background information holocaust quickwrite: write about anything you already know or have...
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Background informationHolocaust
Quickwrite:Write about anything you already know or have heard/read about the Holocaust.What would you like to know about during the study of this unit? Questions you have?
Holocaust literally “burnt sacrifice”
A great or complete devastation or destruction, especially by fire.
The systematic mass slaughter of European Jews in Nazi concentration
camps during World War II
Dictator
a person exercising absolute power, especially a ruler who has absolute, unrestricted control in a
government
Fuhrerthe leader: title of Adolf Hitler.
Nazi Ideology Lebensraum = living space. His goal to conquer the world.
Hitler’s Early YearsEarly Years:-Hitler was born in Austria, the son of a custom’s official. He grew up wanting to be a poet and an artist. He did well in school, but dropped out at 16 (the equivalent of 8th grade). -Two years after he dropped out, he moved to Vienna where he tried unsuccessfully to be an artist-Hitler and his father did not get along, but he was close to his mom; she died of cancer in 1907; Hitler blamed the Jewish doctor who treated her.
Hitler Enlists:-He joined the army to fight for Germany in WWI; he earned an Iron Cross of honor for fighting, but always had a low military rank.-He began to love the military at this point in time
Nazi Partynational socialist German
workers' party the political party founded in
Germany in 1919 and brought to power by Hitler in 1933
Hitler’s Early Years Continued:• Hitler Turns to Politics:
– Post war he was hired by the German government to keep watch over groups that may be a threat to democracy; Hitler found one, but instead of reporting it, he became its leader
– The National Socialist German Worker’s Party (Nazi party) was a nationalist, anticommunist, anti-Semitic party. Hitler chose its symbol: the swastika: . He became well known in Bavaria (s. Germany), renting beer halls and giving speeches that were anti-communist and anti-Semitic
*to note: never, never doodle the swastika- it’s extremely offensive!
SwastikaThis figure was the official emblem of the Nazi party and the
Third Reich.The term "Swastika" was originally the name for a hooked cross in Sanskrit, and swastikas have been found on artifacts, such as
coins and pottery, from the ancient city of Troy.Throughout its history, the swastika represented life, sun,
power, strength and good luck.
German nationalists chose to use the swastika in the mid-19th century because it was associated with the
Aryan race and Germanic history.a common symbol used in Germany to represent
German nationalism and prideSwastikas also were used, however, in anti-Semitic
periodicals.
The swastika officially became the emblem for the Nazi Party on August, 7, 1920, at the Salzburg Congress.
Hitler said the swastika symbolized the victory of the Aryan man.
Third Reich “Third State”Hitler claimed that under his leadership, Germany would have a new beginning – its third – and that the Third Reich would last for a thousand years.
Hitler’s Early Years Continued:
Nazi Party Grows:-Hitler blamed Germany’s economic problems on the Jews. -He claimed that Jewish business owners prolonged the war for profit, and said Jews had not fought for Germany (they HAD- and had a casualty rate 11x higher than the general German pop.!)
-His messages played on the wounded German pride, and his Nazi party grew from 6k in 1921 to 50k by 1923!
Hitler’s Early Years Continued • Jail and Mein Kampf:
– In Nov. of 1923, Hitler and a group of followers entered a Munich beer hall where German government officials were meeting. Hitler jumped on a table, fired his pistol into the air, and yelled that the “National Revolution” had begun; he was arrested and served 8.5 mos in jail.
– It was here, in jail, that he wrote Mein Kampf (= My Struggle); this book was the blueprint for the Nazism. In the book he claims that German people were part of the “superior” “Aryan” race, and he names the greatest ememy of all as the Jews; he continues to blame them for all of Germany’s economic troubles.
Hitler Rises to Power (cont.):• Hitler Named Chancellor:
– Germany’s aging President Hindenburg appointed Hitler chancellor in Jan of 1933.
– Soon after, Hitler seized power in all areas-- he put his men in key positions: head of police (= secret police called Gestapo), judges etc.
• Hitler Tightens Control:– Pushed by Hitler, the German Supreme Court rules that
the Gestapo was above the law– He eliminated military leaders who he thought opposed
him- over 400 were executed.
GestapoGeheime Staatspolizei, "Secret State Police") was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and German-occupied Europe. The Secret Police- the most ruthless section of all the Nazi-organized groups.
SSThe Schutzstaffel, translated to Protection Squadron or defense corps, abbreviated SS. Elite section of officers, bodyguards for the party leaders. 50,000 men who were selected for their “Aryan” looks and their commitment to Nazi teachings.
Hitler Rises to Power (cont.):
• Hitler Becomes Dictator:– In Aug of 1934 Hindenburg died and Hitler combined the office of
Chancellor with President and simply declared himself Fuhrer (leader).
– The following day he had all members of army take oath to obey him– He then took control of everything: he outlawed any/all political
opposition, censored media etc.– Within one year, Germany was a complete Fascist state…his racial and
military plans can now be implemented– The end result? World War and The Holocaust, where over six million
(!!) Jewish people were “exterminated”
Scapegoata person or group made to bear the blame
for others or to suffer in their place. The Jews of Europe were made to be
scapegoats for Germany’s economic depression.
Anti-Semitism “Negative qualities of Jews
discrimination against or prejudice or hostility, hatred toward Jews.
Children’s Booksign says “Jews are not wanted here.”
"You can't see his face, but he can see you." Playing upon our fear of the unknown
Aryan Race Tall, Blond, Blue Eyes
a member or descendant of the prehistoric people who spoke Indo-European.
(in Nazi doctrine) a non-Jewish, Caucasian, especially of Nordic stock.
How did the Nazis construct an Aryan identity? (poster Racial Identity) Hitler argued that the German race was superior to all others. Hitler was obsessed with 'racial purity'. He used the word 'Aryan' to describe his idea of a 'pure German race' or Herrenvolk. “Volk” means people in German.The 'Aryan race' had a duty to control the world.
The Nazis believed that the Aryans had the most "pure blood" of all the people on earth. The ideal Aryan had pale skin, blond hair and blue eyes.
Non-Aryans came to be seen as impure and even evil. Hitler believed that Aryan superiority was being threatened particularly by the Jews. But a league table of 'races' was created with the Aryans at the top and with Jews, Gypsies and black people at the bottom. These 'inferior' people were seen as a threat to the purity and strength of the German nation.
Nuremburg LawsLaws which were introduced in 1935 to define Jews as non-Aryan and therefore not German citizens. “Enemies of the State” Stripped them of their civil rights.
Labeling Jews, to separate Jews from their non-Jewish neighbors. To show their “racial” type.
GhettosA part of a town separating Jews from the rest of the citizens. Walled off with gates and armed police and guards. No one was allowed to leave without a permit. Conditions: extreme poverty, overcrowding, little sanitation
Concentration Camps-slave laborA prison system for keeping large numbers of inmates. Harsh conditions. Limited food, water, diseases raged in the overcrowded conditions.
Hitler Orders the Final Solution to the Jewish Problem
1942 two million Jews had already been killed. Use modern factory process to put the remaining Jews to death. Death camps were the solution. Transport Jews from the ghettos by trains to the camps. On arrival, some prisoners would be selected for slave labor, most were led to the “showers” and gassed. The bodies would be burnt in the crematoria.
Gas chamberInvention to kill large numbers of people by poisonous gas.They were rooms disguised as showers.
Crematorium
Genocidethe deliberate and systematic extermination of a national,
racial, political, or cultural
group.
Death Camps
How could people let the Holocaust happen?
• We know the end result of Hitler’s reign was war and genocide on a massive scale.
• How was this allowed to happen? How could so many look the other way?
• One answer = heavily circulated propaganda.• Video 11 min Nazis used Jewish Musicians=
Lady in number 6https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8oxO3M6rAPw
Nazi Propaganda: Propaganda helped to promote the Nazi party’s strength and message. These posters advertise Nazi rallies at
Nuremberg.
The poster reads “one people, one Reich, one fuhrer.”
Hitler used the Berlin Summer Olympics in 1933 for Propaganda purposes.Hitler said “It will be the task of the nation, it will be a testament to German ingenuity, and to its growing power.Hosting the Olympics gave Hitler the opportunity to portray Germany to the world as a civilized and modern state. A friendly but powerful nation.
Nazi propaganda promoting Hitler’s book Mein Kampf (my struggle) and Hitler
Youth.
•
The poster on the right was issued after regulations were introduced requiring all Jews still in Germany to wear a visible yellow star. The
caption reads "He who wears this symbol is an enemy of our people.”The poster on the left advertises an anti-Semitic film
On the left: the cover of the children’s book The Poisonous Mushroom. On the right, a page from the book. It reads: "Just as it is often hard to tell a toadstool from an edible
mushroom, so too it is often very hard to recognize the Jew as a swindler and criminal..."
Also from The Poisonous Mushroom: the page on the right says “Just look at these guys! The louse-infested beards! The filthy, protruding ears..” The page on the left says: “The Jewish nose is bent. It looks like the number six..."
With the help of a children's opera, "Brundibar," the Nazis managed to deceive the Red Cross and delay the world's
knowledge of the Holocaust.
Nazi Ruse Covered Up Holocausthttp://www.cbsnews.com/videos/nazi-ruse-covered-up-holocaust/
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/germany/10938062/Nazi-perfect-Aryan-poster-child-was-Jewish.html
Nazi 'perfect Aryan' poster child was JewishHessy Taft recently presented the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial in Israel with a Nazi magazine featuring her baby photograph on the front cover, and told the story of how
she became an unlikely poster child for the Third Reich
Ladder of PrejudiceHow does prejudice start?
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful,
committed citizens can change the world; indeed,
it is the only thing that ever has.”
To save one life is as if you have saved the world,
One person can create change.
Show Recue 1:39http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20759709,00.html
Holocaust survivor tells a story the world must hearHolocaust survivor Ela Stein Weissberger, 83, holds up the star she was forced to wear by Nazis as she speaks to students Thursday at Juanita High School. “You should not forget my story, and please do not forget my friends,”
1st step, boycott Jewish business, anti-Semitism, propaganda=Enemy of the state, book-burning of Jewish writers, any opposition to Nazi party would result in violence.
2nd step Nuremburg Race Laws=stripped Jews of their citizenship, took away “ALL” civil rights, propaganda=Hitler Youth organizations.
Ladder of PrejudiceWhen prejudice and discrimination take control
3rd step instruments of terror, Gestapo & SS eliminate the opposition, Kristallnacht, Jews moved to ghettoes enclosed by high walls=overcrowding, starvation, disease.
4th step Physical attacks “Death Squads” organized massacre of Jews from Poland to Russia. Slave labor camps.
5th step Final Solution=death camps, extermination of all “undesirables” slave labor, medical experiments.
Holocaust aftermath = six million Jews perished at the hands of Nazis
Why is it important to remember the Holocaust?