The Holocaust

Then they came for the Jews, I did not speak out; I was not a Jew. When the Nazis came for the communists, I remained silent; I was not a communist. Then they locked up the social democrats, I remained silent; I was not a social democrat. Then they came for the trade unionists, I did not speak out; I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews, I did not speak out; I was not a Jew. When they came for me, there was no one left to speak out for me.

1933 Nazis open first concentration camp-Dachau. Nazis boycott Jewish businesses, Gestapo is created. Nazis decree a non-Aryan as “anyone descended from non-Aryan, especially Jewish, parents or grandparents. One parent or grandparent classifies the descendant as non-Aryan...especially if one parent or grandparent was of the Jewish faith”.

Nuremberg Laws-1935 Called “The Law for the Protection of German Blood and German Honor” Stripped Jewish people of German citizenship Jews could not marry “aryans”

Kristallnacht 1936-1938- Laws continue to pass stripping Jewish people and other enemies of “the Reich” of basic human rights November 9, 1938- Kristallnacht “Night of Broken Glass”

The Ghettos Jewish people in occupied Nazi territory are rounded up and forced into enclosed areas Prisoners in the ghettos were then shipped by cattle car to the camps

The Final Solution Einsatzgruppe- Nazi mobile killing squads, killed enemies of the state encountered as Germany conquered territory Nazi officials decide to use concentration camps as a systematic killing facility

Final Solution (cont’d) Auschwitz Treblinka Bergen-Belsen Dachau

Hiding the evidence As the Allies advance on German positions, Nazi officials force the prisoners to march away from the camps Nazis order the destruction of “evidence”, prisoners, papers, etc.

Effects Largest recorded “official” genocide in history. More than 15 million people killed. 6 million of the victims are Jewish. 50% of the pre-war population in Europe. Others targeted – Roma (gypsies), mentally and physically handicapped, Slavic people, any other “undesirable” ethnic group, political and religious leaders, and other religious minorities. Nuremberg Trials Creation of Israel Nazi Hunters