Activator: K-W-L Chart INSTRUCTIONS: Create a K-W-L Chart on the topic of the Holocaust on your own piece of paper. Next, fill in the “What I Know” and “What I Want to Know” columns. Be prepared to share with the class. The Holocaust

The Who, What, When, Where, Why and How

Holocaust: Defined ▪ The word “Holocaust” comes from the Greek word “holokauston,” which means a destruction caused by fire or a burned sacrifice. ▪ Historically, the term “Holocaust” refers to a specific event in the twentieth century, which was a government-sponsored, systematic persecution and annihilation of European Jewry by Nazi Germany and its collaborators between

How it Started ▪ After World War I ended in 1918, Germany was severely punished for its aggression during the war. ▪ Germany fought on the side of the Central Powers and lost to the Allies. ▪ The Treaty of Versailles so severely punished Germany, that the country couldn’t recover financially after the war. ▪ Military and political leaders of Germany blamed Germany’s struggles on liberal politicians, Communists, and Jews.

How it Started, cont. ▪ The National Socialist German Workers (NAZI) Party adopted a conservative ideology. Hitler joined in 1919, and was appointed Chancellor of Germany in ▪ Eventually, the Nazis merged Fascism with anti- Semitism. ▪ Fascists believed that only the strongest race would survive, giving the Nazis the idea of supremacy over the Jewish. ▪ Anti-Semitism is prejudice, hostility and discrimination against the Jews.

The Targets of the Nazis ▪ Some people were undesirable by Nazi standards, whether it be because of their genetic or cultural origins, health conditions, political or religious views, or lifestyle choices. ▪ Those who met Nazi standards were known as Aryans. They were said to have “pure” German blood. ▪ Below are some examples of those the Nazis targeted: ▪ Jews, Gypsies, Poles and other Slavs. ▪ People with physical or mental disabilities ▪ Jehovah's Witnesses ▪ Homosexuals ▪ Communists, Socialists, and other political enemies

A Four Phase Operation ▪ Phase 1 ( ): ▪ Regulation and Isolation of German Jews ▪ Phase 2 ( ): ▪ Totalitarian regulation of Polish Jews ▪ Phase 3 ( ) ▪ Direct killing by Einsatzgruppen in USSR ▪ Phase 4 ( ): ▪ Bureaucratic killing across occupied Europe

Phase 1 in 1933 ▪ February 1933 ▪ The Sturmabteilung (SA)/Schutzstaffel (SS) police began to enforce the Nazi laws. ▪ March 1933 ▪ Concentration camps begin opening throughout Germany. ▪ The Enabling Act is passed, giving Hitler absolute power. ▪ April 1933 ▪ Nazis begin to boycott Jewish businesses. ▪ Non-Aryans are prohibited from holding positions as teachers, government officials, etc. ▪ The number of Jewish students permitted to attend German public schools is limited. ▪ The secret state police (Gestapo) was created. ▪ May 1933 ▪ Mass amounts of “non-German” books are burned. ▪ July 1933 ▪ Political parties are outlawed. ▪ September 1933 ▪ Jews are prohibited from land ownership. ▪ October 1933 ▪ Editorial Law passed which enabled the Nazis to censor the press and publications.

Phase 1 in 1934 and 1935 ▪ June 30, 1934-July 2, 1934 ▪ “Night of the Long Knives”—series of political assassinations were carried out in order to eliminate those against the Nazi party. ▪ August 1934 ▪ Hitler becomes Führer of Germany, basically making him a dictator. ▪ 1935 ▪ The Nuremberg Laws ▪ The Reich Citizenship Law ▪ Only Germans or those with “German” blood (“Aryans”) could be citizens of the Reich. ▪ The Law for the Protection of German Blood and Honor ▪ Ex: Prohibited marriages and extramarital affairs between Jews and “Aryans”

Phase 1 from ▪ November 1937 ▪ A travelling exhibition called External Jew Exhibit promoted stereotypes of Jews and Nazi perceptions of their danger to the world. ▪ Kristallnacht, also known as the “Night of Broken Glass,” occurs. These were deadly attacks by the SA on Jews, including their homes, businesses, etc. ▪ December 1938 ▪ All Jewish owned businesses are taken over. ▪ March 1939 ▪ Nazis invade Czechoslovakia. ▪ September 1939 ▪ Nazis invade Poland. ▪ England and France declare war on Germany. ▪ Soviet troops invade eastern Poland.

Phase 2 ▪ September 21, 1939 ▪ Heinrich Heydrich, the leader of the Gestapo and SS, orders “Ghettoization” of Polish Jews. ▪ Ghettos were sections of a city where Jews were forced to live, separate from all others. ▪ Throughout 1939, Polish Jews are subjected to the same systematic treatment that German Jews had previously.

Phase 3 ▪ June - December 1941 ▪ Germans invade USSR. ▪ July 2, 1941 ▪ Heydrich issues guidelines on executions by Einsatzgruppen in USSR. ▪ Einsatzgruppen were squadrons responsible for mass killings of Jews, typically by shooting. ▪ September 3, 1941 ▪ Zyklon-B, a type of cyanide gas, is used as agent of mass killing for the first time. It is used on Soviet prisoners of war. ▪ December 8, 1941 ▪ Chelmno Death Camp opened with the sole purpose of exterminating Jews.

Phase 4 ▪ January 1942 ▪ Killing of Jews at Auschwitz Birkenau using Zyklon-B. ▪ March 1942 ▪ Belzec Death Camp becomes operational. ▪ March 24, 1942 ▪ Slovak Jews to Auschwitz. ▪ March 27, 1942 ▪ French Jews to Auschwitz.

Concentration Camps ▪ A concentration camp is a place where large numbers of people, especially political prisoners or members of persecuted minorities, are deliberately imprisoned in a relatively small area with inadequate facilities, sometimes to provide forced labor or to await mass execution. ▪ Well-known concentration camps ▪ Auschwitz ▪ The most infamous of all concentration camps. ▪ Buchenwald ▪ Second largest concentration camp; mostly a work camp. ▪ Dachau ▪ First concentration camp built, but the smallest; originally built to house political prisoners.

Concentration Camp Liberation ▪ Beginning in early 1945, as they marched through German territories, the Allied troops liberated the Jews who were still alive in the concentration camps. ▪ The Soviet and American forces who encountered these camps were appalled at what they found—millions dead and thousands starving.

Summarizer: K-W-L Chart INSTRUCTIONS: Finish your K-W-L Chart on the topic of the Holocaust by filling in the “What I Learned” column. The Holocaust