Ch 19, Sec 3: The Holocaust

Holocaust

• • Persecution of Jews by Nazi Germany under Hitler that killed 6 million Jews 5 million others will killed including homosexuals, people with disabilities, gypsies, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and enemies of the state

Nuremberg Laws

• • Laws for Jews that took away their rights in 1935 – Examples: • The right to citizenship • The right to be married to other Germans • • Voting/Holding office Could not be doctors, lawyers, or own a business Result: High unemployment for Jews

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Kristallnacht

“night of broken glass” on Nov 7, 1938 Started when a Jewish refugee in France killed a German politician Hitler ordered his troops to attack the Jews in Austria/Germany on Nov 9, 1938

Results of the Kristallnacht

• • • 90 dead/100s injured 7,500 businesses/180 synagogues were destroyed 20,000 Jews were jailed – Forced to leave Germany if they wanted to be free – Forced to pay for all the damage – (Charged them 1 billion marks-1938 or $6.6 billion-2013)

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Jewish Response

350,000 people left Germany – Most famous: Einstein and Anne Frank – Many were ignored by other countries including the U.S.

Had to apply to immigrate to U.S.

– Visas denied since the Jews had to leave their wealth behind – Immigration laws limited how many Jews could come over

Final Solution

• • Wannsee Conference: – 1942 meeting with high German officials • Rounding up, shooting, and gassing (in a truck) Jews were too slow New idea: – Use concentration camps and extermination camps to get rid of the Jews

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Concentration Camps

Work camps for the strong/young Worked to death in factories Ex: Buchenwald – Horrible living conditions 150-200 people packed into an area for 50 – Constant beatings with very little food Made war supplies/mined for metals/coal Cruel medical procedures performed on the Jews

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Extermination Camps

Death camps for the elderly, sick, and young children 6 camps-mostly in Poland Ex: Auschwitz • Could hold 100,000 people at a time • Killed 2,000 people in one gas chamber at a time • Killed 12,000 people per day (1.3 million during the war)

What took place in the camps?

• • • • • Jews forced to leave all belongings when entering the gates of the camps Doctors would remove all gold teeth from the Jews Soldiers would steal anything of value Men and women/children would be separated from each other to go to different camps Those to sick/old would be taken to death camps • Gassed in the showers with zyclon-b • Bodies were burned in the ovens and the remains were buried in mass graves

How could this happen?

• • • • • 1. German people were desperate to blame somebody after WWI.

2. Hitler had total control.

3. German people were not represented in the government.

4. Germans feared the police (Gestapo) 5. A history of Anti-Jewish feelings dominated the culture.