The Holocaust: A Background

Nazi Rise to Power 1933-1945

Ein Volk, Ein Reich, Ein Führer

Background on Hitler Not Jewish Born in Austria Never finished high school Frequently beaten by his father Wanted to go to art school, but father will not let him. Later

rejected by Art school in Austria Became obsessed with German nationalism as a way to

rebel against his father who proudly served in the Austrian Government

Fought in WWI and was twice decorated for his bravery Did not become a German citizen until 1932

How central is Hitler to the Holocaust? Historians debate. What do you think?

Mein Kampf (1925): My Struggle

QUOTATIONS

"Every manifestation of human culture, every product of art, science and technical skill, which we see before our eyes today, is almost exclusively the product of Aryan creative power.“

The Jewish youth lies in wait for hours on end spying on the unsuspicious German girl he plans to seduce. He wants to contaminate her blood and remove her from the bosom of her own people. The Jew hates the white race and wants to lower its cultural level so that the Jews might dominate.

Depression and the 1932 Elections

Many radical parties Hitler offered different solutions Joseph Goebbels devised the first

modern political campaign for the Nazis Anti-Semitic Anti-communist

Hitler seemed more charismatic than the others

Hitler came to power legally Ran in 1928, but had done poorly What changed?

The Enabling Act of 1933

PARLIAMENT SET ON FIRE Hitler passed the

Enabling Act in 1933 Allowed German Cabinet

(Hitler) to make laws without the legislature (Reichstag)

Essentially created Hitler’s dictatorship

1933 was the end of the Weimar Republic and the start of Nazi totalitarian rule in Germany

Re-education Camps

1930’S DACHAU/ ORANIENBURG

Hitler set about reeducating his opponents

Re-education camps Attempted to deal with

adults who disagreed with Nazi politics

Terrorists Members of the

communists/socialists parties

Not killing camps

The Dachau camp was created for holding political opponents. In time for Christmas 1933 roughly 6000 of the inmates were released as part of a pardoning action. The picture depicts a speech by the camp commander to prisoners about to be released

The Dachau camp was created for holding political opponents. In time for Christmas 1933 roughly 6000 of the inmates were released as part of a pardoning action. The picture depicts a speech by the camp commander to prisoners about to be released

T4 PROGRAM (Action 4)

GERMAN EUTHANASIA PROGRAM

Goal: Identify people who are not fully productive Deemed unworthy of living Not necessarily Jewish

Operated by doctors/nurses They could have refused

1st extermination camps Families received letters

that their family member had died of a heart attack.

THIS POSTER READS: "60,000 REICHSMARKS IS WHAT THIS PERSON SUFFERING FROM A HEREDITARY DISEASE COSTS THE PEOPLE'S COMMUNITY DURING HIS LIFETIME. COMRADE, THAT IS YOUR MONEY TOO.

But the road to state sanctioned murder was to be a gradual one.

AT THE 1929 PARTY RALLY, HITLER HAD SUGGESTED THAT COUNTLESS LIVES COULD BE ELIMINATED BY RACIAL MEASURES

“If Germany was to get a million children a year and was to remove 700-800,000 of the weakest people, then the final result might even be an increase in strength. The most dangerous thing is for us to cut off the natural process of selection and thereby rob ourselves of the possibility of acquiring able people. The first born are not always the most talented or strongest people… As a result of our modern humanitarianism we are trying to maintain the weak at the expense of the healthy.”

THOSE DESIGNATED AS "USELESS EATERS"

Education

1933

Nazis began to change the textbooks (rewrite history)

All teachers had to sign an oath to Hitler 90% signed

Created “candyland like games” to teach anti-Semitism

IN A SYMBOLIC ACT OF OMINOUS SIGNIFICANCE, ON MAY 10, 1933

THE STUDENTS BURNED UPWARDS OF 25,000 VOLUMES OF "UN-

GERMAN" BOOKS

Churches

Germany is split 50/50 Catholic/Protestant

Catholic Church was able to rationalize the Nazis Nazis seemed better than

communists Legacy of anti-Semitism and

obedience Rewrote bible to make Jesus an

Aryan Most clergy praised the Nazis

German Foreign Policy

1936 Olympics were held in Berlin Germany was praised Germany won the

games Jesse Owens

The U.S. replaced a Jewish athlete with Jesse Owens because they did not want to insult the Germans

At the same time in America…..

Nazism was not unique in its discriminations

Common Myths of the Holocaust

Which of the statements did you think were myths? Which did you think were facts?

1. Hitler was a maniacal dictator and the Nazi army succeeded because only by technological superiority and fear.

Truth Germany had help in the war Groups and countries were willing to help

(Croatia, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia)▪ Many agreed with Nazi philosophies

2. Only Jews were killed in the Holocaust.

The Holocaust – Animated Map

3. No one knew about the killings.

Most Europeans knew

FDR and Churchill knew by 1941

Roosevelt was afraid to go public with the killings Why?

If you wanted to know you could know

4.No one could resist the Nazis.

In and around the Huguenot mountain village of Le Chambon-sur-Lignon, France, some 5,000 Jews—many of  them children—were sheltered from the Nazis by some 5,000 Christians.

5. The Jews went like sheep to the slaughter.

WARSAW GHETTO UPRISING 1943 Largest single revolt

of the Jews during the Holocaust

January 18, 1943.- May 16, 1943

Lasted longer against the Nazis than the country of France

6. Auschwitz was the only camp. We know mostly about

Auschwitz because there were survivors

Six exterminationcamps in former Polish territory

An estimated 3.5 million Jews were killed in these

six extermination camps as part of the "Final Solution”

10 months = 900,000 deaths @ Treblinka

7. The Holocaust never happened.

http://www.ihr.org/ Institute for

Historical Review is a pseudo-academic organization that denies the occurrence of the Holocaust

Holocaust deniers—why?