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WORLD HISTORY II1945 TO PRESENT

THE HOLOCAUST: ANTI-SEMITISM & GENOCIDE IN NAZI GERMANY

LITTLE FLOWER CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL FOR GIRLS

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LEARN FROM THE PAST

To dwell in the past is foolish. To forget the past is a disgrace.

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THE UNICORN

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BIG IDEAS OF THE HOLOCAUST

prejudice racism stereotyping pluralism tolerance diversity silence apathy indifference social engineering genocide

use and abuse of power

civil rights democratic

responsibilities Fairness justice individual identity peer pressure conformity obedience

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ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS1. How was it possible for a modern society to carry out the

systematic murder of a people for no reason other than that they were Jews?

2. How was it possible for a people to almost be destroyed?3. What makes some people resist and others obey authority?4. How was it possible for the whole world to stand by without

halting this destruction?5. Could such a thing happen again?6. What would I have done under similar circumstances?7. What can such a catastrophe tell us about human nature?8. What comparable examples are there of people’s inhumanity to

others?9. Where does one draw the line between obeying the law or10. obeying one’s conscience?11. What is the role and responsibility of the individual in society12. What is your citizen’s responsibility to explore your roles as an

educated and responsible human beings in a global society.13. Why is the study of the Holocaust relevant today?

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Students will understand that…

1. man’s inhumanity to man can surface in a variety of historical circumstances.

2. genocide is a threat to all humanity, and the loss of one group is a loss to all.

3. prejudice has had a long history and is still alive today.4. blind obedience to authority can be dangerous.5. when tyranny prevails, individuals can make a difference by acts

of moral courage.6. democratic institutions and values are not automatically

sustained, but need to be appreciated, nurtured, and protected.7. silence and indifference to the suffering of others, or to the

infringement of civil rights in any society, can - however, unintentionally - perpetuate the problem.

8. the Holocaust was not an accident in history - it occurred because individuals, organizations, and governments made choices that not only legalized discrimination but also allowed prejudice, hatred, and ultimately mass murder to occur.

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OVERVIEW

Persecution and mass murder of as many as 11 million people by Adolf Hitler and the Nazis between 1933 and 1945.

Who were the people they targeted? What were the events leading up to the

Final Solution? How did the genocide finally come to

an end?

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SOME CAUSES

The consequence of unbridled racism… Centuries-old bigotry and anti-Semitism… Renewed by a nationalistic fervor that emerged in

Europe in the latter half of the 19th century… Fueled by Germany’s defeat in World War I and its

national humiliation following the Treaty of Versailles…

Exacerbated by worldwide economic hard times… The ineffectiveness of the Weimar Republic… International indifference… Catalyzed by the political charisma and

manipulative propaganda of Adolf Hitler’s Nazi regime…

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ADOLPH HITLER

The Holocaust corresponds with the political rise of one man: Adolf Hitler.

He became Chancellor of Germany on January 30, 1933.

By the middle of the next year, he was dictator with the title of Fuhrer.

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THE CLEANSING Hitler had started cleansing, what he called, 'the

master race' almost as soon as he took office. In addition to the nearly six million Jews he

targeted, there were more than five million non-Jewish victims as well.

The Nazi regime tried to eliminate anyone who might pose a political threat, including:› communists, journalists and various Christians who

opposed Hitler› those who would 'dilute' the Aryan gene pool, such

as Romani, Jews, blacks and the handicapped› criminals and others who drained the economic

system› people they just didn't like, such as homosexuals

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THE VICTIMS

Victims subject to heavy labor, forced abortions and sterilization.

Assets stolen & imprisoned in a concentration camp anywhere in the Third German Empire, or Reich.

Often executed or worked to death. Current estimates total about 20,000

camps.

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ANTI-SEMITISM Hitler had specifically blamed Jews for his nation's

problems since 1918. Anti-Semitism not new in Europe, but the Nazis went

from prejudice to murder. Jews identified by voluntary registration, census and

immigration records, synagogue membership rolls, and informants (bounties).

In 1933 - increasingly strict laws stripped away Jewish rights, including land ownership.

Barred from professions like law, medicine, journalism, military.

By 1935 - lost their citizenship & personal, business and property restrictions and regulations were enacted.

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KRISTALLNACHT

The Night of Broken Glass – Kristallnacht. November 1938 - turning point in Jewish persecution. Retribution for the murder of a German embassy

employee in Paris by a German-born Jewish student. More than 9,000 Jewish-owned businesses, homes and

synagogues were destroyed or vandalized. 91 Jewish men were murdered, and upwards of 30,000

were arrested and sent to concentration camps. German government eliminated Jews from the

economy, remaining Jewish-owned property was seized and Jewish children were expelled from public schools.

Jewish community as a whole was fined one billion marks to pay for the damage of Kristallnacht.

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PERSECUTION BEYOND GERMANY

Hitler invaded Poland in 1939. Separated the 'undesirable' citizens from

the rest of the population. 100,000’s of Jews were relocated into

ghettos near railroad lines. Polish Jews became slaves and wear a

white Star of David on their arms. Jews throughout the Reich - required to

wear the recognizable yellow Star of David on their chests.

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NEW CLEANSING PROGRAMS

Nazis conquered more territory - encountered more and more of what they called 'sub-humans,' including Allied POWs.

Germany began deporting Jews to concentration camps.

Those allowed to remain at home became slave labor in the war industries.

In newly occupied lands - simply kill as many Jews as possible on the spot, pay locals to do it, send to camps.

Hitler's allies started their own cleansing programs.

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AUSCHWITZ Summer of 1941 - Fuhrer ordered the systematic

extermination of all Jewish people in Europe. Final Solution Genocide program began at Auschwitz –

ultimately six death camps, all in Poland, specially equipped for mass murder.

European Jews & other 'undesirables,' were typically deported by freight and cattle cars, packed shoulder to shoulder for days - no room to sit, no protection from weather, no food, water or bathroom facilities.

Those who survived the train ride were separated upon arrival.

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AUSCHWITZ Summer of 1941 - Fuhrer ordered the systematic

extermination of all Jewish people in Europe. Final Solution Genocide program began at Auschwitz -

ultimately included six death camps, all in Poland, specially equipped for mass murder.

European Jews & other 'undesirables,' were typically deported by freight and cattle cars, packed shoulder to shoulder for days - no room to sit, no protection from weather, no food, water or bathroom facilities.

Those who survived the train ride were separated upon arrival.

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HOW SEPARATED

Useful prisoners were tattooed with a number, stripped of their clothes and belongings, shaved and hosed down.

Allowed to live as long as they were productive workers for the German war machine.

Not useful enough - killed immediately, including almost all children and the elderly.

Zyklon-B gas became the preferred method. Early victims were buried in mass graves, but

cremation soon became the only sustainable option.

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HUMAN TRIALS Little resistance/rebellion in the camps or ghettos. Nazis suppressed all uprisings. A few managed to escape to safety. Nazi doctors viewed the masses of defenseless

prisoners as lab rats - human trials on a variety of medical experiments.

Deliberately inflicted and then tested various treatments for diseases, poisons, frostbite, hypothermia and battle wounds, including amputations and transplants.

Other doctors - the most efficient ways to exterminate all the 'sub-humans,' such as sterilization and execution techniques.

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THE ARYAN RACE

Doctors tried to benefit the Aryan race - artificial insemination, infamous experimentation on twin children, breed multiple & perfect specimens of 'the master race.'

Developed a method for making soap from human fat.

But failed to change eye color or make seawater safe to drink.

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END OF THE HOLOCAUST D-Day - Allied invade Northern France on June 6, 1944. Camps increased executions - record daily high of

9,000 at Auschwitz - faster than they could dispose of the bodies.

Soviet army liberated the first camp in July. Nazis started eliminating as much evidence as

possible, destroying camps and moving the prisoners as the Allies closed in.

Auschwitz discovered January 1945 - two million people murdered there.

First camp to be liberated by American troops was Buchenwald in April 1945.

April 30, 1945 - Adolf Hitler commits suicide. Germany surrendered a week later. The war in Europe and the Holocaust were finally over.

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LESSON SUMMARY

The Holocaust - 1933 and 1945 - murder of 11 million people at the hands of Hitler's regime in Nazi Germany.

Five million 'undesirable' people and six million Jews were systematically stripped of their rights and property, imprisoned and often killed.

The Final Solution attempted to exterminate all Jewish people in death camps, such as Auschwitz.

Before their deaths, many prisoners were used as slave labor or as unwilling subjects in medical experiments.

The Holocaust ended with Germany's surrender at the end of World War II in May 1945.

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MY JOURNAL How can you connect the history of the Holocaust to other

world events and to the world you live in today? Reflect on what you have learned and consider what this study

means to you personally and as citizens of a democracy.

I did not know that… I couldn’t believe that… If I were _____, I think I… If I were _____, I wish I… This incident reminds me of a time when… This incident reminds me of a book in which… This incident reminds me of an experience that… When I read ______, I… I think that… This person, ______, is similar to _____ because… This event is ______, is similar to because…