“The Final Solution to the Jewish Question”

Bellwork:  In your own words, define the word Holocaust.  Make a list of words, phrases, names, etc. associated with the Holocaust.

Holocaust  Name given to the mass slaughter of Jews and other groups by the Nazis during World War II.  The extermination of over 6 million Jews.  More than 5 million others were victims of various methods of execution.

Causes for this Atrocity  European Anti- Semitism  Mein Kampf  Living Space  Blamed for loss in WWI

The Early Stages  Nuremburg Laws  Kristallnacht  Executions of European prisoners of war

The Nuremberg Laws  Enacted Sept  Laws identifying Jews and restricting many of their basic rights.  Banned interracial marriages, holding public office, and voting  Labeling by yellow star or red J on passports  Several other conditions  More are added throughout the reign of Hitler

Kristallnacht  The Night of Broken Glass – Nov. 9, 1938  A German Jewish refugee shot a German diplomat in Paris (Nov. 7, 1938)  Initiated by Joseph Goebbels for retaliation  The Gestapo (government’s secret police) arrested over 20,000 wealthy Jews

Kristallnacht  Jewish possessions were confiscated and over 7,500 businesses destroyed.  Over 90 Jews died and hundreds were injured.

Refugees Attempt to Flee  Over 350,000 German Jews escaped Germany  Many were denied entrance into new homes due to several factors.  US immigration policy allowed a limit of 150,000, but there were fixed quota from each country.  Many fake visas were sold. When Jews arrived in a new county, they were denied. SS St. Louis (1939) is a great example.

Notable People Associated with the Holocaust  Rudolf Hoss  Josef Mengele (Angel of Death)  Anne Frank  Ellie Wiesel  Heinrich Himmler  Albert Einstein

Holocaust Figures Descriptive Paragraphs Assignment  Choose 3 of the following notable Holocaust figures to research and write a descriptive paragraph.  Writing should consist of at least 4 solid sentences, explanation of who this person is, and why they are a significant figure concerning this horrific event.  Topics: Ellie Wiesel, Heinrich Himmler, Rudolf Hoss, Anne Frank, and Josef Mengele.

The Answer to the Problem  January 20, 1942 the Wannsee Conference was a meeting of Nazi leaders to solve the Jewish problem  1 st solution: send Jews and other undesirables to eastern Europe to build roads and who didn’t die due to the labor would be eliminated.  2 nd solution: Extermination camps – camps usually attached to concentration camps primarily for execution.

Concentration and Death Camps  Concentration camps: locations designed to retain groups of people for various reasons during the Holocaust.  1 st established in 1933 for political opponents  After Hitler began acquiring various lands such as Poland, concentration camps were built in many conquered areas.  Auschwitz was the most well known camps. It housed over 100,000 people in 300 barracks. An estimated 1.6 million people died there.

Characteristics of a Concentration Camp  Fences, guards, barracks, dead bodies, striped uniforms, etc.

Liberation  By late 1944, the Soviets and US/GB were collapsing on Germany.  In order to dispose of some evidence of their actions, many camps were mostly evacuated and prisoners were forced on death marches which killed a great number of people.  In early 1945, the Allies began liberating camps.  Many of the survivors were placed in displaced persons camps

Punishment and Assurance  War crimes and crimes of against humanity were tried in the Nuremburg Trials.  The International Criminal Court was not established until 2002 in response to the ethnic cleansing in Yugoslavia.

Holocaust Wrap-Up Storyboard  Create a 6 panel storyboard concerning the Holocaust.  Each panel must consist of both Illustration and TEXT.  Storyboard must be colored and turned in on time.