1. The Holocaust

2. Part I Background

3. We will be reading the novel Night by Elie Wiesel in which Wiesel recounts his personal experience during the Holocaust

5. The Holocaust was a horrible event that took place during World War II, 1939-1945.

6. Holocaust means “to destroy by fire
Holocaust means “to destroy by fire.” It is the term used to describe the systematic murder of million civilian (non-military) men, women, and children by a group called the Nazis.

7. The Holocaust is the term used to describe the systematic murder of millions of Jewish people during World War II.

8. The Nazis shot, gassed, clubbed, hanged, and burned these millions of innocent people.

10. Although the numbers are hard to comprehend, we must remember that each one of these 11.5 million people--people just like you--died one at a time. Each of these people loved others who loved them, had past happiness, and dreams--just like you.

13. How the Nazi’s Came to Power

14. World War I (1914-1918) ended badly for Germany
World War I ( ) ended badly for Germany. After the Germans lost the war, the countries who won forced Germany to sign the Treaty of Versaille (1919). In this treaty, Germany had to agree to pay for the damage done to other countries during WWI. They were also made to give up a lot of territory.

16. Throughout the 1920s, Germany paid out a lot of money to other countries to honor the Treaty of Versailles. It was hard on the German economy and made the people of Germany ashamed and angry.

17. Germans lined up for free soup.

18. Then, in 1929, the New York Stock Market crashed, sending the world, including Germany, into a deep economic depression. This made matters even worse for Germans, who became unemployed by the millions.

19. A German riot over unemployment.

20. During this difficult period in Germany there was also a small group of violent men called the Brown Shirts who were trying to gain power. This group was led by an ex-soldier named Adolf Hitler.

22. Adolf Hitler told Germans that all of Germany’s problems were the fault of Jewish people, even though Jewish people were a small minority group in Germany and Europe.

23. The Brown Shirts renamed themselves the NAZIs and began to gain popularity. Adolf Hitler’s Nazis promised the German people that they would bring Germany back to its former greatness.

24. Hitler wanted to stop paying off WWI debt and ignore the Treaty of Versaille.
A political cartoon that disparages the Treaty of Versaille.

25. Hitler told Germans that they were the “Master Race” because they were white and naturally superior. He said that Jews were contaminating German blood by marrying with white Germans and weakening Germany.

26. He convinced many Germans that they needed to eliminate certain groups within Germany and Europe so the Aryan German blood line would become stronger.

27. Not everyone liked the Nazis
Not everyone liked the Nazis. They tried to warn others that they were a brutal group of thugs.

28. However, the majority of Germans were excited about Hitler and his vision of a new Germany. They pledged to support him in his plans.

29. So, despite the warnings about Hitler and the Nazis, the German people elected Adolf Hitler Chancellor of Germany in 1933.

30. Within a few years of becoming Chancellor, Hitler had annexed Austria, and had invaded Czechoslovakia and Poland. The invasion of Poland, an ally of Great Britain and America, started World War II.

32. As the war went on, some countries teamed up with Germany; others teamed up to fight against Germany.

34. These sides were called the Axis Powers --Germany, Italy, and Japan

35. Emporer Hirohito, Adolf Hitler, and Benito Mussolini
Leaders of the Axis Powers
Emporer Hirohito, Adolf Hitler, and Benito Mussolini

37. The Axis Powers - Germany, Italy, and Japan

38. And the Allied Powers--Britain, France, Russia, and eventually the United States.

39. The war went on for a couple of years
The war went on for a couple of years. Then Adolf Hitler started planning to eliminate all Jewish people from Europe. He called his plan “the final solution to the Jewish question,” or just “The Final Solution”

40. He believed that he could carefully organize killing factories and killing systems to the Jews. He planned to use the chaos of war as a blanket to cover up his crimes. He tried to keep the killing fast and secret from the Jews, most of his own people, and the rest of the world.

41. What Hitler and the Nazis called the “Final Solution,” Jews call the Holocaust.

42. And now, to review…

43. Question #1 Why are we studying the Holocaust?

44. Question #2 Who is Anne Frank?

45. Question #3 What conditions in Germany helped Adolf Hitler come to power?

46. Question #4 How long was it before Hitler had taken over three other countries in Europe?

47. Question #5 Who were the Axis Powers? Who were the Allied Powers?