1. Introduction to Number the Stars
The Holocaust and World War II

2. World War II
At the end of World War I, Germany had to give up some of their land and were banned from having any military troops
This made them very angry!
In 1939, Germany attacked Poland for no reason, and when Germany refused to pull out of Poland, France and Great Britain declared war on Germany
There were 61 countries involved in WWII, split into two groups
Axis
Allies
Axis included Germany, Japan, and Italy

3. World War II Allies included : Lithuania Australia Malta Belgium
The Netherlands
Brazil
New Zealand
Canada
Norway
China
Poland
Czechoslovakia
South Africa
Denmark
United Kingdom
Estonia
United States
France
USSR
Greece
Yugoslavia
India
Latvia

5. World War II The US didn’t actually get involved until 1941
On December 7, 1941, the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, a base outside of Hawaii, which caused the US, Canada, and Great Britain to declare war on Japan within 1 day and Germany soon after

6. Adolf Hitler After Word War I, Hitler tried to gain
control of Germany through the
National Socialist German Worker’s
Party (shortened to Nazi)
He was arrested for treason and put in jail.
While in jail, he wrote a book that
described his plans for destructively conquering the world and getting rid of the inferior people (Jews, elderly, handicapped, other races…)
After getting out of jail, he gained complete control of Germany through the Nazi Party

7. Adolf Hitler
One of the first things he did as a leader was to set up concentration camps
He planned to use these like prisons for Jews and other people he didn’t like
He began his attempt to exterminate Jews from the Earth on November 9, 1938 when the Nazis arrested German Jews
Many Germans were convinced of Hitler’s beliefs and participated in his craziness

8. Jewish Struggles
Within months of invading Poland, Germany also began to invade surrounding countries, including Denmark, Norway, and France
Hitler placed Jews in ghettos, which were the run-down sections of cities
They were also ordered to wear the Star of David to be identified as a Jew.
They lost their jobs, businesses, homes, and possessions, all for simply being Jewish

9. Jewish Struggles
Hitler’s madness had begun spreading across all of Europe, not just in Germany
People herded Jews into main squares of cities and separated the men, women, and children
Those in good health were forced to work as slaves for the German army
Those who were sick or weak were hung, shot,
or gassed to death with thousands of others
Their bodies were buried in mass graves or burned in large ovens

10. Jewish Children
Jewish children, from infants to teenagers, were arrested and forced to work or were kept as prisoners
Many kids became victims of medical experiments and were given germs that caused diseases so that the Nazi doctors could study the response of medicines

11. Concentration Camps
Jews were taken to concentration camps in huge groups on trains, they were shoved in freight cars
The train was not well ventilated and they often received no food or water
There was usually a single metal pail in the corner for the Jews to use as a toilet
Many Jews died even before arriving at the concentration camp due to starvation or suffocation

12. Concentration Camps
Once at the camp, they were forced to live in barracks that simply held beds, often three or four high, and not much else
There was a lack of food and water, so many Jews continued to die of starvation, as well as disease from being so tightly packed together in the barracks
If the Jews worked hard, they were kept alive but often only fed just barely enough to stay alive

13. Concentration Camps
There were an estimated 1.2 to 1.5 million children killed at these camps
The only way children survived is if they were hidden in homes who had concealed rooms or lived with families who kept their identities a secret
Over 6 million Jews had been killed by the end of the war – the only time in history this many people were killed simply because of who they were

15. The End of An Era
Allied armies eventually began discovering concentration camps and setting free those who remained in them.
Most were sent by trains back to the countries from which they came.
Many Jews moved to Israel or America for a new start
Life would NEVER be the same for those who survived this horrific event

16. The Holocaust
This is the term used to refer to the death of the Jews during WWII
Since the Holocaust occurred, many Nazi officers were put on trial and imprisoned
Most who witnessed this event have passed on, but we have books, stories, journals, diaries, and articles that share the traumas and horrors of the Holocaust
We can learn from the past and hope that something like this is never repeated!

17. Manya Kornblit survived 5 concentration camps
Helen Korb and Shirley Strozenberg worked as German prisoners in an army barrack
Manya Kornblit survived 5 concentration camps
Elie Wiesel survived 1 year at a concentration camp and wrote a book, Night, about his experiences in the Holocaust that became a best seller

18. Picture Credits Slide 1: http://www.numberthestarsmovie.com/

19. Slide 13: http://erikahigley.blogspot.com/2010_09_01_archive.html