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THE HOLOCAUST
A World In Flames
Nazi Persecution of the Jews
Holocaust: the catastrophe that ravaged Europe’s Jews
The Nazis killed nearly 6 million Jews
Nazi Ideology
Once the Nazis took power in Germany, they acted swiftly to implement the political racial policies Hitler had outlined in Mein Kampf. The Nazis persecuted anyone who opposed them and
also: The disabled, Gypsies, homosexuals, and Slavic peoples.
The Nazis strongest hatred was towards the Jews.Even before the Nazis, the Jews had been a
people who have been historically persecuted in Europe.
The Nazis took the persecution to an unprecedented level.
The Nuremberg Laws
In September 1935, the Nuremberg Laws took citizenship away from Jewish Germans and banned marriage between Jews and other Germans. Jews could not hold public office or vote Passports were marked with a big red “J” to clearly
identify them By 1936 half of Germany’s Jews were jobless By 1938 Jews were banned from practicing law and
medicine and from operating their own businesses
Kristallnacht
Kristallnacht: “night of broken glass”November 7, 1938-Herschel Grynszpan (a Jew)
shoots and kills a German diplomat in Paris. Hitler is angered and orders his minister of
propaganda, Joseph Goebbels to stage attacks on Jews that look like spontaneous reaction to the news of the killing.
November 9, 1938-The plan plays out with anti-Jewish violence throughout Germany and Austria Businesses are destroyed with broken glass covering
the streets Hitler extends the night over several days as 30,000
wealthy Jews are arrested and ordered to give up their possessions and leave the country; Insurance payments to Jewish businesses are seized.
Jewish Refugees Try to Flee
After Kristallnacht Jewish persecution increased and many went into hiding and/or tried to flee Germany. U.S. consulate office back-logged over 100,000 visa
applications Jews could only take about $4 out of the country Anne Frank
SS St. Louis- a ship carrying 930 Jewish refugees sails to the United States and is turned away.
The “Final Solution”
January 20, 1942-Nazi leaders meet at the Wannsee Conference to determine the “final” solution to the “Jewish problem”. Concentration Camps: first established in 1933 to jail
political opponents Jews provided slave labor Buchenwald
Extermination Camps: built within some concentration camps specifically to mass murder (exterminate/genocide) the Jews. Gas chambers could kill 2000 people at a time/12,000 in a
day Auschwitz
The Holocaust 1939-1945
Denmark: 500 Jews killed
The Holocaust 1939-1945
Italy: 8,000 Jews killed
The Holocaust 1939-1945
Bulgaria: 14,000 Jews killed
The Holocaust 1939-1945
Yugoslavia: 26,000 Jews killed
The Holocaust 1939-1945
Belgium: 40,000 Jews killed
The Holocaust 1939-1945
France: 90,000 Jews killed
The Holocaust 1939-1945
The Netherlands: 105,000 Jews killed
The Holocaust 1939-1945
Russian USSR: 107,000 Jews killed
The Holocaust 1939-1945
Czechoslovakia: 155,000 Jews killed
The Holocaust 1939-1945
Germany and Austria: 210,000 Jews killed
The Holocaust 1939-1945
Baltic States: 228,000 Jews killed
The Holocaust 1939-1945
Belorussian USSR: 245,000 Jews killed
The Holocaust 1939-1945
Romania: 300,000 Jews killed
The Holocaust 1939-1945
Hungary: 450,000 Jews killed
The Holocaust 1939-1945
Ukrainian USSR: 900,000 Jews killed
The Holocaust 1939-1945
Poland: 3,000,000 Jews killed
The Holocaust
Despite exhaustive debate, there is still great controversy about why and how an event so horrifying as the Holocaust could have occurred. No consensus has been reached, but most historians point to a number of factors: The German peoples’ sense of injury after WWI Severe economic problems Hitler’s control over the German nation The lack of a strong tradition of representative
government Germans’ fear of Hitler’s Secret Police A long history of anti-Jewish prejudice and
discrimination
Essay Question
Although no consensus has been reached for why an event so horrifying as the Holocaust could have occurred, give five factors that most historians think could have contributed.
Essay Question
Although no consensus has been reached for why an event so horrifying as the Holocaust could have occurred, give five factors that most historians think could have contributed. The German people’s sense of injury after
World War I; Hitler’s grip on the German nation; The lack of a strong tradition of representative government in Germany; German fear of Hitler’s secret police; And a long history of anti- Jewish prejudice and discrimination in Europe.