“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing”... ~Edmund Burke

The Holocaust Nazi Germany killed over 7 Million Jews in an attempt to wipe out the race.

Origins of Holocaust Anti-Semitism in Europe –Bubonic Plague –Inquisition –Russian Pogroms Germany’s loss in WWI Nazi Party Ideology –Racial Supremacy –Mein Kampf- My Struggle~Hitler

Events leading up to Holocaust Hitler becomes dictator in 1933 Jews are forbidden to work in certain professions (doctors, lawyers, bankers) Nuremberg Laws –Jews are forbidden to marry non-Jews –Citizenship is revoked Krystalnacht

The Anti-Jewish Boycott

Law and Justice- The Suspension of Democracy

Racial Policies

Nuremberg Laws September 15, 1935 Law for the protection of German Blood and German Honor “Marriages between Jews and subjects of German or kindred blood are forbidden…Jews are forbidden to fly the Reich and national flag…Whoever violates the prohibition…will be punished by penal servitude.”

Krystalnacht “Night of the Broken Glass” On November 9-10, 1938, the Nazis initiated a pogrom against Jews in retaliation for the assassination of Ernst vom Rath, a German diplomat, by Herschel Grynszpan.Nazi stormtroopers smash windows of Jewish businesses, loot stores, and burn synagogues.

Star of David

Deportations

First they came for the communists, and I did not speak out— because I was not a communist; Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a trade unionist; Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew; Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak out for me. ~Martin Neimoller, German Protestant Minister

Endlösung "Final Solution" (German) - The Nazi's program to kill every Jew in Europe.

Genocide Extermination of an entire people.

Key Conspirators Adolf Hitler- Dictator of Germany- The Third Reich Heinrich Himler- Head of the SS, Chief of the Gestapo Dr. Josef Mengele- “Angel of Death”- Performed medical experiments on prisoners Joseph Goebbels- Minister of Propoganda Adolf Eichmann- Responsible for coordinating the transport of prisoners across Europe to concentration camps

Zyklon B Hydrogen Cyanide (HCN) - The poison that was dropped in crystal form, through a small hole in the ceiling, into the gas chambers. The pellets turned into a lethal gas once in air. The first test using Zyklon B was on September 3, 1941 in Auschwitz. Previous to its use in gas chambers, Zyklon B was a common insecticide.

Arbeit Macht Frei "work makes one free" - A sign placed by Rudolf Höss over the gates of Auschwitz I.

Gates of Auschwitz

Barracks at Auschwitz

Exterior of the “camp”

Children at Auschwitz

Electrified Fences

The dead awaiting burial

Remains of gold teeth and fillings

Human hair ready for shipment

BergenBelsen: Human remains

BergenBelsen – Mass Grave

BergenBelsen- Bodies found in barracks

Buchenwald- Crematory Ovens

Buchenwald – Prisoners in Barracks

Mass executions in Russia

Mass Grave in Russia

Dachua – Death Train

Dachau – Death Train Interior.

Dachau – Remains of eyeglasses

Survivors - BergenBelsen

Survivors - Buchenwald

Survivors - Dachau

In their own words: “In spite of everything, I still believe that people are really good at heart”~ Anne Frank

“I swore never to be silent whenever and wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation. We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.” ~Elie Wiesel

Haim G. Ginott's quote from “Teacher and Child: A Book for Parents and Teachers” (Haim G. Ginott):“Teacher and Child: A Book for Parents and Teachers” (Haim G. Ginott) Dear Teachers: I am a survivor of a concentration camp. My eyes saw what no person should witness. Gas chambers built by learned engineers. Children poisoned by educated physicians. Infants killed by trained nurses. Women and babies shot and burned by high school and college graduates. So I am suspicious of education. My request is: help your students become more human. Your efforts must never produce learned monsters, skilled psychopaths, or educated Eichmanns. Reading, writing, and arithmetic are important only if they serve to make our children more human.

“There may be times when we are powerless to prevent injustice, but there must never be a time when we fail to protest.” ~Elie Wiesel

“The opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference.” ~Elie Wiesel