THE HOLOCAUST A-Z

By: Nick. G

AuschwitzAuschwitz was one of the most notorious death camp/labor camp in the Holocaust, but it did not start out as one. Oswiecim was the original town in which Auschwitz was built. At the start of World War 2, Oswiecim was overrun and renamed. Auschwitz was first designed in April 1940 and was supervised by Heinrich Himmler who got Auschwitz finished in two months. He ordered the peaceful quiet town to become fenced and militarized. Oswiecim was a perfect area because it was a fair distance from any major centers and was easily accessible by train. There were three main sections built during the war. The first with the complex, the second was built in the Autumn of 1941, and the third a short time later. In the death camp part of Auschwitz, 2,000 to 2,500 prisoners were gassed at a time. In the end, 1,250,000 people were murdered. It today stands as a memorial to those who died.

Lawton, Clive. “Auschwitz”. Massachusetts: Candlewick, 2002. PrintAuschwitz, “The Holocaust. 1997, Print

This picture shows the

main entrance to Auschwitz

after it was liberated

http://tinyurl.com/anqxd7s

GestapoThe original name of the Gestapo was Geheme Staaspolize which was organized by the Nazi party at the beginning of the war. The origin of the Gestapo was established in 1933 by Hermain Goring as a political police. After receiving a license to hold in protected custody, the Gestapo imediatley took advantage and imprisoned any Jewish lawbreaker Three years later, Heinrich Himmler became chief of police and ordered shops to be destroyed on November 9, 1938. This later became known as Kristallnaught, During the Holocaust the Gestapo established Dachu, a major concentration camp in Berlin. The Gestapo as well as the Nazi party crumpled at the end of World War 2.

Berenbaum, Michael. “The World Must Know”. Boston: United Sates Holocaust Museum. 1993. print

This is the Gestapo

Headquarters in Germany

http://tinyurl.com/bkhctg2

Kristallnacht On the day of November 9, 1938, the Nazi Secret state police or the SS, raided towns stores and homes due to pure hatred and anti sematism. This later became known as Kristallnaught or “Night of the Broken Glass”. No window was left unbroken as 195 synagogues ( Jewish place of worship) were burnt and destroyed. The outbreak of Kristallnaught was mostly due to Heinrich Himmler’s order to destroy any and all Jewish belongings. After Kristallnaught, 20,000 Jews were deported from their homes and taken away on trains to other stations and concentration camps. Kristallnaught is one of the first acts against the Jewish religon.

Lawton, Clive, “The Story of the Holocaust”. Conneticut Grolier Publishing, 1999. Print

This is the aftermath of Kristallnacht on a Jewish

store

http://tinyurl.com/d63pfnm

Nuremburg TrialsThe Nuremburg trials were the week-long court trials against the Nazi Party and the Holocaust. 22 of the most notorious Nazi leaders were put on trial. Representatives of Britain, America, France, and the Soviet Union came together at the Church House in London, England to prosecute the criminals. As the trials began, the convicts were drawn up on four counts: Having a common plan or conspiracy, Committing crimes against peace, Committing war crimes, and Committing crimes against Humanity, Adolf Hitler, Heinrich Himmler, and Joseph Goebbels decided to take their lives rather than face the court of law. When the trials ended, all 22 criminals were sentenced to life in prison or were sentenced to death.

Rice, Earle. “The Nuremburg Trials”. Sand Diego” Lucent Books, 1997, Print

The Nazi defendants in the

court room, Hermann Goring is seated in the far left whispering.

http://tinyurl.com/a3bbww8

Warsaw GhettoIn 1935, the Nuremberg laws were passed, restricting any Jew of their rights. In fact, a section of Warsaw, the capital of Poland, was sealed of by an 8 foot high wall that kept only Jews inside. All Jews aged 14 years to 60 were required to work. When they came home, rooms were packed with seven to eight people inside. Due to this cramped area, poverty was common along with disease. 6,000 to 7,000 Jewish people died of Typhus. Food had to be stored in warehouses that only certain people could enter. Children went to secret schools, soup kitchens were established. But finally, on January 18, 1943 the Jewish people resisted. They did anything to get out. All resistors were killed but help came, as some would say, when they were loaded into train cars and deported to another place. Today, Warsaw is just another normal city.

Stewart, Gary. “Life in the Warsaw Ghetto”, San Diego: Lucent Books, 1995, Print

This picture shows a Warsaw Ghetto

resistor giving money to two children. The resistors wore armbands to

identify themselves

http://tinyurl.com/afkzqms

Zyklon BOne of the most notorious ways the Nazi’s exterminated Jews is by gas chambers. But they could of not used them without gas. The product they used will forever be known as Zyklon B. The commercial name of Zyklon B was Hydrogen Cyanide which was originally used as an insecticide. But due to Nazi law, the product was converted into pellet form and was removed of the warning smell. On September 3, 194, Zyklon B was first used on humans. The subjects died in minutes. The product was produce in Frankfurt, Germany by the DEGESCH co. Zyklon B was destroyed along with the Nazi Party.

Gutman, Israel. Zyklon B. “Encyclopedia of the Holocaust” 1990, Print

This is a storage room

full of Zyklon B at the

Majdanek death camp

http://tinyurl.com/azjrah6