The Holocaust
How was it possible for a modern state to carry out the systematic
murder of an entire people for no other reason than that they were
Jewish?
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Only a modern state, with its capacity for bureaucratic
organization, mass communication/propaganda, and
modern technology (e.g. railroads, mass communications)
could carry out murder on such a scale.
The Holocaust was centrally planned and an expression
of state policy.
To carry out the transport and murder of millions took
significant organization and involved many government
agencies and tens of thousands of workers.
Why the Jews?
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Anti-Jewish attitudes deeply rooted in European Christian
culture and society.
Jews historically charged with the crime of deicide
(murder of God).
All measures taken by the Nazis against the Jews had
precursors in European history.
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Early Christianity:You cannot live among us as Jews.
Middle Ages:You cannot live among us.
Holocaust:You cannot live.
Stages of the Holocaust
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Anti-Jewish Legislation (1933-1935)
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Boycott of Jewish businesses in Germany (April 1, 1933)
Nuremberg Laws (1935) stripped Jews of rights of citizenship and barred
Jews from education, professions, and public spaces (parks, pools, theatres,
etc). Jews disappeared from German public life.
Persecution (1938-39)
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*Kristallnacht (November 1938) Anti-Jewish violent outbreak
orchestrated by Nazis after murder of German diplomat by
Jewish youth.
*Expulsion: Germany attempted to expel many Jews from the
Reich. Few nations would accept Jewish refugees.
Kristallnact
How was it possible for an entire people to allow itself to be destroyed?
How was it possible for the world to stand by without halting this
destruction?
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From 1935 until the outbreak of war, many Jews tried to leave the
Reich (Germany and Austria), but found few nations willing to take
them.
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Why?
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After war broke out, opportunities to rescue Jews diminished.
Historians debate whether nations responded adequately to the
Holocaust.
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Economies suffering by depression had little capacity to absorb refugees. AntiJewish attitudes pervasive among world leaders and among larger populations.
Allies threatened Nazi leaders with punishment for crimes against the
Jews and civilian populations.
Could Allies have done more, such as bomb Auschwitz or the rail
networks leading to death camps?
Of all the nations of the western world, Canada’s response was the
most dismal. Between 1933 and 1946, Canada admitted only 5,000
Jewish refugees, fewer than Cuba, Paraguay and the Dominican
Republic. (The St. Louis Incident)
The St. Louis Incident
By far the largest group in Europe were bystanders. To varying
degrees they knew what was taking place, but did nothing.
“All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is
that good men do nothing.”
– Edmund Burke
There were 11-12 million victims of the Holocaust, including Jews,
Gypsies, political prisoners, Jehovah Witnesses, and homosexuals.
“Not every victim was Jewish,
but every Jew was a victim.”
– Elie Wiesel
Rescuers
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Despite grave risk to themselves and their families, some
individuals and communities rescued Jews.
Oskar Schindler saved 1,000 Jews (700 men and 300
women) in Crakow. His heroism was the subject of the
Stephen Spielberg film, Schindler’s List.
As in the case of all historical events, there is much about
the Holocaust that is subject to debate.
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Some people claim that the Holocaust never took place or
that the number of victims has been greatly exaggerated.
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There are mountains of evidence including documents and
testimonies by eyewitness, including perpetrators, victims and bystanders.