1. The Holocaust Human rights begin after one of the greatest genocides the world has ever seen.

2. The Persecution Begins The Holocaust was the systematic murder of roughly 11 million people across Europe, more of half were Jews. Anti-Semitism, or hatred of Jews spread with Hitler’s belief that Jews were responsible for much of Germany’s economic problems.

3. Kristallnacht November 1938 became known as Kristallnacht or “Night of Broken Class”. Nazi storm troopers attacked Jewish home, businesses, and synagogues across Germany. Some 30,000 Jews were arrested and hundreds of synagogues were burned. Afterwards the Nazis blamed the Jews for causing such destruction.

4. Jewish Refugees Jews fleeing Germany had problems finding nations that would accept them. France & Great Britain feared Anti-Semitism. About 100,000 Jews made it to America but many faced Anti-Semitism in the U.S. as well.

5. Plight of the St. Louis The German ocean liner passed Miami in 1939. 740 of the 943 passengers were Jewish and had U.S. immigration papers. The Coast Guard followed the ship and sent it back to Europe. Half of the Jewish passengers would later be killed during the Holocaust.

6. Hitler’s “Final Solution” Hitler’s desire to rid the world of Jews led to the Final Solution. A policy of genocide, the deliberate and systematic killing of an entire population.

7. The Condemned Hitler’s Final Solution was based on the belief of the Aryan race or “master race”. That it was superior to all others. Not only Jews but Gypsies, Jehovah Witnesses, and the handicapped were also targeted.

8. Forced Relocation Most Jews were forced into ghettos, segregated Jewish areas in certain Polish cities. Nazis sealed them off with barbed wire and stone walls. Life in the ghettos was horrible but Jews did all they could to keep life normal.

9. Concentration Camps Also called labor camps because of the hard labor Jews did for Nazis it was also where millions would be put to death by the gas chamber. Auschwitz, the largest and most famous could execute up to 12,000 people a day. The SS would often separate those that were strong enough to work from those that should be killed immediately.

10. Survivors 6-10 million Jews were executed in the camps. The Jewish population in Europe has never recovered and many moved to Israel after WWII.