Night By Elie Wiesel

WORLD WAR II Genocide– The deliberate and systematic destruction of a racial, political, or cultural group. Holocaust—a thorough destruction involving extensive loss of life esp. by fire.

Definitions To Know: Adolf Hitler---”The Fuhrer,” dictator of Germany (Chancellor 1933, President—1934) a demagogue and tyrant who obtains power by appealing to the emotions and prejudices of the masses.                                   

Heinrich Himmler—The head of the SS                                              

Dr. Mengele: “The Angel of Death” a doctor who performed brutal, unnecessary experiments and operations upon prisoners

Aryan Race: The pure Germanic race, used by the Nazis to suggest a superior, non-Jewish Caucasian typified by height, blonde hair, blue eyes.

Third Reich: The Third Republic of Germany which began with Hitler’s rule in 1933 and ended with his defeat in 1945.

SS: “Schutz-Staffel” (literally defense echelon) established in 1929 as Hitler’s black shirted bodyguards. They became the elite guards of the Nazis trained in brutality and put in charge of the concentration camps.

Gestapo: The secret police organized in 1933 to uncover and undermine political oppositions.

Dachau: a concentration camp used as a model for the death camps.

Crematoriums

Door to the crematoriums

Disinfecting Chamber Doors

Unmarked graves of thousands

Shows where shooting took place

Where prisoners were executed by being shot in the neck.

Marker indicates the blood ditch at the execution site.

Execution wall in the woods near crematorium

The third grave of thousands of unknown victims

The fourth spot in the woods where ashes were buried

Front gates of Woman’s quarters Auschwitz: The largest death camp, located in Poland.                                                    

Marching of woman to work                                                         

Inside the Woman’s barracks          

Inside crematorium                                                                  

Men’s Barracks                                                                   

Prisoner Toliets                                            

Theresienstadt: The “model” concentration camp used to deceive the visiting International Red Cross Many artists were imprisoned here and later killed.

Adolf Eichmann: devised the plan for the Final Solution

The Final Solution The plan devised in 1941 to speed up the system of killing the Jews and “undesirables” The previous method of shooting and burying the dead was too “costly and inefficient.” This final method used an efficient system of gas chambers and crematories to kill the Jews. Six of these death camps were built and often were kept working around the clock, killing thousands per day.

The Selection Term used when the SS forced prisoners to line up for inspection and decided which prisoners would live and which would be killed.

The Horrors of the Holocaust

The End OR IS IT?