The Holocaust The Holocaust ____________________________________________________ According to the USHMM, the Holocaust was the systematic, bureaucratic, and state-sponsored persecution and murder of approximately six million Jews by the Nazi regime and its collaborators. Systematic Bureaucratic The Holocaust The Holocaust ______________________________________________________________ State-Sponsored

D EPORTATIONS __________________________________________________________________________

Methods _____________________________________ “The Nazis used deportation by train to forcibly remove members of ethnic groups from the territory on which they lived. They intended to remove all Jews from Europe, eventually through systematic mass murder.” Quote and photograph courtesy of

European Rail System __________________________________________________________________________________ “The Germans used rail systems across the continent to transport Jews to eastern Europe…. [and] at the Wannsee Conference on January 20, 1942, held near Berlin, German SS and state officials met to coordinate the deportation of European Jews to extermination camps…” Reinhard Heydrich, chief of the SD (Security Service) Quote and photographs courtesy of

European Rail System ___________________________________________________________________________________ Elie Wiesel & family Courtesy of

Connection to Night ___________________________________________________________________________ “... But one glance at my father’s face left no doubt. ‘The news is terrible,’ he said at last. And then one word: ‘Transports.’ The ghetto was to be liquidated entirely. Departures were to take place street by street, starting the next day” (Wiesel 13). Deportation of Jews. Koszeg, Hungary — July Photograph courtesy of

Coordinating Deportations _______________________________________________________________________________________________ “Deportations on this scale required the coordination of numerous German government agencies including the Reich Security Main Office (RSHA), the Main Office of the Order Police, the Ministry of Transportation, and the Foreign Office.” Quote and photograph courtesy of SystematicBureaucratic State-Sponsored

Attempts to Disguise _______________________________________________________________________________ “The Germans attempted to disguise their intentions. They sought to portray the deportations as a ‘resettlement’ of the Jewish population to labor camps in the ‘East’…” Quote and photograph courtesy of What Does That Mean? _______________________________________________________________________________ “...[but] in reality, the ‘resettlement’ to the East, was a euphemism for transportation to the extermination camps and mass murder.” Euphemisms Are Not Reality __________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Connection to Night ___________________________________________________________________________ “‘Where will they take us?’ That was a secret…. ‘There are rumors,’ my father said, his voice breaking, ‘that we are being taken somewhere in Hungary to work in the brick factories’” (Wiesel 13-14). Photograph courtesy of Brick factory in Ciglana, Croatia

What the Jews Took With Them ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Here, Jews assemble on the street with their bundles. Notice the bundles the people are carrying — now notice the pack on the child’s back (similar to Tzipora in Night). Jews carrying suitcases and baskets are rounded-up for deportation from a city in Serbia. Here, these men and women carry luggage, baskets, and clothing. Photographs courtesy of

Connection to Night ___________________________________________________________________________ “‘Each of us will be allowed to bring his personal belongings. A backpack, some food, a few items of clothing. Nothing else’” (Wiesel 14). Photograph courtesy of Notice the bags on their backs

Railcars from USHMM ____________________________________________________________________________________ Preserved railcar — USHMM, Washington, D.C. Railcar interior — notice the windows USHMM, Washington, D.C.

Conditions on the Trains ____________________________________________________________________________________________ “The Germans used both freight and passenger cars for the deportations. The deportees were usually not given food or water for the journey, even when they had to wait for days on railroad spurs for other trains to pass. Those packed in sealed freight cars suffered from overcrowding. They endured intense heat during the summer and freezing temperatures during the winter. Aside from a bucket, there was no sanitary facility. The stench of urine and excrement added to the humiliation and suffering of the deportees. Lacking food and water, many of the deportees died before the trains reached their destinations. The transports were accompanied by armed police guards who had orders to shoot anyone who tried to escape.” Quote courtesy of

Conditions on the Trains ____________________________________________________________________________________________ Jews board a passenger train during a deportation action in the Lodz ghetto while under SS observation. A member of the German SS supervises the boarding of Jews onto a freight train during a deportation action in the Krakow ghetto.

Connection to Night ___________________________________________________________________________ “The Hungarian police made us climb into the cars, eighty persons in each one[, and] two Gestapo officers strolled down the length of the platform. They were all smiles [because] it had gone very smoothly” (Wiesel 22). Photograph courtesy of

More Connection to Night ______________________________________________________________________________________________ “Lying down was not an option, nor could we all sit down…. There was little air … [and] after two days of travel, thirst became intolerable, as did the heat” (Wiesel 23). “We had fallen into the trap, up to our necks. The doors were nailed, the way back irrevocably cut off. The world had become a hermetically sealed cattle car” (Wiesel 24).

Next Lesson… _________________________________________________________________________________ View of the entrance to the main camp of Auschwitz (Auschwitz I). The gate bears the motto “Arbeit Macht Frei” (“Work Makes You Free”). Main entrance — Auschwitz-Birkenau extermination camp. Photographs courtesy of (What does the opening remind you of?) Auschwitz