The Holocaust

Holocaust: Total Burnt Offering

Is a term that is used to describe widespread
destruction, generally when referring to massive killings
i.e. The Jews in WWII
The Holocaust is generally regarded as the systematic
slaughter of 6 million Jewish people (2/3 of the
European Jewish population)
Approx 6 million Jews died in the Holocaust.
Approx 6 million other people also died during the
Holocaust in Hitlers concentration camps (include but
are not limited to Roma, Jehovah Witnesses, the slavic
peoples, and homosexuals

Adolf Hitler: Mein Kampf

Mein Kampf: Hitlers book published in 1925
It means My Struggle
It was in this book that he outlined his ideas and plans
He believed that the way to obtain his goals was to lie and use warfare
and terror tactics
He also believed that the Aryan people were the master race and
were considered superior to all other people, specifically Jewish people
Hitler blames the Jews for Germanys WWI loss and for the following
economic depression
This became known as the big lie.
His book contained a plan to eliminate all Jewish people, take over the
Soviet Union, and invade France
The Nazis followed these beliefs
Once in power Hitler put his plan into action

Anti-Semitism
Is the prejudice, hatred of, and/or discrimination against
Jews for reasons connected to their Jewish heritage
A person that holds such positions is referred to an antiSemite
This is a form of racism
It was a powerful force that existed both with-in and
outside the German nation
During WWII this was made clear when the
governments of annexed countries did very little to save
the Jews within their populations from the Holocaust

1935: Nuremburg Decrees

The Nuremburg Decrees were measures taken by the
Nazis to isolate the Jews from the rest of society
Jews and other undesirables were put in ghettos.
They were forbidden from holding jobs, they had their
property stolen, and were forced to endure physical
abuse and/or be murdered without consequence

1936: Adolf Eichmann

He established the Jewish Bureau
This was to systemize the processing of the Jewish
population
It first tried to remove the Jewish people through
immigration
Most countries would not that them
Palestine however, took 1500 people a month
Only people with 4 German grandparents were of
German Blood
A Jew was someone who descended from 3-4 Jewish
grandparents

Kristallnacht
It happened in one night
The destruction of 200+ Synagogues and tens of
thousands Jewish homes and businesses ransacked
and/or destroyed
Major property damage
Jewish citizens were attacked on the street

The Goal of the Holocaust

Was to enact the planned de-population and mass extermination
of the people that the Nazis determined were undesirable
This mass murder affected every nation under German hegemony
The objective was the Final Solution which was for the genocide
of the Jews, Roma (Gypsies), and Slavic people
Jewish property was seized and individuals were identified to be
transported to death camps
In 1943, Germany declared itself to be Jew-Free
There were 33, 000 German Jews left after the war, but it is a
miracle they survived

Concentration Camps
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Persecution of the Roma

Roma: were nomadic people that were believed to have
come from northwest India
They were deprived of their civil rights
Their fate resembled that of the Jews after the
beginning of WWII
Many were deported and murdered
Hundreds of thousands of Roma were killed during the
Holocaust

Persecution of the Jehovahs

witnesses
Purple triangular badges were used to mark Jehovahs
witnesses
They made up a relatively small group of people in the
concentration camps
If they signed documents renouncing their religion in
the camps they would be freed.
Very few signed the declarations

Persecution of Homosexuals
1933: state policy began on the persecution of
homosexuals
Any publication by or about homosexuals were burned
and/or prohibited
5000-15000 were sent to concentration camps
Some spent time in regular prisons

Liberation Video
Liberation of Buchenwald (Edward R. Murrow broadcast)