, 000 people will be victims 6,000,000 Jews and 5,000,000 others)
Hitler and the Aryan Race Germans will be indoctrinated to believe that the Aryan race was racially superior and more “fit” to other groups Believed that the “undesirables” were polluting the Aryan race The goal was to “cleanse” population Idea stemmed from Eugenics (human race was degenerating)
The “Undesirables” Jews Gypsies Poles Mentally unfit Physically disabled Slavic people Communists
3 Phases Phase I Legal Persecution of the Jews Nuremberg Laws were passed in 1935-1938 Deprived German Jews of their rights of citizenship, giving them the status of "subjects” More laws will be issued that eventually deprived them of their basic human rights.
Nuremberg Laws (a few examples) Could not do the following: Own businesses Shop at Aryan businesses Go to school Could not work as a civil servant Marry an Aryan Work in a bank
Kristallnacht “The Night of Broken Glass” First organized violence against German Jews November 9, 1938 Retaliation for the killing of a German Embassy staff by 17 yr old Herschel Grynszpan Synagogues were burned, Jewish shops and homes were destroyed, German Jews were beaten by mobs of Brownshirts and S.S.
Synagogues were burned
Stores owned by German Jews were destroyed
Thousands of German Jews were arrested
Sent to Concentration Camps Established in order to provide protective custody for enemies of the state First concentration camp---Dachau (1933) Prisoners of concentration camps were used for manual labor First prisoners were communists and other political prisoners of Hitler
Life Within the Camps Prisoners were dehumanized Prisoners were divided and labeled based on their status (Jew, Pole, homosexual, political prisoner) Given a uniform and in some camps given a number
Prisoner 26,947 (Auschwitz Prisoner)
Entrance to Dachau
Dachau
Nazi Actions Between 1938-1939 Passports marked with a “J” All were to carry identity cards All Jews were ordered to change middle names to Sara or Israel 1939 --- All were instructed to wear Jewish Star on their clothing (Poland 1st)
Yellow Star
Phase II Ghettoization and Deportation 1939-1942 Purpose was to isolate Jews and create total confinement for the Jewish population Entire neighborhoods were turned into a prison for the Jewish Jews were deported from ghettoes to concentration camps
Ghettoes No schools for children Rations were limited Factories were built in ghettos or along walls Diseases spread quickly, close quarters Multiple families living in apartments
Ghetto Wall
Theresienstadt Terezin, Czechoslovakia Transit camp for Czech Jews Described through propaganda as a “spa town” for Jews to retire in safety Amid rumors of mass killings and conditions in ghettoes the Red Cross permitted to visit in June 1944 Staged for the visit
Phase III The Final Solution 1941-1945 Purpose: Liquidate the Jewish population in Nazi jurisdiction The Final Solution will be organized by S.S. commander Heinrich Himmler
Heinrich Himmler
The Final Solution Deportation of Jews to killing centers Immediate death for those unable to work Segregation by gender of remaining Jews Decimation through forced labor with insufficient nourishment Eventual death for all
Deportation Trains were used for transporting of Jews and undesirables to concentration and death camps. Trains were referred to as cattle cars—over 100 people in a space meant for less than 50 Jews were forced to purchase a one-way resettlement ticket for the trains
Transports
How would the Final Solution be carried out? Construction of Death Camps All camps will be located in Poland (occupied during WWI by Germany) Sobibor, Belzec, Treblinka, Majdanek, Chelmo, Auschwitz-Birkenau All camps were constructed with gas chambers Gassed using Zyklon B gas
Auschwitz
Resistance Armed Resistance in ghettos and camps -Warsaw Ghetto uprising Spiritual Resistance (continued to practice customs Escaped and hid Righteous Gentiles-non-Jews who gave aid to Jews