1. Frequently Asked Questions about THE HOLOCAUST

2. What Does Holocaust Mean?

Great destruction resulting in the

extensive loss of life, especially by fire.

The genocide of European Jews and

others by the Nazis during World War II.

3.A massive slaughter.

A sacrificial offering

that is consumed

entirely by flames.

3. Who Were the Nazis?

The Nazi party was founded in Germany on January 15, 1919.

The party centered around anti-Semitism and racist ideology.

Hitler was the F hrer, or leader, of the Nazis.

The Nazis began with 6,000 members and grew to 8.5 million members by 1945.

4. Sub-Organizations:

Storm Troopers (S.A.)

Secret Police (S.S.)

Green Police

Hitler Youth

Worker and

Teacher Unions

5. What Is the Swastika?

The swastika (from Sanskritsvastika ) is an equilateral cross with its arms bent at right angles in either left-facing ( ) or right-facing ( ) direction. The swastika is a holy symbol in Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism. In the West, it is more widely known as a symbol of Nazism (selected by Hitler for his regime).

6. Are There Nazis Today?

Yes.The termNeo-Nazismis the post-WWII brand of Nazism embraced by various anti-Semitic and racist groups the world over.Neo-Nazis use Nazi symbols (like the swastika) and glorify Hitler and the horrific crimes carried out by the Nazis.Neo-Nazis are sometimes referred to asSkinheadsbecause it is common to shave your head as a sign of membership.

7. Why Were Jews the Main Target?

Anti-Semitism: hostility, aggression, and/or discrimination against Jews and Judaism.

Different Christian groups have targeted Jews for thousands of years.

After WWI, Germany was in bad shape and needed a scapegoat.

Stereotypes against Jews were abundant.

8. How Did They Know Who Was Jewish?

Public records

Synagogue congregation lists

All-Jewish neighborhoods were common

Jewish school rosters

Genealogy records

Word-of-mouth reports

9. Who Else Was Discriminated Against?

Gypsies

Jehovahs Witnesses

Catholics

Poles

Mentally and Physically Disabled

Homosexuals

Political Activists and Apolitical Persons

10. What Was Hitlers Final Solution?

Hitlers final solution of the Jewish question was to exterminate all Jews in Western Europe.His plan was to ultimately create the perfect Aryan race: a population of people who were German, white, Christian, blonde-haired, and blue-eyed.Anyone who did not fit this profile would be killed.

11. What Does Aryan Mean?

Aryanis the Nazi term for what they considered to be the perfect German race.It is not a racial term and has no biological validity.It is simply a word made up by the Nazis to refer to a racial ideal that they claimed was superiora master race.

12. 13. Didthe Jews Fight Back?

Yes, there was much resistance fighting.Not all Jews took up arms and became resistance fighters in the forests or ghettos, though.Some fought back in other ways, such as writing (like Anne Frank) to record what was happening.

14. How Many People Died?

Approximately6 million Jewswere killed in the Holocaust (about 2 out of every 3 Jews living in Europe at the time).

In addition, some5 million other personswere killed.

Of the 11 million total victims,1.5 million were children .

15. 25,000 Pairs =ONEDAYS COLLECTION 16. What Were the Ghettos?

During World War II, ghettos were established by the Nazis to confine Jews into tightly packed areas of the cities of Eastern Europe.

17. Life in the Ghettos

Families were crowded into tight, dirty living spaces (a space meant for one family might end up housing as many as fifty)

Nazis were sole providers of food, and often the Jews lived on only a couple hundred calories a day (compared to the typical 2,000 recommended by dieticians)

No electricity, heat, or running water in most cases

No school or jobs, but forced labor was common

18. Transportation to the Concentration Camps

Victims were transported to the concentration camps in train cattle cars

There were typically 80-100 people crammed into each car

The journey sometimes lasted up to a week

No food, water, or fresh air provided

Many people died in the cattle cars

19. Arrival at the Camps

Victims separated by gender

Victims separated by healthy and unhealthy (the unhealthy would be killed immediately)

Those that were too old or too young were also killed immediately

Families were torn apart, often never to see each other again

20. Arrival at the Camps

Prisoners were stripped and given threadbare uniforms to wear

All possessions were confiscated (like eyeglasses, jewelry, prayer books, etc.)

Gold teeth were

pulled out

Hair was shaved off

Number was

tattooed on arm

21. Life at the Camps

Daily roll call (usually at least twice a day) lasted hours

Barracks held hundreds of victimsdisease spread quickly

Little to no food provided; what was provided was unhealthy and stale

Hours of cruel, inhumane labor

Medical experiments

22. 23. 24. What Kinds of Medical Experiments Were Performed?

Freezing and Burning

High Altitude

Poison and Disease

Sterilization and Gynecological Torture

Injections

SurgicalLimb and Organ Removal

Pain Endurance

Genetics

Pharmacological

25. 26. Death at the Camps

Gas Chambers

Crematoriums

Executions

Electrified and Barbed Fences

Guards

Starvation

Disease

Medical Experiments

27. 28. 29. 30. 31. Who Liberated the Camps?

Beginning in January 1945, the Allied forces began moving in and liberating the camps.

The liberating forces were primarily American, Russian, and British.

What they found shocked them.

32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. What Happened Afterwards?

Displaced Persons Camps (many adults and children were the sole survivors of their families and had nowhere to go)

Many did not or could not return home because anti-Semitism still persisted

Some who did return home were tortured, beaten, and killed out of lingering fear and hatred

Immigration