1. Holocaust History Power Point #2
Life Under Nazi Rule
Holocaust History
Power Point #2

2. Nazi Beliefs
(1) Germany had lost World War I because Jews and Communists undermined morale
(2) They were racists who believed inferior races threatened the Volk’s blood line
(3) Jews were not German; they were only “guests”
(4) The feeble-minded and deformed must be prevented from producing more of their kind
(5) Traditional religious teaching about duty to God and brotherhood weakened the nation

3. Defining Who was Jewish
The Nazi newspaper Der Sturmer (The Attacker) reported stereotypes of Jews such as: they were repulsive, fat men who tried to lure Aryan children into their cars; rich bankers, traitors, and trade union leaders
Jews dressed, looked, and acted like any other German
This similarity caused a problem for the Nazis in deciding who was Jewish

4. Worked out the complicated formula in The Nuremberg Laws of 1935
In the early days, Nazis were not sure how to solve problems like mixed marriages and tracing ancestry
Worked out the complicated formula in The Nuremberg Laws of 1935
Jews and Mischlenges (mongrels or mixed bloods) were those who had practiced Judaism, had Jewish grandparents, or were married to Jews
Right: A complicated
chart detailing the
Nuremberg Laws of
1935.

5. The Nuremberg Laws Law passed on September 15, 1935
“The Law for Protection of German Blood and German Honor”
Marriages between Jews and citizens of Germany or related blood are forbidden
Jews are not permitted to display the German flag
Jews may not employ in their households female citizens of German or related blood under 45 years
“The Reich Citizenship Law”
A citizen of the Reich is only that subject of German or related blood who proves by his conduct that he is ready and able to serve the German people and the Reich faithfully
Only the full citizen of the Reich enjoys full political rights
A Jew cannot be a citizen of the Reich
Jews cannot vote or hold public office

6. Restrictions Begin All non-Aryan government officials were to retire
All Jewish newspaper workers were fired
Jews expelled from the guilds of musicians, writers, and artists
Businesses pressured to fire Jewish executives
Companies and banks owned by Jews were hit by SA-sponsored boycotts

7. Restrictions continued…
April 1933 “The Law Against Overcrowding of German Schools” was issued to separate Jews from Aryan school children
By 1938, Jews were no longer allowed to use swimming pools
SA or SS would stand outside a Jewish shop to warn patrons

8. A Dutch poster protesting
1936 Olympics
The 1936 Olympic games were being held in Berlin
Hitler did not want the foreign press writing vicious truths about his Jewish policy
During the games, the only indication of Nazi hatred for “subhumans” was Hitler’s snubbing of black athletes.
After the foreign games were gone, gangs of young bullies returned to beating up helpless Jews
A Dutch poster protesting
the 1936 Olympics

9. Austria Hitler wanted to expand into Austria
He sent Nazis into Austria to create enthusiasm for the union (Anschluss) of the two countries.
About 90 percent of Austrians favored uniting with Germany
This was tragic for Austrian Jews, where there was already long standing Anti-Semitism
To show their support for Hitler, Austrians outdid the Germans in persecuting Jews
Dragged from homes and shops, forced to clean latrines, sidewalks, and grafitti
Concentration camp was established in Mauthausen
This woman was reduced
to tears when the Austrians
decided to follow Hitler.

10. Kristallnacht “Night of Broken Glass”
In 1938 a German-born Jew killed Ernst vom Rath when he learned his family was being deported to Poland
Goebbels used to event to justify Kristallnacht
November 9, 1938 became known as Kristallnacht
Jewish property was destroyed or damaged and more than 90 Jews were killed
Police ordered not to interfere as mobs smashed, looted, and burned stores, synagogues, and homes
Estimated $400 million worth of damage
Because this was the result of German “righteous indignation,” the Jews had to pay to repair everything as punishment for Rath’s murder
In January of 1939, all Jewish shops were closed.
Herschel Grynszpan was
17 years old when he killed
Ernest vom Rath, a German
embassy official, in retaliation
for his family’s deportation
to Poland.

11. In 1933 there were about 700,000 Jews in Germany and Austria.
Left: An example of some of the physical damage done to Jewish businesses on November 9, 1938, now called Krystallnacht.
In 1933 there were about 700,000 Jews in Germany and Austria.
In 1938 and 1939, 403,000 were left.
In 1940, the U.S. embassy in Berlin had 248,000 immigration applications on file
The U.S. quota allowed on 27,000 Germans a year into the country.

12. “The Ghettos”

13. Was there Jewish Resistance?
Ghettos were not a new invention
Existed back in Middle Ages
Been confined several times before in history
Hitler believed Jews were a “cancer” that needed to be destroyed
Strong Jews who could survive and spread Judaism must be killed
Jews were not fighters by nature; few owned guns
Community and family were very strong in Jewish culture
Thought reason was a way to convince the Nazis
Thought by cooperating the SS would ease up
Jews were too scattered in isolated towns to put up resistance.

14. The Order to Move Little warning, came early in the morning
Could only take one suitcase
Homes and valuables had to be left behind; scavengers came in and stole unattended property
At the ghetto, family was assigned a room (12 to 20 people in one room)
No privacy, few toilets, little food, streets filled with beggars
Ghettos were located in the oldest, most run-down sections of town. The buildings were in bad condition, often near collapse.
Most of the ghettos were enclosed – surrounded by fences, barbed wire or a large wall

15. Jews were forbidden to leave without a special permit, under penalty of death.
Jews began to develop a system of schools, newspapers, and cultural and religious organizations
Jews worked whenever they could. They repaired old uniforms and clothes, produced such things as wooden and leather shoes, mattresses, ammunition boxes, baskets, and brooms. Their best costumers were the Germans, particularly the army. They also produced most of what kept the ghetto functioning.
German-owned and SS businesses functioned both inside and outside the larger ghettos
They took their workforce to and from the ghetto population
Mean a back-breaking ten- or twelve-hour day
The work permit came with a very small extra bit of money and a slightly larger food ration
Underground libraries sprang up; ghetto orchestras secretly performed
Religious life went on despite Nazi efforts to stop it
Rabbis had to alter some of the rules concerning non-Kosher food or clothing options

16. Government Within the Ghetto
Judenrat was the Jewish government that took orders from the Nazis
12 men were chosen from each ghetto to form a Jewish Council
Responsible for the day-to-day running of the ghetto
In charge of health, housing, and public order
Responsible for carrying out any and all Nazi orders
People were the only thing not in short supply in the ghetto

17. A Few of the Ghettos Lodz The first ghetto that was established
A little over 1.5 miles square (the size of about twenty city blocks
Over 150,000 Jews lived seven or eight to a room.
Mordechai Rumkowski (leader) wanted to keep Nazis happy at all costs
Believed if ghetto was productive the Nazis would leave them alone
In 1942 Nazis began “resettling” Lodz Jews, sending them to Chelmno death camp
Rumkowski told parents to give him their children
He was killed in August 1944

18. It held anywhere from 400,000 to 600,000 Jews The largest ghetto
Warsaw, Poland
Took up 1.6 square miles.
It held anywhere from 400,000 to 600,000 Jews
The largest ghetto
Eight to ten people lived in a room; went up to fourteen towards the end when the ghetto was reduced in space
Adam Czerniakow (leader)
Made little effort to stop smuggling
Begged the Nazis to let children go free; this was denied and he killed himself
Vilna
25,000 people lived here
Seventy-two buildings on five streets
The crowding was so intense that each person had about seven feet to call his or her own—a space “as narrow as the grave”
“The creation of the ghetto is obviously only a temporary measure. When and by what means the ghetto, and the town of Lodz, will be cleansed of Jews I reserve to myself. Our final objective must be, in any case, to burn out this plague boil completely.”
– SS Brigadier General Friedrich Uelbehoer

19. Daily Life in the Ghettos
Starvation
Starvation was a deliberate Nazi policy
At its best 1,100 calories a day
At its worst 220 calories a day
Bread (14 oz.) Meat Products (4.5 oz.) Sugar (1.75 oz.) Fat (.9 oz.)
Killed approximately 500 a week
It was the Jews’ greatest torture---it was endless and could not be escaped.
The elderly and sick suffered the most and died the soonest.

20. Temperatures could drop to 20 below (Warsaw, Poland)
The Cold
Temperatures could drop to 20 below (Warsaw, Poland)
Warm clothing was taken away
Did not provide them with enough kerosene, coal, or wood
Disease
Breeding grounds for bacteria
Limited sanitary facilities
Sewage pipes froze and burst
Little soap and water available
Typhus, a disease directly connected with overcrowding and filth, took by far the greatest number of people
In 1941 almost 100,000 people died of typhus in the Warsaw ghetto

21. Smuggling
If it had not been for the smugglers, the Nazis would have succeeded in starving the ghettos to death.
There was some large-scale smuggling, but most of it day by day was small.
Those who could afford it bribed guards to not notice smuggling.
If the Jews were caught smuggling anything—no matter how small—the penalty was death, sometimes by being shot immediately.
Sometimes smugglers were hanged and then left for days “as a lesson to all who would learn”
Most of the smugglers were children ten to fourteen years old.

22. So began the Final Solution…
The End of the Ghettos
It was estimated that one-fifth of ghetto inhabitants died of disease and hunger-related illnesses.
At this rate it would have taken five or six years to kill all ghetto inhabitants…that was too long for the deranged Nazis
So began the Final Solution…