1. Human Rights & World War 2

2. Indicates: to point out or Show
This political cartoon from 1941 indicates the foreign policy position of the United States in response to the
A. start of the League of Nations
B.  collapse of the global economy
C.  beginning of WWII
D.  spread of communism to Eastern Europe.

3. Warmup Question Please write a few sentences to answer this question.
Do you agree with the statement “All is fair in love & war?”
Are there rules (either formal or informal) about what a country can or cannot do during war?
Should we have them?

4. Geneva Convention We have some!
The Geneva Convention attempted to make international law for the humane (good, fair, safe) treatment of prisoners of war for all nations to follow
Convention: meeting
Prisoner-of-war (POW): a solider who is captured by the enemy but not killed during a war

5. Geneva Convention What does it say?
POWs must not be harmed and must be treated safely
POWs must only be required to give their name, rank, and ID card, no other info
POWs must be given their personal items during their capture
POWs must be given the same type of food, water, living arrangements, and transportation as the soldiers who capture them
A POW may try to escape and should not be harmed if he tries

6. Prisoners of War (POWs) in the Pacific
the forced moving of American and Filiphino prisonofs-of-war by the Japanese Army in 1942 after the battle of Baatan in the Phillipeans
Approximately 2,500–10,000 Filipino and 100–650 American prisoners of war died on the march
In the Bataan Death March, American POWs suffered brutal treatment by the Japanese after surrender of the Philippines.

7. Does this follow the Geneva Convention?
POWs were given very little food or water during the march. Some were killed for asking for water
Many POWs were killed or harmed for slowing down during the march or for other reasons
POWs were forced to ride in overcrowded trains that were so hot that many died
POWs were forced to sit in the hot sun

8. Prisoners of War (POWs) in Europe
Germany put POWs in camps that mostly followed the Geneva Convention
Life was boring and strict
Treatment was “fair”
It was expected that men would try to escape and if caught, they were usually punished but not harmed

10. Terms
genocide: The systematic and purposeful destruction of a racial, political, religious, or cultural group
final solution: Germany’s decision to exterminate all Jews
Holocaust: the genocide of approximately 6 million Jews (and 5 million other minorities) during World War II by Nazi Germany in German-held lands
Aryan race: the belief in Nazi Germany that Europeans of German heritage with certain characteristics (tall, blond hair, blue eyes, athletic) were better than all other races of people

11. Affected groups Jews (Not Aryan) Poles (Not Aryan) Slavs (Not Aryan)
Gypsies (Not Aryan)
“Undesirables” (homosexuals, the mentally ill, political dissidents)
Considered to be “imperfect Aryans”

12. SOL Question of the Day
The agreements that attempted to ensure the human treatment of prisoners of war was the
A. Treaty of Versailles
B. Atlantic Charter
C. Geneva Convention
D. Yalta Agreements

13. SOL Question of the Day
The agreements that attempted to ensure the humane treatment of prisoners of war was the
A. Treaty of Versailles
B. Atlantic Charter
C. Geneva Convention
D. Yalta Agreements

14. SOL Question of the Day
The agreements that attempted to ensure the humane treatment of prisoners of war was the
A. Treaty of Versailles
B. Atlantic Charter
C. Geneva Convention
D. Yalta Agreements
Ensure: to make (something) sure, certain, or safe

15. Jews
Who were they: a religious and ethnic minority that did not originally come from Germany
Why killed? Jews were already unpopular in Germany before the war and Hitler used their unpopularity to convince other Germans to blame the Jews for the problems Germany faced after WWI
How Many Killed? About 6 million

16. Poles and Slavs
Who were they: Peoples from Poland and Eastern European countries like Czechoslovakia, Russia, Ukraine, & Hungary
Why killed? Not considered Aryan, Germany didn’t want to deal with “lesser races”
How Many Killed? 3 million (Poles)
“All Poles will disappear from the world.... It is essential that the great German people should consider it as its major task to destroy all Poles.”   Heinrich Himmler

17. Gypsies
Who were they: nomadic peoples who roamed around Europe looking for work
Why killed? Considered racially inferior
How Many Killed? About 250, ,000

18. Mentally Ill & Disabled
Who were they: German Aryan people born with physically disabilities or mental problems
Why killed? Considered non-perfect Aryans and Nazi Germany did not want them to have children and make more non-perfect Aryans
How Many Killed? 275,000

19. Homosexuals Who were they: German men with homosexual lifestyles
Why killed? Considered non-perfect Aryans and unlikely to have Aryan children
How Many Killed? Unsure, 15,000 sent to camps
Germany tried to find a “cure” for homosexuality too

20. Nuremberg Trials After the War:
In the Nuremberg trials, Nazi leaders and others were convicted (proved guilty of) of war crimes (actions “against the rules” of war).
The Nuremberg trials punished Nazis even when they claimed to just be following orders
The trials led to increased demand for a Jewish homeland.