1. The Jews Under Nazi Rule

2. Background Information
The Jews were not the only group to face Nazi persecution
Gypsies, homosexuals, communists, and political dissidents also faced harsh treatments by the Nazis
Nazis were not the first group to persecute the Jews
Jews have been persecuted by various groups for thousands of years – many times Jews were not allowed to live in the same neighborhoods as Christians and were not given the same rights

3. Anti-Semitism Surges
During an economic or political crisis, many leaders look for a scapegoat they can use as a source of all of the nation’s problems
Hitler capitalized on the anti-Semitism running through Germany and used peoples’ prejudices to his advantage
Nazis urged people not do associate with Jews or to buy items from Jewish shops

4. The First Concentration Camps
Opened in 1933, just months after Hither became Chancellor
They were initially built to hold political prisoners (communists, social democrats, etc.)
One of the first was Dachau

5. The Nuremburg Laws
Created in 1935 to restrict the rights and freedoms of Jews
The laws also outlined who was considered Jewish and who had German blood
Jews were required to have a large “J” stamped on their passport
Jews who broke the laws could face fines, jail sentences, and time in labor camps
The Nuremburg laws were just an addition to many anti-Semitic laws already passed by the German government

6. Examples of Anti-Semitic Laws
Jews could not marry or have intercourse with Germans
Jewish children could not be educated past the age of 14 (many schools prohibited Jewish children)
Jews could not use parks, hospitals, libraries, public benches, or, in certain cities, sidewalks
Jews could not own firearms or any other weapons
Jews were given a maximum amount of money they could have on hand; they were not allowed to use banks
Jews were given curfews and had to be in their homes by the specified time

7. How did Germany Determine Who Was Jewish?

8. German Children
Children were taught in school about Hitler and how he was Germany’s “savior”
They learned about the race laws and how to spot Jews by their appearance
Schools became a place where Jewish children were picked on mercilessly

10. The 1936 Olympics
Nazi leaders wanted to use the event to promote the idea of the Nazi master race
All German athletes were Aryan, and many won their divisions
Nazi officials “cleaned up” Berlin by arresting all gypsies and sending them to concentration camps
Hitler had anti-Semitic signs taken down in major tourist areas

11. Kristallnacht
“The Night of the Broken Glass,” happened in November, 1938
Jewish shops , synagogues, and homes were burned
91 Jews were murdered
Between 25,000-30,000 Jews were arrested and sent to concentration camps
Marks a turning point in Nazi treatment of the Jews – from this point Nazis began increasing the level of violence toward Jews

12. The Holocaust

13. Prelude to the Final Solution
By 1939, half of Germany’s 500,000 Jews had emigrated to escape Nazi persecution
The remaining Jew in Germany were forced to move into ghettos
Their property was confiscated and their citizenship was revoked

14. Prelude to the Final Solution
In 1939, Germany invaded Poland which had a much larger population of 3 million Jews.
In 1941, Germany invaded Russia which had a population of 5 million Jews.

15. Einsatzgruppen Means “intervention group,” formed in 1941
Nazis sent four specially trained SS units called “Einsatzgruppen battalions” into German occupied territory and shot at least 1 million Jews
Victims were taken to deserted areas where they were made to dig their own graves before they were shot
When the SS ran out of bullets they sometimes killed their victims using flame throwers

17. The ‘Final Solution’
In January 1942, Himmler decided to change tactics and called a special conference at Wannsee
Nazis decided that the current methods were too inefficient
A new ‘Final Solution’ was necessary

18. Wannsee Conference How was the Final Solution going to be organized?
Women, children, the old & the sick were to be sent for ‘special treatment.’
The young and fit would go through a process called ‘destruction through work.’
Shooting was too inefficient as the bullets were needed for the war effort
On arrival the Jews would go through a process called ‘selection.’
How was the Final Solution going to be organized?
Jews were to be rounded up and put into transit camps called Ghettoes
The remaining Jews were to be shipped to ‘resettlement areas’ in the East.
The Jews living in these Ghettos were to be used as a cheap source of labor.
Conditions in the Ghettos were designed to be so bad that many die while the rest would be willing to leave these areas in the hope of better conditions

19. Where Were the Death Camps Built?
The work of the Einsatzgruppen
Why do you think that they located them here?
Remember that the black dots represent the work of the Einsatzgruppen

20. What tactics did the Nazis use to get the Jews to leave the Ghettos?
Deception
New arrivals at the Death camps were given postcards to send to their friends.
Starvation
The Jews were told that they were going to ‘resettlement areas’ in the East.
The Jews in the Warsaw Ghetto were only fed a 1000 calories a day .
Tactics
In some Ghettos the Jews had to purchase their own train tickets.
A Human being needs 2400 calories a day to maintain their weight
Terror
They were told to bring the tools of their trade and pots and pans.
The SS publicly shot people for smuggling food or for any act of resistance
Hungry people are easier to control

21. Children Dying of Starvation in the Warsaw Ghetto
Evil is when a few good men decide to do nothing.

22. Dehumanization
The SS guards who murdered the Jews were brainwashed with Anti-Semitic propaganda
The Jews were transported in cattle cars in terrible conditions
Naked, dirty and half starved people look like animals, which helped to reinforce Nazi propaganda
The SS used to train their new guards by encouraging them to set fire to a pit full of live victims – usually children

23. What Happened to New Arrivals?
All new arrivals went through a process known as ‘selection.’
At Auschwitz the trains pulled into a mock up of a normal station.
Mothers, children, the old & sick were sent straight to the ‘showers’ which were really the gas chambers.
The Jews were helped off the cattle trucks by Jews who were specially selected to help the Nazis
Deception & Selection
The able bodied were sent to work camp were they were killed through a process known as ‘destruction through work.’
At some death camps the Nazis would play records of classical music to help calm down the new arrivals.
At Auschwitz the new arrivals were calmed down by a Jewish orchestra playing classical music.

24. Notice how it has been built to resemble a railway station
Entrance to Auschwitz
Notice how it has been built to resemble a railway station

25. Auschwitz Orchestra

26. ‘Destruction Through Work’
Map of Auschwitz
New Arrivals
‘Showers’
‘Destruction Through Work’

27. Notice how the Death camp is set out like a factory complex
Auschwitz from the air
Notice how the Death camp is set out like a factory complex
The Nazis used industrial methods to murder the Jews and process their dead bodies
It is important t emphasis that the Death Camps were basically factories

28. The SS would try and pack up to 2000 people into this gas chamber
The Gas Chambers
The Nazis would force large groups of prisoners into small cement rooms and drop canisters of Zyklon B through small holes in the roof
These gas chambers were sometimes disguised as showers or bathing houses to deceive them
The SS would try and pack up to 2000 people into this gas chamber

29. The outside of the Gas Chamber
Notice the Ovens easy located near the Gas Chambers

30. Processing the bodies
Specially selected Jews known as the sonderkommando were used to to remove the gold fillings and hair of people who had been gassed.
The Sonderkommando were also forced to feed the dead bodies into the ovens.

31. The Ovens at Dachau

32. Dead bodies waiting to be processed

33. Shoes waiting to be processed by the sonderkommando
Taken inside a huge glass case in the Auschwitz Museum. This represents one day's collection at the peak of the gassings, about twenty five thousand pairs.

34. Destruction Through Work
This photo was taken by the Nazis to show just how you could quite literally work the fat of the Jews by feeding them 200 calories a day

35. Destruction Through Work
Same group of Jews 6 weeks later

36. Liberation Day at Nordhausen
When Allied troops arrived at some of the camps they found more victims than survivors
Both regular concentration camps and specially designated death camps had high death tolls

37. Was the Final Solution successful?
The Nazis aimed to kill 11 million Jews at the Wannsee Conference in 1941
Today there are only 2000 Jews living in Poland.
The Nazis managed to kill at least 6 million Jews and as many as 7 million other people
Some people, like Oskar Schindler, helped Jews escape the Final Solution
Not all Jews went quietly into the gas cambers.
In 1943, the Warsaw Ghetto, like many others revolted against the Nazis when the Jews realized what was really happening

38. All that is needed for evil to prevail is for a good man to do nothing.