1. WORLD WAR II In order to understand the Holocaust, one first has to understand World War II

2. How it began? Germany is crushed during World War I… left in a huge debt and depression (1914-1918) 1932- the Nazi Party takes control of Germany 1933- Leader of the Nazi party, Adolf Hitler, becomes chancellor and supreme leader of Germany Hitler vows to reclaim the greatness of Germany He immediately begins attacking “German enemies”…mostly the Jewish people Blames the Jewish people for the corruption and destruction of Europe. Argued that white, protestant people were superior to all others

3. German Territorial Gains Austria – March, 1938 Border of Czechoslovakia – Sept., 1938 All of Czechoslovakia – March, 1939 Poland – Sept., 1939- now England and France step in an wage war on Germany By Summer of 1940, Germany Controlled Most of Europe World shocked as France falls to Germans, British army is also driven back to England

4. Countries Ally with Germany Stalin and the Soviet Union, 1939 Betrayed by 1941 Mussolini and Italy, 1939 Off and on betrayed until Italian defeat in 1943 With these countries Germany controls most of Europe from 1939-1942

5. Alliance That Changes the War Germany “allies” with Japan and the Emperor Japan was “China Hungry,” wanted Germany to help them control China Japanese angry at the U.S. over their support of China Agreed to peace negotiations with U. S., but they don’t work…Japan begins to fear the U.S.

6. Pearl Harbor Dec. 7, 1941

7. Damages

8. U. S. Involved In War

9. Allies United: U.S.S.R, England and The U.S.

10. Normandy Invasion, D-Day U.S. joins England, in order to defeat Germany they must get troops into Europe Germans heavily guard the coast of France Biggest invasion in history happens at Normandy, France: called D-Day 156,000 troops attack beaches Over 4,500 die, 8,00 seriously wounded

11. Picture from D-Day Landing on Normandy Beach

14. Germany Surrenders May 7, 1945

15. Now that one understands WWII, one can learn about The Holocaust… By the end of WII, 22,000,000 million troops dies 40,000,000 civilians died That’s 62,000,000 total…that’s 20x the population of Chicago today

16. The Jews 1940 - 1945 The Holocaust

17. Prelude to the “Final Solution” When Hitler seized power in 1933 he used his new powers under the ‘Enabling Law’ to begin his attack on the Jews. By 1939, half of Germany’s 500,000 Jews had emigrated to escape Nazi persecution.

18. Prelude to the Final Solution In 1939, Germany invaded Poland which had a much larger population of 3 million Jews. In 1941, Germany invaded its an ally, Russia, which had a population of 5 million Jews. Germany had taken control of most of Eastern Europe by 1942

19. Change of Tactics: Einsatzgruppen Hitler’s commander in charge was Heinrich Himmler, Hitler and Himmler decided to find a way to rid the world of the “Jewish Problem” Himmler sent four specially trained SS units called “Einsatzgruppen battalions” into German occupied territories and shot at least 1 million Jews…just for being Jewish Victims were taken to deserted areas where they were made to dig their own graves and shot. When the SS ran out of bullets they sometimes killed their victims using flame throwers, burning them alive.

20. Change of Tactics: Einsatzgruppen

21. The ‘Final Solution’ In January 1942, Himmler decided to change tactics once again and called a special conference at Wannsee. At this conference it was decided that the existing methods were too inefficient and that a new ‘Final Solution’ was necessary. Faster ways of killing the Jews were necessary. Believed the Jews must be exterminated.

22. Wannsee Conference How was the Final Solution going to be organised? Shooting was too inefficient as the bullets were needed for the war effort Jews were to be rounded up and put into transit camps called Ghettoes The Jews living in these Ghettos were to be used as a cheap source of labour. Conditions in the Ghettos were designed to be so bad that many die whilst the rest would be willing to leave these areas in the hope of better conditions On arrival the Jews would go through a process called ‘selection.’ The remaining Jews were to be shipped to ‘resettlement areas’ in the East. 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.’

23. How did the Nazis decide who was Jewish? At the Wannsee conference it was decided that if one of the person’s parents was Jewish, then they were Jewish. Later it became any direct blood relative. In 1940, all Jews had to have their passports stamped with the letter ‘J’ and had to wear the yellow Star of David on their jacket or coat.

24. Where were the Death Camps built? Why do you think that they located them here? The work of the Einsatzgruppen

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

26. Children Dying of Starvation in the Warsaw Ghetto

27. Tactics: What happened to new arrivals? Deception & Selection At Auschwitz the trains pulled into a mock up of a normal station. The Jews were helped off the cattle trucks by Jews who were specially selected to help the Nazis 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. All new arrivals went through a process known as ‘selection.’ Mothers, children, the old & sick were sent straight to the ‘showers’ which were really the gas chambers. The able bodied were sent to work camp were they were killed through a process known as ‘destruction through work.’

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

29. Auschwitz Orchestra

30. 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

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

32. The outside of the Gas Chamber Notice the ovens easy located near the Gas Chambers

33. The Ovens at Dachau

34. Dead bodies waiting to be processed

35. 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.

36. 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

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

42. Just one of hundreds of burying pits

43. Soviet Troops Liberate a Camp

44. Clip from Mini-Series: Band of Brothers

45. 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. Not all Jews went quietly into the gas cambers. In 1943, the Warsaw Ghetto, like many others revolted against the Nazis when the Jews realised what was really happening. Jewish people are still the target of many Middle Eastern countries Some of these countries believe the Holocaust never happened

46. The End Evil is when a few good men decide to do nothing. Reviews: hugy@huggins2000.freeserve.co.uk