The Holocaust

End of Innocence

Anti-Semitism

• Anti-Semitism – the hatred or feeling of superiority to the Jews– This was not a new concept in Europe or globally

• Egyptian Empire enslaved the Jews• Roman Empire persecuted and killed Jews• Medieval Christians arrested and persecuted Jews because of their faith

– Jewish culture and faith is one of the most persecuted in history

• Nazi Anti-Semitism – Where did it come from?– Germany was humiliated by the Treaty of Versailles– Germany was in an economic crisis– Hitler presented the Jews a scapegoat for their problems

Why the Jews?

• Why were the Jews a target?– Many Jews began investing in Germany during the Depression and saw the

potential for their economy to rebuild.– They moved in with money and stability that Germans coveted– They started up businesses and began having success because they had

goods to sell

• They became an easy target because of their success and the jealousy of a once proud German Empire that was suffering.

• How were the Jews initially persecuted?– Nuremberg Laws – passed in 1935 created a separate legal status for Jews

• Led to Jews being deported – forced to leave the country

– Kristallnacht – the Night of Broken Glass – saw the destruction of Jewish businesses and the beating and murder of Jewish families

The Final Solution

• What is the Final Solution?– The deliberate mass execution of the Jews under the control of Germans

• Step 1 of the Final Solution: Creation of Ghettos– What is a ghetto?

• It was a confined location within a city were the Jews were forced to go to isolate them from the rest of the population, which were surrounded by walls or barbed wire fences to keep them inside and contained

– Most famous ghetto• Warsaw, Poland – housed more than 400,000 Jews of which most died from starvation or

were murdered

The Final Solution

• Step 2 of Final Solution: Concentration Camps– What were concentration camps?

• They were forced labor camps constructed outside of cities that completely removed the unwanted from society and kept them in a prison setting where they were forced to do hard and meaningless work to survive

– Life in the Camps:• Subjected to slave labor• Starvation and disease were common• Subjected them to cruel medical experiments

– Dr. Josef Mengele – also called the “Angel of Death”• Headed up a medical/science team that carried out cruel experiments on Jews• Known for injecting dye into eyes to try to make them turn blue• Conducted experiments on twins to see if one sibling could feel the pain of the other

The Final Solution

• Step 3 of Final Solution: Mass Shootings/Executions– Used more in the invasion of the Soviet Union– Mobile killing units were established to execute all pockets of Jewish

population they came across in Soviet Territory– Nazis got locals who also hated the Jews to help in these executions

• These were known as Collaborators

– Example:• September 1941 – nearly 35,000 Jews were executed in a 2-day period near a place

called Babi Yar near the city of Kiev (modern day Ukraine).

– Many felt that this was leaving too much evidence behind – led to the final step of the Final Solution

The Final Solution

• Step 4 of Final Solution: Death Camps– The purpose of Death Camps was to give a place for the execution of

Jews and the destruction of their bodies to cover up crimes.– Many of these were set up in Poland– Most infamous Death Camp:

• Auschwitz

– Death Camps:• Contained gas chambers designed for killing 1000s per day• Furnaces were built for the destruction of the bodies of those who were gassed

Victims of the Holocaust

• Who did the Germans execute?– Over 6,000,000 Jews were executed

• Referred to as the Holocaust – Holocaust - Mass murder of Jews

– Another 5,000,000 of different groups were also executed• Other groups:

– Poles – people from Poland– Slavs – people from the area of Czechoslovakia– Homosexuals– The disabled – those with physical and mental disabilities– The Romany – an ethnic group made up of Gypsies

Global Reaction to Holocaust• Many were aware of the Anti-Semitic feelings of Germany

– Anti-Semitism was a global issues and the United States was no different– Many turned a blind eye to Anti-Semitism because they were consumed with

problems in their own nations with the Great Depression– By 1942 – reports of brutality was reaching Great Britain and U.S. but many felt they

were too brutal to be true• They made no decision on how to handle the issue in meeting of Allies

• What was done?– 1944 – The United States sets up War Refugee Board – mission was to rescue

European Jews• Saved nearly 200,000 Jews• Allied leaders though refused to bomb the rail lines from cities to camps

– By 1944 and 1945 – Allies realized the did too little – found death camps that were left behind as Germans retreated – images of death and destruction scarred those who liberated the camps

Questions 1 of 2

• What is Anti-Semitism? Was this a new concept? Explain your answer.

• What was the root of German Anti-Semitism prior to World War II?

• Why were the Jews targeted in Germany?• What were the Nuremberg Laws? What was Kristallnacht?• What was the Final Solution? What were the four steps of

the Final Solution?• What was a ghetto? Where was the most infamous ghetto?

Questions 2 of 2

• What is a concentration camp? What was life like in a concentration camp?

• Who was Dr. Josef Mengele? • What made a death camp different from a concentration

camp? What was the most infamous death camp?• What is the Holocaust? What other groups, besides Jews

were victimized by the Germans?• What was the Global Reaction to the Holocaust prior to 1944?

What was the reaction after 1944? What caused the change?