Consequences of World War II THE HOLOCAUST Part 1 Objective: Analyze the consequences of World War II including the Holocaust and its impact.

Partner Question  1. Share what you know about the Holocaust.

History of the Holocaust  Hitler and the Nazis came to power in 1933  The Nazis claimed that the German people were a superior race called Aryans.  The Nazis looked down on non-Aryan people.  This group included Jews, Slavic peoples [Poles], and Gypsies [Roma].  They also felt that Catholics, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Communists, homosexuals, and people with physical or mental disorders were inferior to them.  Many of these people became victims of systematic, government- sponsored persecution and extermination.  The Nazis were most relentless toward the Jews.  Their murder of some 6 million Jews and 5 million other people is known as the Holocaust [close to 12 million].

Treaty of Versailles  Devastating defeat of WWI and Treaty of Versailles created the climate for the Holocaust  The humiliating terms of the Treaty of Versailles created resentment among the German people.  Hitler was able to use this resentment to his advantage by blaming Jews for Germany’s economic problems.  In Mein Kampf, he refers to Jews as parasites and warns that they will hurt the Aryan race: The mightiest counterpart to the Aryan is represented by the Jew.  When Hitler took power in 1933, he had his chance to turn his racial beliefs into government policy. ?

Partner Questions  2. What document caused resentment in Germany following WWI?  3. Who used this resentment to his advantage?  4. Who was blamed for all the problems of Germany?

Nuremberg Laws  The organized persecution of Jews in Nazi Germany began with the passage of the Nuremberg Laws in  One of these laws, “The Law for the Protection of German Blood and German Honor,” prohibited all marriages between Jews and German Christians.  “The Reich Citizenship Law” denied German citizenship to Jews.  Jews were reclassified as “nationals” and were banned from certain jobs.  Access to education was blocked, and property rights were taken away.  Eventually, all Jews were issued special identification cards and were required to wear a yellow star on their clothing to identify them in public.  Some German cities put up signs that said, “Jews Not Welcome.”

Partner Question  5. Describe the Nuremberg Laws in your own words.

Kristallnacht  Not surprisingly, violence against Jews soon followed these measures.  An incident November 7, 1938, set off a wave of violence.  A Jewish teenager living in Paris was upset that his family in Germany had been forced out of their home and deported to Poland.  The teenager went to the Germany embassy in Paris and shot a German official.  This official died two days later.  Joseph Goebbels, the German minister of propaganda, used the incident as an excuse to sanction violence against German Jews.

Kristallnacht  On November 9 and 10, 1938, the violence began.  German mobs roamed the streets of cities and towns, attacking Jewish-owned businesses and Jewish homes.  Windows were broken.  Shops were looted and property destroyed.  Jewish schools and cemeteries were vandalized.  Over 7,000 Jewish-owned businesses were destroyed.  Hundreds of Jews were beaten, and nearly 100 died in the violence.  Thousands were arrested and taken off to concentration camps.

Kristallnacht  The two-night campaign of violence against German Jews is now called Kristallnacht, which means “Night of Broken Glass.”  It was the beginning of ever-increasing violence against Jewish people.  Many historians consider Kristallnacht the beginning of the Holocaust.

Partner Questions  6. What does Kristallnacht mean?  7. Describe the Kristallnacht.

Kristallnacht  The German government blamed the Jews for starting the violence of Kristallnacht.  In retaliation, it issued a new set of restrictive laws against Jews in Germany and German-held territory.  Jews were required to turn over any gold or other precious metals to the government.  Jewish-owned jewelry, art, and stocks and bonds were subject confiscation at any time.  Driver’s licenses were suspended.  Jews were prohibited from owning weapons, carrier pigeons, or radios.  A nationwide curfew for Jews was established to keep them off the streets during nighttime hours.

Partner Questions  8. What is considered to be the beginning the Holocaust?  9. What was the response of the Nazi government to Kristallnacht?  10. How did the Nazi government attempt to suppress [keep out] information about Kristallnacht and other activities pertaining to the Jews treatment in Germany and German- held territories? [Limit Jewish Communication]

M. I. Libaue quoted in Never to Forget: The Jews of the Holocaust  All the things for which my parents had worked for eighteen long years were destroyed in less than ten minutes. Piles of valuable glasses, expensive furniture, linens- in short everything was destroyed….The Nazis left us yelling, “Don’t try to leave this house! We’ll soon be back again and take you to a concentration camp to be shot.” 1

Entry #24 5/16/14  What is your reaction [emotions, feelings] to Libau’s quote and the video? 2