The Holocaust
“The Final Solution” of WWII
Holocaust: the systematic attempt to rid Europe of all Jews.
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Hitler incorporated anti-Semitism and his plan for a master race (Aryan Race)
Anti-Semitism: prejudice towards or hatred of Jews
Motives behind the Holocaust
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Mein Kampf: Hitler’s book describing his plan for a Aryan master race
An Aryan, according to Hitler was a white, non-Jewish person. With a tall body, blonde hair and blue
eyes.
Hitler believed Aryans were the smartest and strongest
Aryan Supremacy – Hitler believed that Aryan were superior (better than) all other races.
o Hitler and the Nazi Party saw Jews as Non-German
o Hitler believed in the removal of all Jews
Hitler and the Nazi Party were also prejudiced towards gypsies, Jehovah’s Witnesses, disabled, and
homosexuals.
Hitler’s Plan
1. 1933- Threats and boycotts against Jewish stores
2. 1935 – Nuremberg Laws: laws passed to publicly identify Jewish people and to segregate them.
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Segregation: separation of people by race, religion, or nationality
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Nuremberg Laws – Jews were forced to wear the Star of David to identify themselves as Jewish
3. 1938 – Pogrom: a violent riot
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Riots launched against Jews by local residents and encouraged by authorities.
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Kristallnacht (November 9, 1938) “Night of the Broken Glass”
o Most Famous Nazi Pogrom
o Nazis destroyed thousands of Jewish buildings and synagogues
o Burned books by Jewish authors
o Signaled the start of the Jewish elimination
4. 1939 – Ghettos
 Jews were rounded up and forced into Ghettos, or areas separated from the rest of German
population
 The idea was to overcrowd a small area with little food and supplies so that Jews would die of
starvation and disease
 Not fast enough for Hilter
The Holocaust
“The Final Solution” of WWII
5. 1939 – Hitler’s “Final Solution”
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Genocide: the deliberate murder of a particular ethnic, religious, or cultural group
Jews were deported (transported) from ghettos to concentration camps
Concentration Camp: work camps where Jews were forced by Nazis to perform hard labor
o Little food
o Unsanitary
o Filled with disease
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Extermination Camps: when Jews were no longer able to work they were sent to camps in Poland
to be killed
Liberation!!!
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Allied troops freed Jews and others who survived concentration camps throughout the year 1945
Death Toll
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6 million Jews exterminated during the Holocaust
2/3 of all European Jews were killed
200,000-800,00 Gypsies
200,000-300,000 people with disabilities
10,000-25,000 homosexual men
2,000 Jehovah’s Witnesses
Nuremberg Trials
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Nazi leaders were convicted of war crimes
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Led to an increasing demand for a Jewish homeland which would become Israel carved out of Palestine