The Holocaust World War Two

Genocide The word "genocide" only came into existence after the Second World War. Definition: “the deliberate and systematic destruction of a racial, religious, national or ethnic group”. genocide has been practiced throughout the history of the world

Examples of Genocide The devastation of the native peoples of the New World The Armenian people during WWI, approx. 1.5 million

Examples of Genocide Rwandan Genocide in 1994 was the murder of 937,000 people Bosnia in 1992-1995 resulted in the death of 200,000 people

Genocide during WWII Adolf Hitler writes Mein Kampf in 1926 outlining his hatred of Jews In 1934 Adolf Hitler become Fuhrer of Germany

Anti- Semitism In 1934 the German Congress passes laws that redefine German Jews as non-citizens and ban Jews from any political participation Public sale of Jewish newspapers is banned

Nazi Treatment of Jews In 1938, Jews are forbidden to attend plays, movies, concerts; German schools and universities Curfews are placed on Jews In January 1939, all Jews had to carry a special identification card

Nazi Laws A criminal offence for a Jewish person to use public transportation, keep pets, visit a barber shop, possess electrical appliances or any woolen or fur clothing All Jewish people must wear a Jewish star on the left breast of clothing Jews are prohibited from leaving their residential areas

Jewish Ghetto In Warsaw, Poland, Nazi’s placed all Jews of the city into an enclosed ghetto surrounded by an 8- foot wall

Nazi Concentration Camps The first of many Nazi concentration camps is opened at Danchau in 1933 Used to incarcerate thousands of political opponents of the regime.

Nazi’s begin deportation of German Jews to Concentration Camps

The Final Solution The extermination of all European Jews Begins the mass deportations of Jews from all over Nazi occupied Europe in 1942 To extermination camps in Poland

Extermination Camps Also known as Death Camps that commit genocide Nazi’s open camps with sole purpose of killing the Jews of Europe Other groups whom the Nazis wished to exterminate, such as Roma (Gypsies) and Soviet prisoners of war, as well as many Poles and others, were also killed in these camps.

Map of Nazi Death Camps

Auschwitz- Birkenau The largest Nazi Extermination Camp

Gas Chambers When lead to the gas chamber (a small one is seen here), the Jews believed they were being led to the showers.  Soap was even distributed, and the gas chamber fitted with (nonfunctioning) showerheads, all in the interest of realism.

Crematoriums Once the Jews and other prisoners were murdered in the gas chambers, the bodies were brought to the attached crematorium where the bodies would be burned.  Often, the capacity of the crematorium could not keep up with the number of people being murdered in the gas chamber, in which event bodies were thrown into huge piles and burned outdoors.

Total Deaths at Auschwitz- Birkenau 1.1 to 1.6 million Jews

Total Deaths from Nazi Genocidal Policies European Jews: 5,600,000 to 6,250,000 Soviet prisoners of war: 3,000,000 Polish Catholics: 3,000,000 Serbians: 700,000 (Croat Ustasa persecution) Roma, Sinti, and Lalleri: 222,000 to 250,000 Germans (political, religious, and Resistance): 80,000 Germans(handicapped): 70,000 Homosexuals: 12,000 Jehovah’s Witnesses: 2500