From Holocaust to Hope
A Guide to Teaching the Holocaust
Prepared by
Ruth Ann Cooper
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Tulsa Public Schools
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Goal and Objectives…………………………………………………………………..4
Activities in Which Students Will be Engaged……………………………………….5
Introduction and General Information………………………………………………...6
Teaching Guide……………………………………………………………………….9
Student Evaluation Form…………………………………………………………….20
Major Sources Used………………………………………………………………….21
Summer Program in Israel and Poland for Teachers…………………………………22
Appendix……………………………………………………………………………...23
“The Greenies”………………………………………………………………..24
“Hangman”……………………………………………………………………27
Quotations for Discussion…………………………………………………….34
Definition of Holocaust……………………………………………………….35
Historical Background………………..………………………………………36
36 Questions Often Asked about the Holocaust……………………………...39
Glossary……………………………………………………………………….57
Significant Dates………………………………………………………………70
History of Anti-Semitism……………………………………………………..73
Political Scene………………………………………………………………...77
Map……………………………………………………………………………79
Biography of Hitler……………………………………………………………80
Beliefs of Nazi party…………………………………………………………..83
The Wave questions…………………………………………………………...85
Yellow Star……………………………………………………………………86
Kristallnacht…………………………………………………………………..88
“The Little Smuggler” ………………………………………………………..89
Wannsee Conference………………………………………………………….90
Railroad car: Poland, 1942…………………………………………………...93
Auschwitz…………………………………………………………………..…94
Death Camps…………………………………………………………………100
“A Precious Gift” …………………………………………………………....102
Calorie Tally…………………………………………………………………105
Januscz Korczak……………………………………………………………..107
Warsaw Ghetto Uprising…………………………………………………….110
Survival as Resistance……………………………………………………….111
The Courage to Care Questions……………………………………………...112
Rescue in Denmark…………………………………………………………..113
Raoul Wallenberg……………………………………………………………115
Diary of Anne Frank Activities………………………………………………116
2
SS St. Louis…………………………………………………………………..129
Hannah Senesh……………………………………………………………….130
Aftermath and Liberation…………………………………………………….132
Facing the Shock of Freedom………………………………………………...134
Number of Jews Prior to WWII and Killed in the Holocaust………………...137
Bringing the Perpetrators to Justice…………………………………………..138
Hate Groups…………………………………………………………………..140
Moral Questions in History…………………………………………………..145
Israel: Homeland for the Jews……………………………………………….146
Student Projects………………………………………………………………147
Culminating Activities……………………………………………………….148
Book Report Form……………………………………………………………155
Literature on the Holocaust…………………………………………………..156
Webography…………………………………………………………………..172
3
FROM HOLOCAUST TO HOPE
GOAL:
The goal of this Holocaust unit is to inspire a present generation of youth to help build a
world in which genocide shall not happen again.
OBJECTIVES:
This unit will enable students to:
 Develop an awareness of prejudice, apathy, and indifference and become
knowledgeable about the consequences of these attitudes
 Understand the systematic genocidal plan of the Final Solution
 Appreciate the many forms of resistance during the Holocaust
 Learn about the actions of the Righteous Gentiles who helped the Jews during the
Holocaust
 Relate the lessons of the Holocaust to contemporary world situations
4
FROM HOLOCAUST TO HOPE
Activities in which students will be engaged include:

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Writing
Map work
Library research
Reading
Viewing films
Discussions
Vocabulary lessons
Mathematics
Preparation of book report
Listening-teacher lectures, survivor accounts, liberator accounts
Project work-model building, drawing or painting, or creative writing, depending
on the project chosen
5
FROM HOLOCAUST TO HOPE
Introduction and General Information
Over fifty years have passed since the Holocaust, the most catastrophic periods of
genocide and dehumanization in history. Young people can learn valuable lessons from
studying this period and applying the lessons to personal and world situations today.
Students can learn how the perpetrators of the Holocaust misused education and applied
their knowledge, skills, and technology for genocidal purposes. They can learn about
tremendous acts of bravery and courage and about the efforts of non-Jews who saved
Jews from the Nazis. Above all, they can become aware of the dangers of prejudice,
apathy, and indifference.
The Holocaust was not the work of a few irrational or mad men. Hitler and his henchmen
could not have succeeded without assistance from hundreds of planners, thousands of
participants, and tens of thousands of collaborators, as well as the acquiescence of the
free world. Each new act of cruelty developed logically, in large part because the rest of
the world refused to provide sanctuary, chose instead to remain silent. To label the
perpetrators as irrational or aberrant is to deny the ideology, the complex organizational
involvement, and the extensive participation which made the Final Solution possible.
While the Holocaust was an assault on Jews, it has universal implications. The Holocaust
is a terrifying example of the full horror of which human beings are capable. It was a
crime against humanity that must belong to everyone.
The Holocaust is not only the story of death, destruction, pain, and murder; it is also the
story of life and hope. Six million Jews were murdered, but five million Jews cheated
Hitler and eluded death. The myth of Jews “going to their deaths like sheep to the
slaughter” ignores the fact of Jewish resistance. Resistance was both physical and
spiritual.
Jews revolted not only in the Warsaw Ghetto but in nearly two dozen ghettos and in three
of the six death camps. They formed underground units in France and elsewhere more
than a year before the French and others formed their own undergrounds. Many Jews
became partisans, hid with non-Jews, or passed as Gentiles. Others left Europe in the
1930’s or defied all odds and survived in the camps.
The story of the Jews’ spiritual resistance best defines the legacy of life and hope. They
defied Nazi attempts to dehumanize them and strip them of their dignity. Hitler could not
kill the Jewish spirit, ideas, ethics, or humanity. In this way, Hitler failed, and the Jews
were victorious.
The Holocaust and World War II converged geographically, but in all other respects
should not be confused. There were no military or political reasons to annihilate the
Jews. In fact, it was a burden militarily for the Germans to take so many men and trains
away from the war effort in order to carry out the Final Solution.
6
The official position of each of the Allied governments was to offer assistance to the
political and/or military opponents of the Germans. The Jews were not a nation, a
political force, or a unified armed enemy of Germany. Therefore, the Allies would not
help rescue the Jews and were a part of the silent bystanders who allowed the genocide to
take place.
There is no one way to teach the Holocaust. However, our students learn best when they
can connect concepts to their own lives. There are many selections in Holocaust
literature by and about teenagers and young people that deal with moral issues to which
our students can relate. Students can build an emotional bond with characters their own
age, such as Anne Frank or Elie Wiesel in his book, Night. The Holocaust can then
become meaningful in their own lives.
The Holocaust can be taught through history, literature, or as a unit for interdisciplinary
teaching, with English, social studies, math, and science sharing the teaching of various
components of the Holocaust.
Survivors of the Holocaust are powerful tools for teaching about the Holocaust. The
exchange of questions and answers with survivors will personalize the tragedy for young
people. For its lessons to be appreciated, the Holocaust has to be raised from statistics of
six million to an individual tragedy.
Liberators, American soldiers who were among the first to reach the concentration and
death camps, should be invited into the classroom. Their eyewitness testimony,
combined with their American background, can remove some of the aura of
“foreignness” often related to the Holocaust.
If it is impossible to have a survivor or a liberator speak to a class in person, there are
videotapes available to tell the stories.
If it can be arranged, a field trip to a temple or synagogue will add to the students’
understanding of Jewish culture and religion.
A book report required with this unit will introduce students to another story of the
Holocaust. A list of books suitable for middle school students can be found in the
appendix.
An outside project on the subject of the Holocaust is an excellent way for students to
become actively involved in the unit and can provide material for an exciting culminating
activity. See the list in the appendix for suggestions to present to the students.
The teacher may wish to instruct the students to keep a special notebook or folder for this
unit. Handouts, assignments, and notes could be added as they are given. Also, it is
suggested that a teacher-made form be completed by the students on each film that is
shown. Then they have a record of what was learned from each film.
Call your local Jewish Federation or Jewish institution for any help you may need to
teach a Holocaust unit. They will be happy to help you locate any resources you may
need.
7
The Holocaust is a high-interest unit. Allow ample time for students to explore and
reflect upon the subject. Encourage questions and discussions, and let students share
stories they may have heard from friends and relatives. With the literature section of The
Diary of Anne Frank, the unit taught with this teaching guide took approximately nine
weeks. However, if an interdisciplinary approach is taken to the unit, many films could
be shown in alternating classes, and the unit could be shortened considerably. Test were
not included with this guide. They are left to the discretion of the teacher.
Asterisks are placed beside items in the outline which have notes, information, or stories
in the Appendix. Look for corresponding outline number at the top right side of the page.
The acts of extreme cruelty and evil in the Holocaust are a part of the story and cannot be
denied. But do not dwell on these when teaching young people. Concentrate instead on
the aspects of Jewish resistance and courageous acts of the people who helped the Jews,
as well as the lessons we can learn from the Holocaust. Avoid sensationalizing the horror
that took place.
In the Holocaust are so many messages about human and social behavior. These
messages should be brought into the classroom so that our youth can learn of the hatred
and bigotry that can lead to genocide. The Holocaust can be a precedent, or it can
become a warning. This is why we must teach the Holocaust.
8
FROM HOLOCAUST TO HOPE
I.
Prejudice, Apathy, and Indifference
A. “The Greenies”
*
Handouts-Story and Worksheets
B. “The Hangman”
1. With no prior discussion, show film of “The Hangman”
2. Poem – “The Hangman” by Maurice Ogden
*
Handouts
Poem
Vocabulary Worksheet
Worksheet
Sequence of Events Worksheet
C. * Handouts
Quotations for Discussion
II.
Introduction to Holocaust
*A. Definition of “holocaust”
*B. Historical background of the Holocaust
Teacher should prepare a short lecture from these notes to present to the
students.
*C. Handouts
Questions on the Holocaust
Glossary of Terms, Places, and Personalities
Significant Dates of the Holocaust
(These handouts should be used for reference throughout the unit. Choose
entries from the glossary for vocabulary lessons.)
III.
* History of Anti-Semitism
Teacher should read these notes to the class or prepare a lecture to present to
the students.
9
IV.
* Political Scene in Germany after World War I
Teacher should read notes to class or prepare a lecture to present to students.
A. *Handout – Map of Europe after WWI
Locate Germany and label. Color in area with colored pencil.
(Remainder of map will be filled in as unit progresses.)
B. Biography of Adolf Hitler
* Handout
Students should be given copy of biography of Hitler to read and discuss.
C. * Beliefs of the Nazi Party
Teacher should read notes to class or prepare a short lecture to present to
students.
Films suggested to be shown at this time:
Anatomy of a Dictatorship
Twisted Cross Parts 1 & 2
D. Show the film The Wave
* Discussion questions from The Wave
V.
Nazism to 1939
Anti-Semitism becomes law of the land
A. Hitler assumes power – January 30, 1933
1. Steps taken against Jews – after Reichstag fire on February 27, 1933
a. Emergency measures suspending fundamental freedoms of Jews
b. Riots against Jews and businesses owned by Jews
c. April 11, 1933 – boycott of Jewish businesses
d. May 10, 1933 – book burning of books written by Jews or
anyone not in sympathy with Nazis
e. Dismissal of Jews from jobs in media, civil service, law, medical
staff of universities
10
f. April 21, 1933 – law banning Kosher slaughtering of animals
g. April 25, 1933 – law against overcrowding of schools – limited
attendance of Jews
h. July 14, 1933 – revocation of naturalization and citizenship of
East
European Jews.
(Note: Point out that these steps created a structure that
separated Jews from German citizens and made it easier to
dehumanize them.)
B. Nuremberg Laws – September 1935
1. Reich Citizen Laws
a. Only persons of “pure” German blood could be citizens.
b. Those with “impure” blood were of lower status
2. Law for protection of German blood and honor
a. Marriage or relationships between Jews and non-Jews
forbidden
b. Criminal offense if law broken
3. Jews expelled from German schools
4. Jews were segregated on trains and in stations
5. Jews permitted only one or two shopping hours per day
6. Beaches and resorts were off limits to Jews
7. Jews could not use trolleys and buses during rush hours
8. Jews could not have phones and were forbidden to use public
phones
9. Jews had 8:00p.m. curfew
10. Jews had to carry ID cards with “J” stamped on them
11. Jewish men had to use name of “Israel,” and Jewish women had
to use name of “Sarah”
12. *Jews were required to wear a yellow star on their clothing
11
C. Reactions to New Restrictions
1. Emigration (170,000 by November 1938)
(Note: Explain to students that quota systems of receiving
countries and the restrictions imposed upon the immigrants
seriously limited the emigrations. The United States quota went
unfilled because of these restrictions.)
Also the British White Paper prevented a large number of
emigrants from seeking refuge in Palestine.)
2. Some Jews were resigned to restructuring lives and living with
restrictions.
3. Evian Conference, Evian, France - July 1938
Representatives of 32 world nations met to discuss problem of
refugees. No proposals settled, no decisions reached, and very
little indignation was heard. Nothing was resolved.
D. Hitler’s Conquest Begin
1. 1936 – remilitarized Rhineland (between Germany, France, and
Switzerland)
2. March 1938 – took over Austria – Put Adolf Eichmann in
charge
of Vienna Bureau
3. September 1938 – England and France sacrificed
Czechoslovakia when Hitler said that was to be his last
territorial claim
4. October 1938 – Hitler deported Polish Jews from Germany
Assignment: Students should color in and label Rhineland,
France, Switzerland, Austria, Czechoslovakia, and Poland on
their map outlines.
E. * Kristallnacht (Night of Broken Glass; also called Night of the Long
Knives) – November 9, 1938
Teacher should read these notes to class or prepare lecture to present to
students.
VI.
Steps toward Final Solution
A. September 1, 1939 – Germany invaded Poland – victorious in 18 days
12
B. September 3, 1939 – Britain and France declared war on Germany –
World War II began
C. Einzatzgruppen – Immediately after invasion of Poland, killing squads of
SS men were told to kill as many Jews as possible in Poland by mass
shootings and mobile gas vans.
D. Formation of Ghettos
1. Jews, including those previously sent to Poland from Germany,
herded into ghettos in large cities in Poland
2. Ghettos walled off
3. Conditions in ghettos
a. Very crowded – as many as 18-24 people in one room
b. Poor rations – people began to starve almost
immediately
c. Diseases such as typhus and dysentery rampant because
of overcrowding and poor or non-existent sanitation
facilities
d. Bodies left on streets until death wagons came by to
take them to be buried in mass graves outside ghetto
4. Judenrat
Jews picked to follow strict orders of Nazis in governing
ghettos
5. Ghetto life
a. Cultural event and human dignity continued to flourish
despite horrible conditions
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
7)
8)
Schools
Workshops
Businesses
Orchestras
Newspapers
Soup kitchens
Orphanages
Smuggling
b. * “The Little Smuggler”
Read poem to class and discuss questions attached.
13
Nazi Military Victories 1939 – 1941
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
7)
France
Norway
Denmark
Belgium
Holland
Greece
Yugoslavia, Hungary, Rumania, and Bulgaria became German
satellites
Assignment: Students should color in and label countries on map
outline which have not been marked previously.
(Note: A plan was formulated at this time by the Nazi government
to move all European Jews to the island of Madagascar. This plan
was discarded later because of impracticality.)
E. German invasion of Russia – June 22, 1941
1. Previous treaty of non-aggression made in 1939 was broken
2. Same plan for Russian Jews as for the Jews in Poland. The
Einsatzgruppen murdered 1.4 million Jews and thousands of
gypsies, Communist officials and partisan fighters in Poland and
Russia.
3. United States enters war – December 1941
4. Nazi leaders decide Einsatzgruppen action was inefficient method
of killing Jews
5. Decision made to build death camps to kill all the Jews of Europe
F. *Wannsee Conference – January 20, 1942
Teacher should read notes of this conference to the class and discuss
implications with students.
1. Final Solution
a. Emigration not working
b. Decision made to move all Jews to the East (Poland)
2. Jews to be worked until death
3. Survivors to be “treated accordingly”
(Supposedly meant death)
14
VII.
Final Solution
A. Round Ups and Transports
1. Mass deportations to East in trains
2. Jews brought to collecting point
3. Trains were sealed freight cars
a. loaded Jews like cattle – standing
b. no food or water
c. many deaths before trains reached destinations
d. journey sometimes lasted 3-4 days
B. Camps
1. Concentration camps - sources of slave labor
2. Special camps – for “privileged” Jews or other ambiguous
categories of people
a. Bergen-Belsen
b. Theresienstadt (Terezin)
3. Death Camps
a. Chelmno (first one built)
b. Treblinka
c. Majdanek
d. Sobidor
e. Belzec
f. Auschwitz
C. Creation of Death Camps
1. All government agencies, all military forces, and all branches of
the German state ordered to participate in pursuit of annihilation
of Jews
2. *Deportation
Teacher should read “Railroad Car: Poland, 1942” to students.
Railroads
a. Quotas and timetables set (to transport 1,000 to 10,000
Jews per day from ghettos)
b. Railroad workers knew of destination of Jews, but focused
only on their particular jobs – “business as usual”
15
3. Conditions in Camps
*a. Teacher read notes – “Background to Auschwitz”
*b. Teacher read notes – “Arrival in Auschwitz” and “A
‘Normal’ Day in Auschwitz”
*c. Teacher read notes – “The Death Camps”
*d. Handout
Story of “A Precious Gift” should be read in class and
discussion questions should be answered.
*e. Activity – Daily Calorie Tally
*f. Teacher should read the paper on Januscz Korczak to the
students.
VIII.
Jewish Resistance
A. Obstacles to Resistance
1. Reign of terror by Nazis
2. Weakened condition of Jews
3. Nazi policy of collective responsibility – taking revenge on resistant’s
family and friends
4. Isolation of Jews from non-Jews
5. Hostility of non-Jews
6. Disbelief that they would actually be killed (persecutions had been
experienced before)
7. Jews put to death upon arrival in camps in many cases
8. Difficulty in organizing and getting weapons
B. Acts of Resistance
1.
2.
3.
4.
*5.
Ability to remain humane
Smuggling
Acts of sabotage
Cultural activities
Warsaw Ghetto Uprising
Teacher should read information to students
6. Uprisings in many other ghettos
7. Revolts in camps
8. Partisan groups formed
9. Pretending to be non-Jew
*10. Survival
Teacher should read “Survival as Resistance” to students.
16
IX.
The Righteous Gentiles
A. Show film The Courage to Care.
*Discuss questions about film with class.
(Note: Point out to the students that penalty for helping the Jews was the
same fate that awaited the Jews.)
B. *Danish Rescue
Teacher should read “The Rescue in Denmark” to the students
If possible, show film entitled Denmark ’43
C. *Raoul Wallenberg
Teacher should read story to students
If Possible, show film Raoul Wallenberg: The Forgotten Hero.
D. Bulgaria – King refused to hand over Jews – no punitive action taken by
Hitler.
E. Avenue of the Just – Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial Center in
Jerusalem.
If possible, show film entitled Avenue of the Just.
X.
The Diary of Anne Frank
(Note: If Holocaust unit is being taught by a social studies teacher, he/she
may not wish to teach this literature portion of the unit.)
Dramatization by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett
A. Read background to play.
B. Read play aloud in class, allowing students to take characters’ parts.
Change parts often so all students will have opportunity to participate.
C. *Teacher should read to class “A Tragedy Revealed: Heroine’s Last Day”
by Ernst Schnabel.
Suggested films to show:
The World of Anne Frank
The Legacy of Anne Frank
The Attic
Anne Frank Remembered
Test and other activities are left to the discretion of the teacher.
17
XI.
Reaction to the Holocaust by Rest of World
A. Aware of persecution of Jews as early as 1933
1. Published articles by former inmates of camps
2. Conditions described by reporters, clergymen, diplomatic
correspondents
B. Negative or Indifferent Reactions
1. No change in countries’ quota systems or restrictions
*2. Voyage of S.S. St. Louis – May 1939
Teacher should read story to students and discussion questions should
be answered.
3. British White Paper on Palestine, 1939
(British acquiesced to pressure from Arabs to forbid further
immigration.)
4. Swiss border closed
5. Vatican did not protest or intervene (even as Italian Jews were rounded
up)
C. Positive Reactions
1.
2.
3.
*4.
Denmark and Bulgaria saved the majority of their Jewish populations
Labor strike in Holland because of Nazi treatment of Jews
Protest of Rev. Martin Niemoller and other clergymen
Attempts by Jews in Palestine to save European Jews
*Teacher should read story of Hannah Senesh (“Chana Czenes –
Portrait of A Heroine”) to students.
XII.
Liberation
A. Hitler committed suicide on April 30, 1945
B. Third Reich collapsed
*C. Allies entered camps
Teacher should read “Aftermath and Liberation” and “Facing the Shock of
Freedom” to students.
If at all possible, show film To Bear Witness.
This is a very informative video.
D. Refugee, or DP, camps established to aid victims
*E. The number of Jews in European countries prior to WWII and killed in
Holocaust
18
XIII.
Nuremberg Trials – 1945-1946
Teacher should read “Bringing the Perpetrators to Justice” to the students.
XIV. Meaning of Holocaust in Today’s World
*A. Activities of Hate Groups
Teacher should read information and explain to the students about the
various groups.
*B. Ask student to consider questions in “Moral Questions in History.”
XV.
Israel, A Homeland for the Jews
Teacher should read information to students.
Film on modern Israel should be shown.
Suggested films:
Jerusalem: Within These Walls
Israel: Land of Promise
Israel: Story of the Jewish People
XVI. Student Activities
*Book Report Form
*List of Suggested Projects
*Suggestions for Culminating Activities
XVII. Literature on the Holocaust
XVIII. Webography
* Notes, information, or story on this subject available in the appendix.
19
STUDENT EVALUATION OF THE HOLOCAUST UNIT
Why do you think it was important to study the Holocaust?
What did you learn from the Holocaust unit? Be as specific as you can.
What responsibility does each individual have to see that the Holocaust does not happen
again?
20
MAJOR SOURCES USED IN THE PREPARATION OF THIS
TEACHING GUIDE
Summer Fellowship Program in Israel for American Public School Teachers.
A Holocaust Curriculum: Life Unworthy of Life
Ohio Council on Holocaust Education Curriculum –
The Holocaust: Prejudice Unleashed
Information about any resources needed for teaching a Holocaust unit can be obtained
from the following:
Anti-Defamation league of B’Nai B’rith
823 United Nations Plaza
New York, NY 10017
(212) 221-1875
Website: http://www.adl.org
or
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
100 Raoul Wallenberg Place, SW
Washington , D.C. 20024-2150
(202) 488-0400
Website: www.USHMM.org
21
SUMMER FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM IN ISRAEL AND POLAND
FOR AMERICAN PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHERS
An application and information can be obtained by contacting
American Gathering and Federation of Jewish Holocaust Survivors
C/O Jewish Labor committee
25 East 21st ST, 2nd Floor
New York, NY 10010
(212) 477-0707
E-mail: lottew@aol.com
22
APPENDIX
23
I.A.
The Greenies
By William Goodykoontz
John Doe, Jr., is not born with prejudice against people who have green hair. But from
the time he is a small child, he is warned against them. He is not supposed to play with
green-haired children. He is told not to talk with them. His parents say, "Stay with your
own kind. You'll be bad, John, if you mix with green-haired children."
As John grew older, he learns that his parents, their friends, and neighbors do not want
people with green hair to: attend his church, live in his neighborhood, go to his school, or
playground, or camp.
John believes what the adults around him say. And they say that green-haired people
should go to church elsewhere, and go to other schools. As a child, John does not see
many people with green hair.
At home, John often listens to his father talk. John Doe, Sr., started out in life with high
hopes. But somewhere along the way, John Doe, Sr., did not get the job he wanted or the
raise he hoped for. He began to believe that a certain group of people were the cause of
his failure and that these people are to blame for everything that is wrong in life.
Naturally, the bad ones are the Greenies - the people with green hair!
John Doe, Sr., talks against the people with green hair everywhere he goes - in public and
in private. At home, especially, he talks about how dirty, dumb, poor, and evil the people
with green hair are. Day after day, he makes jokes about them. He says that they should
be thrown out of the community or that they are turning the country over to the enemy.
And he always says that no Greenies will ever move into his neighborhood. Complaining
about the green-haired people makes John Doe, Sr., forget that he himself is something of
a failure. And when he is reminded of his failure, he can easily blame it on the greenhaired people.
John Doe, Jr., begins to believe that his father is right. And anyhow he doesn't often talk
with green-haired people to see what they're really like. Sometimes he reads about them
in newspapers. But since newspapers play up crime, he usually reads about green-haired
people who have gotten into trouble with the law. Again John believes his parents are
right. Green-haired people do bad things. Even the newspapers say so.
John Doe, Jr., becomes a man. He believes the things he has learned about people with
green hair. Then he marries Jane Roe, who has learned the same prejudices against
people with green hair. Later they have children. "Don't play with children with green
hair. You are bad if you do."
So John Doe, Jr., carries over his prejudices to his children. And his children, too,
become infected with the disease called prejudice.
SOURCE: William Goodykoontz, “The Greenies,” The Holocaust Years: Society on Trial. Roselle Chartock and Jack
Spencer, editors (New York: Bantam Books, 1978), pp. 79-81 Reprinted with permission from Bantam. Doubleday,
Dell.
24
THE GREENIES WORKSHEET
VOCABULARY:
Prejudice
Scapegoat
Behavior
Fact
Attitude
Stereotyping
Opinion
Generalizing
Part I. Directions. Look carefully at the word on the left. Find the same word in the row
and circle it.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
prejudice
attitude
scapegoat
stereotyping
behavior
opinion
fact
generalizing
prejudese
atitudee
scapegoate
stereotping
bihavior
openion
fack
geenralizing
prejudiced
altitude
scrapegoat
steeerotyping
behavier
opinion
facte
gennerelizing
prejudice
attitude
scapegoat
stereotyping
behavior
opinon
fact
generalizing
Part II. Directions Write each vocabulary word under the correct number of syllables
1 syllable
________________
2 syllables
________________
3 syllables
________________
________________
________________
________________
5 syllables
________________
________________
Part III. Directions. Read the sentences below. Circle the vocabulary words used in
each sentence.
1. Because Susan was handicapped, she was a scapegoat for other children.
2. Her attitude toward school has changed for the better.
3. The children were prejudiced because the man was old.
4. “Blondes have more fun” is an example of stereotyping.
5. One’s behavior tells many things about a person.
6. In John’s opinion, only athletes can be “heroes.”
7. It is a fact that cars come in many colors.
8. The people were generalizing when they said that older people cannot help
themselves.
25
Part IV. Directions Based on the way words are used in the sentences above, match each
vocabulary word to its correct definition.
1. A person or thing bearing the blame for others ___________________________
2. A feeling or emotion toward a fact or state ______________________________
3. An actual occurrence of proof ________________________________________
4. Giving general applicability to; not specific _____________________________
5. Preconceived judgment or opinion; bias _______________________________
6. The manner of conducting oneself _____________________________________
7. Something conforming to a fixed or general pattern _______________________
8. A view, judgment, or appraisal formed about a particular matter ____________
Part V. Directions. Unscramble each word at the left and write it correctly on the line at
the right.
1.
Tscgaaoep
________________________
2.
duatetti
________________________
3.
tfca
________________________
4.
neeliziggran
________________________
5.
eeidcjurp
________________________
6.
abehiorv
________________________
7.
tpigeoersnty
________________________
8.
iinnoop
________________________
26
I.B. 2
The Hangman
By Maurice Ogden
Into our town the Hangman came
Smelling of gold and blood and flame
And he paced our bricks with a diffident air
And he built his frame on the courthouse square.
The scaffold stood by the courthouse side,
Only as wide as the door was wide,
A frame as tall, or little more,
Than the capping sill of the courthouse door.
And we wondered, whenever we had the time,
Who the criminal, what the crime,
The Hangman judged with the yellow twist
Of knotted hemp in his busy fist.
And innocent though we were, with dread
We passed those eyes of buckshot lead;
Till one cried, “Hangman, who is he
For whom you raised the gallows-tree?”
And a twinkle grew in the buckshot eye,
And he gave us a riddle instead of reply;
“He who serves me best,” said he,
“Shall earn the rope of the gallows-tree.”
And he stepped down, and laid his hand
On a man who came from another land
And we breathed again, for another's grief,
At the Hangman's hand was our relief.
And the gallows frame on the courthouse lawn
By tomorrow’s sun would be struck and gone.
So we gave him way, and no one spoke,
Out of respect for his hangman's cloak.
27
The next day's sun looked mildly down
On the roof and street in our quiet town
And, stark and black in the morning air,
The gallows-tree on the courthouse square.
And the Hangman stood at his usual stand
With the yellow hemp in his busy hand;
With his buckshot eye and his jaw like a pike
And his air so knowing and businesslike.
And we cried: “Hangman, have you not done,
Yesterday with the alien one?”
Then we fell silent, and stood amazed;
“Oh, not for him was the gallows raised...”
He laughed a laugh as he looked at us;
“...Did you think I'd gone to all this fuss
To hang one man? That's a thing I do
To stretch the rope when the rope is new.”
Then one cried “Murderer!” One cried “Shame!”
And into our midst the Hangman came
To that man's place. “Do you hold,” said he,
“With him that was meant for the gallows tree?”
And he laid hid hand on that one's arm,
And we shrank back in quick alarm
And we gave him way, and no one spoke,
Out of fear of his hangman's cloak.
That night we saw with dread surprise
The Hangman's scaffold had grown in size.
Fed by the blood beneath the chute
The gallows-tree had taken root.
Now as wide, or a little more,
Than the steps that led to the courthouse door,
As tall as the writing, or nearly as tall,
Halfway up the courthouse wall.
28
The third he took - - we had all heard tell - Was a usurer and infidel,
And: “What,” said the Hangman, “have you to do
With the gallows-bound, and he a Jew?”
And we cried out: “Is this the one he
Who has served you well and faithfully?”
The Hangman smiled: “It's a clever scheme
To try the strength of the gallows-beam.”
The fourth man's dark, accusing song
Had scratched our comfort hard and long;
And: “What concern,” he gave us back,
“Have you for the doomed - - the doomed and black?”
The fifth. the sixth. And we cried again:
“Hangman, Hangman, is this the man?”
“It's a trick,” he said, “that we hangmen know
For easing the trap when the trap springs slow.”
And so we ceased and asked no more,
As the Hangman tallied his bloody score;
And sun by sun, and night by night,
The gallows grew to monstrous height.
The wings of the scaffold opened wide
Till they covered the square from side to side ;
And the monster cross-beam, looking down,
Cast its shadow across the town.
29
Then through the town the Hangman came
And he called in the empty streets my name - And I looked at the gallows soaring tall
And thought: “There is no one left at all
For hanging, and so he calls to me
To help pull down the gallows-tree.”
And I went out with right good hope
To the Hangman's tree and the Hangman's rope.
He smiled at me as I came down
To the courthouse square through the silent town,
And supple and stretched in his busy hand
Was the yellow twist of the hempen strand.
And he whistled his tune as he tried the trap
And it sprang down with a ready snap - And then with a smile of awful command
He laid his hand upon my hand.
“You tricked me Hangman!” I shouted then,
“That your scaffold was built for other men . . .
And I no henchman of yours,” I cried.
“You lied to me, Hangman, foully lied!”
Then a twinkle grew in his buckshot eye:
“Lied to you?” “Tricked you?” he said, “Not I.
For I answered straight and I told you true:
The scaffold was raised for none but you.
“For who has served more faithfully
Than you with your cowards hope?” said he,
“And where are the others who might have stood
Side by your side in the common good?”
“Dead,” I whispered: and amiably
“Murdered,” the Hangman corrected me:
“First the alien, then the Jew . . .
I did no more than you let me do.”
Beneath the beam that blocked the sky,
None stood so alone as I - And the Hangman strapped me and no voice there
Cried “STAY!” for me in the empty square.
SOURCE: Maurice Ogden. The Hangman. (Tustin California: Media Masters, Inc. for Regina Publications. Third
Edition. June 1968). Printed with permission from Maurice Ogden.
30
THE HANGMAN VOCABULARY WORKSHEET
Directions. Circle the correct meaning of the word as used in the sentence
1. Scaffold – Stanza 2 “The scaffold stood by the courthouse side.”
Scaffold a. wall hanging b. elevator
c. elevated platform
2. Hemp – Stanza 3 “That hangman with the yellow twist of knotted hemp in his busy
fist”.
Hemp
a. hay
b. tough fiber used for cordage c. fuel
3. Buckshot – Stanza 4 “We passed those eyes of buckshot lead:”
Buckshot a. coarse shot used for game b. wild animal c. firing line
4. Riddle – Stanza 5 “And he gave us a riddle instead of reply.”
riddle
a. lines with a hidden meaning b. an instrument
c. story
5. Gallows – Stanza 5 “Shall earn the rope on the gallows-tree.”
gallows a. tree trunk b. fireplace wood c. a frame from which criminals are hung
6. Stark – Stanza 8 “And, stark and black in the morning air.”
Stark
a. barren
b. forbidden
c. loud
7. Alien – Stanza 10 “Yesterday, with the alien one?”
alien
a. nearby
b. friendly
c. foreign
8. Chute – Stanza 14 “Fed by the blood beneath the chute.”
Chute
a. trough through which things go to lower a load
b. tree c. ground
9. Usurer – Stanza 16 “Was a usurer and infidel,”
Usurer
a. friend
b. criminal
c. moneylender
10. Infidel – Stanza 16 “Was a usurer and infidel,”
Infidel
a. poor person
b. atheist
c. soldier
11. Tallied – Stanza 20 “As the hangman tallied his bloody score.”
Tallied a. scored by notches
b. hastened
c. denied
31
THE HANGMAN WORKSHEET
1. Whenever they had the time, the townspeople wondered who was the ______________
and what was the _______________.
2. When a townsperson asked the hangman who the gallows were for, the hangman
answered in a _______________ instead of a reply.
3. What was the hangman’s answer?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
4. Why do you think the hangman answered this way?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
5. What mistake did the townspeople make when the hangman executed the alien?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
6. When the townspeople sought an excuse for their lack of action, they said it was in
_______________ for the hangman’s _______________.
7. How do the townspeople react when they find out that the gallows were not for the
alien?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
8. When the hangman lets them know that the gallows are not for just one man, one
townsperson cries, “Murderer!” What is this person’s fate?
________________________________________________________________________
9. Who tries to stop the hangman then? ______________ Why? ___________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
10. The hangman always points out that his victims are different from the rest of the
remaining townspeople. Why? ______________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
11. After the sixth victim, how did the townspeople feel? _________________________
________________________________________________________________________
32
12. When the hangman called the last man’s name, the last man thought the hangman
wanted help to ___________________________________________________________
13.How did the last man feel when the hangman laid his hands on
him?_________________
14. The last man said he was no _______________ of the hangman.
15. The hangman calls the last man a ________________.
16. How did the last man feel when he realized there was no one to help
him?____________
17. At the end of the poem, the hangman identifies the last man as the one who served
the hangman more _________________. What did the hangman mean? _____________
_______________________________________________________________________
18. The last man says all the other townspeople are _______________, but the hangman
corrects him and says they were ________________.
19. What happened to the last man? _________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
20. What is the poet saying about human relationships?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
33
I. C.
QUOTATIONS FOR DISCUSSION
“To sin by silence when they should protest makes cowards of men.”
--Abraham Lincoln
“When you have a choice to make and you don’t make it, that in itself is a choice.”
--William James
“The world is too dangerous to live in, not because of the people who do evil, but
because of the people who sit and let it happen.”
--Albert Einstein
“The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.”
--Edmund Burke
“In Germany, they came first for the Communists,
and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Communist.
Then they came for the Jews,
and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Jew.
Then they came for the Trade Unionist,
and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Trade Unionist,.
Then they came for the Catholics,
and I didn’t speak up because I was a Protestant.
Then they came for me,
and by that time no one was left to speak up.”
--Pastor Martin Niemoeller
1892-1984
34
II.A.
DEFINITION OF “HOLOCAUST”
The word “holocaust” derives from the word olah in the Hebrew Bible. It has the
religious meaning of a burnt sacrifice. In the Greek translation of the Old Testament, the
word became holokauston. The English definition made it “an offering wholly consumed
by fire.” In our century, it has acquired the secular meaning of a general disaster. But
what Hitler did added another meaning to the dictionary definition: “a complete or
thorough sacrifice or destruction, especially by fire, as of large numbers of human
beings.”
35
II.B.
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND INFORMATION
The Holocaust was the systematic planned destruction of the Jewish people during the
years 1933-1945. Six million Jews, one-third of the world’s Jewish population, were
annihilated by the Nazis. Millions of other people - those who opposed the Nazis, those
who didn’t fit the “Aryan myth” of a perfect race, and those who endangered their lives
by harboring Jews - were also destroyed.
Nazi policies of expulsion and annihilation of the Jews were built on centuries of
discrimination. Edicts of canon law and policies of other governments imposed severe
restrictions on the Jews. At first, there was a period of conversion which meant “You
cannot live among us as Jews.” As early as 321, Roman emperors and theologians
withdrew ancient privileges to the Jews if they did not convert to Christianity. For
example, Jews were excluded from high office or from military careers. Rabbis were
stripped of their jurisdiction.
By the Middle Ages, the policy of expulsion was enforced in many countries. This
meant, “You cannot live among us.” Canon policy stated that Jews were the enemies of
the Church. As a result, Jews were expelled in the 11th century from such places as
Rouen and Orleans in France and in the late 13th century from England.
Organized massacres of the Jews took place in German and French towns in 1096. By
1215, there was a church law requiring Jews to wear a special mark. In German
countries, Jews sewed a disk or badge to their clothing. In 1492, Jews who had not
converted were expelled from Spain. By 1550, Jews were forced to live in ghettos in
many countries. Some of the most violent pogroms against the Jews were organized by
Chmielnicki in 1648 in Poland.
During the 18th century, the period of enlightenment, Judaism was often referred to as a
“superstition” that had to be removed. Posters called “broadsheets” in Germany and
England pictured Jews as the devil or indulging in forbidden foods.
In the 19th century, there was a revival of fierce discrimination against the Jews. German
peasants rioted against them. A wave of pogroms took place in more than 160 towns in
Russia in 1881. Spurious literature, the “Protocols of the Elders of Zion,” was published
in 1905 by the Czarist secret police. This pamphlet proclaimed that Jews had an
international network to control the world.
Twentieth century Europe, however, brought forth the most virulent discrimination
against the Jews. Immediately following World War I, Simon Petilura organized the
Pogroms in more than 500 places between Russia and Poland, claiming that the Jews
were allies of the Bolsheviks. The Nazis, then, had precedents for the “Final Solution,”
or annihilation, of the Jews. This meant, “You cannot live.”
In state-sponsored legal decrees, the “Final Solutions” became Nazi government policy.
Not all victims were Jews, but the “Final Solution” meant that all Jews were victims.
36
Dachau, the first concentration camp, was opened in 1933 for political prisoners. The
first gassings and mass murders killed Germans who were victims of the myth of Aryan
supremacy because they were infirm, mentally retarded, or emotionally disturbed.
Russian prisoners of war were the first victims in the death block in Auschwitz, built in
1941. Genocidal acts were committed against the gypsies. Many members of the Polish
intelligentsia were killed, and Polish children were taken from their parents - all in an
effort to make the Polish people permanently subservient.
The Holocaust was to culminate in a massive industry of death camps and slave labor
camps - places such as Auschwitz, Treblinka, Sobibor, Chelmno, Majdanek, and Belzec in which virtually all who entered were murdered. However, the Holocaust did not begin
with bold or even unusual brutality. It began gradually with discrimination, segregation,
isolation, and economic strangulation. Anti-Semitic acts were endorsed by the state,
making victims feel insecure and unwelcome.
By 1935, two years after Hitler came to power, the German government introduced
systematic legislation defining Jews and segregating them from Aryan, or pure German,
society. Aryans were considered worthy while other peoples were “destined to
servitude.” The Jews, the gypsies, the mentally retarded, the infirm, and the elderly were
considered unworthy of life.
The Nuremberg legislation of 1935 defined the Jews as a racial group on the basis of the
religious identity of their grandparents, without regard to the religion they practiced, the
identity they affirmed, or the views they held. The Jews were called “vermin to be
exterminated.” Between 1935 and 1939, Jews were removed from the civil service,
courts commerce, and schools and universities. Jews could not employ Aryans in their
homes.
Following the Nuremberg legislation, the plan to kill the Jews intensified. On November
9, 1938, 191 synagogues in Germany and Austria were burned, thousands of Jewish
businesses were looted, and 20,000 Jews were arrested. So great was the destruction that
this evening was called Kristallnacht, the “Night of the Broken Glass.”
War only quickened the pace and the scale of the killings. The Nazis increased their use
of force and violence after a country surrendered and after a people were subdued. In
1940 and 1941, mobile killing units known as Einzatzgruppen followed the invading
armies eastward and killed millions of people by rounding them up, bringing them to the
edge of a city or town, and shooting them one at a time.
More than 1,500,000 Jews were killed in this process, as were thousands of Soviet
political leaders, intellectuals and scholars, teachers, journalist and writers, all without
charges or trial. They became victims of a disciplined killing process that used the
confusion of the immediate post-invasion period to eliminate whole families and entire
villages.
37
The scope broadened as Nazi officials wondered if they could find a better way of killing
people, a process less brutalizing to their sensibilities and less exhausting to the S.S.
troops. Some existing concentration camps were enlarged, while others were newly
constructed, often near major railroads intersections in Poland and Germany.
The Nazis deported Jews, gypsies, and a host of other people they deemed undesirable
into the camps. Some worked as slave laborers and some were maintained as prisoners,
but most were killed immediately in gas chambers. At the height of its campaign, 10,000
people were killed each day at Auschwitz, and the numbers killed at other death camps
were not far behind.
Some people tried to resist the Nazis. In uprisings in ghettos such as the Warsaw Ghetto
and even in the extermination camps, Jews resisted not because they expected to win, but
because they affirmed their honor and dignity. They resisted in hundreds of small ways
such as practicing their faith, teaching the young, and remaining humane and
compassionate. Some even resisted by resorting to arms.
Many Jews tried to evade the Nazis by hiding. It was often difficult to find a place to
hide because a family that hid Jews could be killed. Some brave and noble individuals the citizens of the village of Le Chambon-sur-Lignon in France, the German industrialist
Oskar Schindler in Poland, and the entire Danish people - defied the Nazis by providing
shelter to the victims.
Thousands of other ordinary men and women saved individuals and families they often
didn’t even know while putting themselves and their own families at great risk. These
valiant people were few in comparison to the many more who turned their backs and
closed their eyes. Indifference, complacency, and cooperation were more prevalent than
was resistance throughout occupied Europe.
When Allied Soldiers liberated the concentration camps, they found the starving remains
of the people chosen by the Nazis for destruction. Emaciated skeletons were evidence of
people who suffered from malnutrition. Six million Jews had been killed, while only a
few hundred thousand Jews remained. Millions of other innocent victims - men, women,
children, gypsies, Poles, Slavs, and Quakers - also had been killed as the Nazis pursued
two policies: implementing a “Final Solution” to eliminate the Jews and establishing a
racial perfection in the world by eliminating or making subservient all the “inferior”
peoples of Europe.
38
II. C.
36
QUESTIONS OFTEN ASKED ABOUT THE HOLOCAUST
Simon Wiesenthal Center
39
1. When speaking about the "Holocaust," what time period are we referring to?
Answer: The "Holocaust" refers to the period from January 30, 1933, when Hitler
became Chancellor of Germany, to May 8, 1945 (V-E Day), the end of the war in Europe.
2. How many Jews were murdered during the Holocaust?
Answer: While it is impossible to ascertain the exact number of Jewish victims, statistics
indicate that the total was over 5,860,000. Six million is the round figure accepted by
most authorities.
3. How many non-Jewish civilians were murdered during World War II?
Answer: While it is impossible to ascertain the exact number, the recognized figure is
approximately 5,000,000. Among the groups which the Nazis and their collaborators
murdered and persecuted were: Gypsies, Serbs, Polish intelligentsia, resistance fighters
from all the nations, German opponents of Nazism, homosexuals, Jehovah's Witnesses,
habitual criminals, and the "anti-social," e.g. beggars, vagrants, and hawkers.
4. Which Jewish communities suffered losses during the Holocaust?
Answer: Every Jewish community in occupied Europe suffered losses during the
Holocaust. The Jewish communities in North Africa were persecuted, but the Jews in
these countries were neither deported to the death camps, nor were they systematically
murdered.
5. How many Jews were murdered in each country and what percentage of the prewar Jewish population did they constitute?
Answer: (Source: Encyclopedia of the Holocaust)
Austria 50,000 -- 27.0%
Italy 7,680 -- 17.3%
Belgium 28,900 -- 44.0%
Latvia 71,500 -- 78.1%
Bohemia/Moravia 78,150 -- 66.1%
Lithuania 143,000 -- 85.1%
Bulgaria 0 -- 0.0%
Luxembourg 1,950 -- 55.7%
40
Denmark 60 -- 0.7%
Netherlands 100,000 -- 71.4%
Estonia 2,000 -- 44.4%
Norway 762 -- 44.8%
Finland 7 -- 0.3%
Poland 3,000,000 -- 90.9%
France 77,320 -- 22.1%
Romania 287,000 -- 47.1%
Germany 141,500 -- 25.0%
Slovakia 71,000 -- 79.8%
Greece 67,000 -- 86.6%
Soviet Union 1,100,000 -- 36.4%
Hungary 569,000 -- 69.0%
Yugoslavia 63,300 -- 81.2%
6. What is a death camp? How many were there? Where were they located?
Answer: A death (or mass murder) camp is a concentration camp with special apparatus
specifically designed for systematic murder. Six such camps existed: AuschwitzBirkenau, Belzec, Chelmno, Majdanek, Sobibor, Treblinka. All were located in Poland.
7. What does the term "Final Solution" mean and what is its origin?
Answer: The term "Final Solution" (Endlosung) refers to Germany's plan to murder all
the Jews of Europe. The term was used at the Wannsee Conference (Berlin; January
20,1942) where German officials discussed its implementation.
8. When did the "Final Solution" actually begin?
Answer: While thousands of Jews were murdered by the Nazis or died as a direct result
of discriminatory measures instituted against Jews during the initial years of the Third
Reich, the systematic murder of Jews did not begin until the German invasion of the
Soviet Union in June 1941.
9. How did the Germans define who was Jewish?
Answer: On November 14, 1935, the Nazis issued the following definition of a Jew:
Anyone with three Jewish grandparents; someone with two Jewish grandparents who
belonged to the Jewish community on September 15, 1935, or joined thereafter; was
41
married to a Jew or Jewess on September 15, 1935, or married one thereafter; was the
offspring of a marriage or extramarital liaison with a Jew on or after September 15, 1935.
10. How did the Germans treat those who had some Jewish blood but were not
classified as Jews?
Answer: Those who were not classified as Jews but who had some Jewish blood were
categorized as Mischlinge (hybrids)and were divided into two groups:
Mischlinge of the first degree--those with two Jewish grandparents;
Mischlinge of the second degree--those with one Jewish grandparent.
The Mischlinge were officially excluded from membership in the Nazi Party and all Party
organizations (e.g. SA, SS, etc.). Although they were drafted into the Germany Army,
they could not attain the rank of officers. They were also barred from the civil service and
from certain professions. (Individual Mischlinge were, however, granted exemptions
under certain circumstances.) Nazi officials considered plans to sterilize Mischlinge, but
this was never done. During World War II, first-degree Mischlinge, incarcerated in
concentration camps, were deported to death camps.
11. What were the first measures taken by the Nazis against the Jews?
Answer: The first measures against the Jews included:
April 1, 1933: A boycott of Jewish shops and businesses by the Nazis.
April 7, 1933: The law for the Re-establishment of the Civil Service expelled all nonAryans (defined on April 11, 1933 as anyone with a Jewish parent or grandparent) from
the civil service. Initially, exceptions were made for those working since August 1914;
German veterans of World War I; and, those who had lost a father or son fighting for
Germany or her allies in World War I.
April 7, 1933: The law regarding admission to the legal profession prohibited the
admission of lawyers of non-Aryan descent to the Bar. It also denied non-Aryan members
of the Bar the right to practice law. (Exceptions were made in the cases noted above in
the law regarding the civil service.) Similar laws were passed regarding Jewish law
assessors, jurors, and commercial judges.
April 22, 1933: The decree regarding physicians' services with the national health plan
denied reimbursement of expenses to those patients who consulted non-Aryan doctors.
Jewish doctors who were war veterans or had suffered from the war were excluded.
42
April 25, 1933: The law against the overcrowding of German schools restricted Jewish
enrollment in German high schools to 1.5% of the student body. In communities where
they constituted more than 5% of the population, Jews were allowed to constitute up to
5% of the student body. Initially, exceptions were made in the case of children of Jewish
war veterans, who were not considered part of the quota. In the framework of this law, a
Jewish student was a child with two non-Aryan parents.
12. Did the Nazis plan to murder the Jews from the beginning of their regime?
Answer: This question is one of the most difficult to answer. While Hitler made several
references to killing Jews, both in his early writings (Mein Kampf) and in various
speeches during the 1930s, it is fairly certain that the Nazis had no operative plan for the
systematic annihilation of the Jews before 1941. The decision on the systematic murder
of the Jews was apparently made in the late winter or the early spring of 1941 in
conjunction with the decision to invade the Soviet Union.
13. When was the first concentration camp established and who were the first
inmates?
Answer: The first concentration camp, Dachau, opened on March 22, 1933. The camp's
first inmates were primarily political prisoners (e.g. Communists or Social Democrats);
habitual criminals; homosexuals; Jehovah's Witnesses; and "anti-socials" (beggars,
vagrants, hawkers). Others considered problematic by the Nazis (e.g. Jewish writers and
journalists, lawyers, unpopular industrialists, and political officials) were also included.
14. Which groups of people in Germany were considered enemies of the state by the
Nazis and were, therefore, persecuted?
Answer: The following groups of individuals were considered enemies of the Third
Reich and were, therefore, persecuted by the Nazi authorities: Jews, Gypsies, Social
Democrats, other opposing politicians, opponents of Nazism, Jehovah's Witnesses,
homosexuals, habitual criminals, and "anti-socials" (e.g. beggars, vagrants, hawkers), and
the mentally ill. Any individual who was considered a threat to the Nazis was in danger
of being persecuted.
15. What was the difference between the persecution of the Jews and the persecution
of other groups classified by the Nazis as enemies of the Third Reich?
Answer: The Jews were the only group singled out for total systematic annihilation by
the Nazis. To escape the death sentence imposed by the Nazis, the Jews could only leave
43
Nazi-controlled Europe. Every single Jew was to be killed according to the Nazis' plan.
In the case of other criminals or enemies of the Third Reich, their families were usually
not held accountable. Thus, if a person were executed or sent to a concentration camp, it
did not mean that each member of his family would meet the same fate. Moreover, in
most situations the Nazis' enemies were classified as such because of their actions or
political affiliation (actions and/or opinions which could be revised). In the case of the
Jews, it was because of their racial origin, which could never be changed.
16. Why were the Jews singled out for extermination?
Answer: The explanation of the Nazis' implacable hatred of the Jew rests on their
distorted world view which saw history as a racial struggle. They considered the Jews a
race whose goal was world domination and who, therefore, were an obstruction to Aryan
dominance. They believed that all of history was a fight between races which should
culminate in the triumph of the superior Aryan race. Therefore, they considered it their
duty to eliminate the Jews, whom they regarded as a threat. Moreover, in their eyes, the
Jews' racial origin made them habitual criminals who could never be rehabilitated and
were, therefore, hopelessly corrupt and inferior.
There is no doubt that other factors contributed toward Nazi hatred of the Jews and their
distorted image of the Jewish people. These included the centuries-old tradition of
Christian anti-Semitism which propagated a negative stereotype of the Jew as a Christkiller, agent of the devil, and practitioner of witchcraft. Also significant was the political
anti-Semitism of the latter half of the nineteenth and early part of the twentieth centuries,
which singled out the Jew as a threat to the established order of society. These combined
to point to the Jew as a target for persecution and ultimate destruction by the Nazis.
17. What did people in Germany know about the persecution of Jews and other
enemies of Nazism?
Answer: Certain initial aspects of Nazi persecution of Jews and other opponents were
common knowledge in Germany. Thus, for example, everyone knew about the Boycott of
April 1, 1933, the Laws of April, and the Nuremberg Laws, because they were fully
publicized. Moreover, offenders were often publicly punished and shamed. The same
holds true for subsequent anti-Jewish measures. Kristallnacht (The Night of the Broken
Glass) was a public pogrom, carried out in full view of the entire population. While
information on the concentration camps was not publicized, a great deal of information
was available to the German public, and the treatment of the inmates was generally
known, although exact details were not easily obtained.
As for the implementation of the "Final Solution" and the murder of other undesirable
elements, the situation was different. The Nazis attempted to keep the murders a secret
and, therefore, took precautionary measures to ensure that they would not be publicized.
44
Their efforts, however, were only partially successful. Thus, for example, public protests
by various clergymen led to the halt of their euthanasia program in August of 1941.
These protests were obviously the result of the fact that many persons were aware that the
Nazis were killing the mentally ill in special institutions.
As far as the Jews were concerned, it was common knowledge in Germany that they had
disappeared after having been sent to the East. It was not exactly clear to large segments
of the German population what had happened to them. On the other hand, there were
thousands upon thousands of Germans who participated in and/or witnessed the
implementation of the "Final Solution" either as members of the SS, the Einsatzgruppen,
death camp or concentration camp guards, police in occupied Europe, or with the
Wehrmacht.
18. Did all Germans support Hitler's plan for the persecution of the Jews?
Answer: Although the entire German population was not in agreement with Hitler's
persecution of the Jews, there is no evidence of any large scale protest regarding their
treatment. There were Germans who defied the April 1, 1933 boycott and purposely
bought in Jewish stores, and there were those who aided Jews to escape and to hide, but
their number was very small. Even some of those who opposed Hitler were in agreement
with his anti-Jewish policies. Among the clergy, Dompropst Bernhard Lichtenberg of
Berlin publicly prayed for the Jews daily and was, therefore, sent to a concentration camp
by the Nazis. Other priests were deported for their failure to cooperate with Nazi antiSemitic policies, but the majority of the clergy complied with the directives against
German Jewry and did not openly protest.
19. Did the people of occupied Europe know about Nazi plans for the Jews? What
was their attitude? Did they cooperate with the Nazis against the Jews?
Answer: The attitude of the local population vis-a-vis the persecution and destruction of
the Jews varied from zealous collaboration with the Nazis to active assistance to Jews.
Thus, it is difficult to make generalizations. The situation also varied from country to
country. In Eastern Europe and especially in Poland, Russia, and the Baltic States
(Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania), there was much more knowledge of the "Final Solution"
because it was implemented in those areas. Elsewhere, the local population had less
information on the details of the "Final Solution."
In every country they occupied, with the exception of Denmark and Bulgaria, the Nazis
found many locals who were willing to cooperate fully in the murder of the Jews. This
was particularly true in Eastern Europe, where there was a long standing tradition of
virulent anti-Semitism, and where various national groups, which had been under Soviet
domination (Latvians, Lithuanians, and Ukrainians), fostered hopes that the Germans
would restore their independence. In several countries in Europe, there were local fascist
45
movements which allied themselves with the Nazis and participated in anti-Jewish
actions; for example, the Iron Guard in Romania and the Arrow Guard in Slovakia. On
the other hand, in every country in Europe, there were courageous individuals who risked
their lives to save Jews. In several countries, there were groups which aided Jews, e.g.
Joop Westerweel's group in the Netherlands, Zegota in Poland, and the Assisi
underground in Italy.
20. Did the Allies and the people in the Free World know about the events going on
in Europe?
Answer: The various steps taken by the Nazis prior to the "Final Solution" were all taken
publicly and were, therefore, reported in the press. Foreign correspondents commented on
all the major anti-Jewish actions taken by the Nazis in Germany, Austria, and
Czechoslovakia prior to World War II. Once the war began, obtaining information
became more difficult, but reports, nonetheless, were published regarding the fate of the
Jews. Thus, although the Nazis did not publicize the "Final Solution," less than one year
after the systematic murder of the Jews was initiated, details began to filter out to the
West. The first report which spoke of a plan for the mass murder of Jews was smuggled
out of Poland by the Bund (a Jewish socialist political organization) and reached England
in the spring of 1942. The details of this report reached the Allies from Vatican sources
as well as from informants in Switzerland and the Polish underground. (Jan Karski, an
emissary of the Polish underground, personally met with Franklin Roosevelt and British
Foreign Minister Anthony Eden). Eventually, the American Government confirmed the
reports to Jewish leaders in late November 1942. They were publicized immediately
thereafter. While the details were neither complete nor wholly accurate, the Allies were
aware of most of what the Germans had done to the Jews at a relatively early date.
21. What was the response of the Allies to the persecution of the Jews? Could they
have done anything to help?
Answer: The response of the Allies to the persecution and destruction of European Jewry
was inadequate. Only in January 1944 was an agency, the War Refugee Board,
established for the express purpose of saving the victims of Nazi persecution. Prior to that
date, little action was taken. On December 17, 1942, the Allies issued a condemnation of
Nazi atrocities against the Jews, but this was the only such declaration made prior to
1944.
Moreover, no attempt was made to call upon the local population in Europe to refrain
from assisting the Nazis in their systematic murder of the Jews. Even following the
establishment of the War Refugee Board and the initiation of various rescue efforts, the
Allies refused to bomb the death camp of Auschwitz and/or the railway lines leading to
46
that camp, despite the fact that Allied bombers were at that time engaged in bombing
factories very close to the camp and were well aware of its existence and function.
Other practical measures which were not taken concerned the refugee problem. Tens of
thousands of Jews sought to enter the United States, but they were barred from doing so
by the stringent American immigration policy. Even the relatively small quotas of visas
which existed were often not filled, although the number of applicants was usually many
times the number of available places. Conferences held in Evian, France (1938) and
Bermuda (1943) to solve the refugee problem did not contribute to a solution. At the
former, the countries invited by the United States and Great Britain were told that no
country would be asked to change its immigration laws. Moreover, the British agreed to
participate only if Palestine were not considered. At Bermuda, the delegates did not deal
with the fate of those still in Nazi hands, but rather with those who had already escaped to
neutral lands. Practical measures which could have aided in the rescue of Jews included
the following:
*
*
*
*
Permission for temporary admission of refugees
Relaxation of stringent entry requirements
Frequent and unequivocal warnings to Germany and local populations all over
Europe that those participating in the annihilation of Jews would be held strictly
accountable
Bombing the death camp at Auschwitz
22. Who are the "Righteous Among the Nations"?
Answer: "Righteous Among the Nations," or "Righteous Gentiles," refers to those nonJews who aided Jews during the Holocaust. There were "Righteous Among the Nations"
in every country overrun or allied with the Nazis, and their deeds often led to the rescue
of Jewish lives. Yad Vashem, the Israeli national remembrance authority for the
Holocaust, bestows special honors upon these individuals. To date, after carefully
evaluating each case, Yad Vashem has recognized approximately 10,000 "Righteous
Gentiles" in three different categories of recognition. The country with the most
"Righteous Gentiles" is Poland. The country with the highest proportion (per capita) is
the Netherlands. The figure of 10,000 is far from complete as many cases were never
reported, frequently because those who were helped have died. Moreover, this figure only
includes those who actually risked their lives to save Jews, and not those who merely
extended aid.
23. Were Jews in the Free World aware of the persecution and destruction of
European Jewry and, if so, what was their response?
Answer: The news of the persecution and destruction of European Jewry must be divided
into two periods. The measures taken by the Nazis prior to the "Final Solution" were all
47
taken publicly and were, therefore, in all the newspapers. Foreign correspondents
reported on all major anti-Jewish actions taken by the Nazis in Germany, Austria, and
Czechoslovakia prior to World War II. Once the war began, obtaining information
became more difficult, but, nonetheless, reports were published regarding the fate of the
Jews.
The "Final Solution" was not openly publicized by the Nazis, and thus it took longer for
information to reach the "Free World." Nevertheless, by December 1942, news of the
mass murders and the plan to annihilate European Jewry was publicized in the Jewish
press.
The response of the Jews in the "Free World" must also be divided into two periods,
before and after the publication of information on the "Final Solution." Efforts during the
early years of the Nazi regime concentrated on facilitating emigration from Germany
(although there were those who initially opposed emigration as a solution) and combating
German anti-Semitism. Unfortunately, the views on how to best achieve these goals
differed and effective action was often hampered by the lack of internal unity. Moreover,
very few Jewish leaders actually realized the scope of the danger. Following the
publication of the news of the "Final Solution," attempts were made to launch rescue
attempts via neutral states and to send aid to Jews under Nazi rule. These attempts, which
were far from adequate, were further hampered by the lack of assistance and obstruction
from government channels. Additional attempts to achieve internal unity during this
period failed.
24. Did the Jews in Europe realize what was going to happen to them?
Answer: Regarding the knowledge of the "Final Solution" by its potential victims,
several key points must be kept in mind. First of all, the Nazis did not publicize the "Final
Solution," nor did they ever openly speak about it. Every attempt was made to fool the
victims and, thereby, prevent or minimize resistance. Thus, deportees were always told
that they were going to be "resettled." They were led to believe that conditions "in the
East" (where they were being sent) would be better than those in ghettos. Following
arrival in certain concentration camps, the inmates were forced to write home about the
wonderful conditions in their new place of residence. The Germans made every effort to
ensure secrecy. In addition, the notion that human beings--let alone the civilized
Germans--could build camps with special apparatus for mass murder seemed
unbelievable in those days. Since German troops liberated the Jews from the Czar in
World War I, Germans were regarded by many Jews as a liberal, civilized people.
Escapees who did return to the ghetto frequently encountered disbelief when they related
their experiences. Even Jews who had heard of the camps had difficulty believing reports
of what the Germans were doing there. Inasmuch as each of the Jewish communities in
Europe was almost completely isolated, there was a limited number of places with
available information. Thus, there is no doubt that many European Jews were not aware
of the "Final Solution," a fact that has been corroborated by German documents and the
testimonies of survivors.
48
25. How many Jews were able to escape from Europe prior to the Holocaust?
Answer: It is difficult to arrive at an exact figure for the number of Jews who were able
to escape from Europe prior to World War II, since the available statistics are incomplete.
From 1933-1939, 355,278 German and Austrian Jews left their homes. (Some
immigrated to countries later overrun by the Nazis.) In the same period, 80,860 Polish
Jews immigrated to Palestine and 51,747 European Jews arrived in Argentina, Brazil, and
Uruguay. During the years 1938-1939, approximately 35,000 emigrated from Bohemia
and Moravia (Czechoslovakia). Shanghai, the only place in the world for which one did
not need an entry visa, received approximately 20,000 European Jews (mostly of German
origin) who fled their homelands. Immigration figures for countries of refuge during this
period are not available. In addition, many countries did not provide a breakdown of
immigration statistics according to ethnic groups. It is impossible, therefore, to ascertain.
26. What efforts were made to save the Jews fleeing from Germany before World
War II began?
Answer: Various organizations attempted to facilitate the emigration of the Jews (and
non-Jews persecuted as Jews) from Germany. Among the most active were the Jewish
Agency for Palestine, the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, HICEM, the
Central British Fund for German Jewry, the Reichsvertretung der Deutschen Juden
(Reich Representation of German Jews), which represented German Jewry, and other
non-Jewish groups such as the League of Nations High Commission for Refugees
(Jewish and other) coming from Germany, and the American Friends Service Committee.
Among the programs launched were the "Transfer Agreement" between the Jewish
Agency and the German government whereby immigrants to Palestine were allowed to
transfer their funds to that country in conjunction with the import of German goods to
Palestine. Other efforts focused on retraining prospective emigrants in order to increase
the number of those eligible for visas, since some countries barred the entry of members
of certain professions. Other groups attempted to help in various phases of refugee work:
selection of candidates for emigration, transportation of refugees, aid in immigrant
absorption, etc. Some groups attempted to facilitate increased emigration by enlisting the
aid of governments and international organizations in seeking refugee havens. The
League of Nations established an agency to aid refugees but its success was extremely
limited due to a lack of political power and adequate funding.
The United States and Great Britain convened a conference in 1938 at Evian, France,
seeking a solution to the refugee problem. With the exception of the Dominican
Republic, the nations assembled refused to change their stringent immigration
regulations, which were instrumental in preventing large-scale immigration.
In 1939, the Intergovernmental Committee on Refugees, which had been established at
the Evian Conference, initiated negotiations with leading German officials in an attempt
49
to arrange for the relocation of a significant portion of German Jewry. However, these
talks failed. Efforts were made for the illegal entry of Jewish immigrants to Palestine as
early as July 1934, but were later halted until July 1938. Large-scale efforts were
resumed under the Mosad le-Aliya Bet, Revisionist Zionists, and private parties. Attempts
were also made, with some success, to facilitate the illegal entry of refugees to various
countries in Latin America.
27. Why were so few refugees able to flee Europe prior to the outbreak of World
War II?
Answer: The key reason for the relatively low number of refugees leaving Europe prior
to World War II was the stringent immigration policies adopted by the prospective host
countries. In the United States, for example, the number of immigrants was limited to
153,744 per year, divided by country of origin. Moreover, the entry requirements were so
stringent that available quotas were often not filled. Schemes to facilitate immigration
outside the quotas never materialized as the majority of the American public consistently
opposed the entry of additional refugees. Other countries, particularly those in Latin
America, adopted immigration policies that were similar or even more restrictive, thus
closing the doors to prospective immigrants from the Third Reich.
Great Britain, while somewhat more liberal than the United States on the entry of
immigrants, took measures to severely limit Jewish immigration to Palestine. In May
1939, the British issued a "White Paper" stipulating that only 75,000 Jewish immigrants
would be allowed to enter Palestine over the course of the next five years (10,000 a year,
plus an additional 25,000). This decision prevented hundreds of thousands of Jews from
escaping Europe.
The countries most able to accept large numbers of refugees consistently refused to open
their gates. Although a solution to the refugee problem was the agenda of the Evian
Conference, only the Dominican Republic was willing to approve large-scale
immigration. The United States and Great Britain proposed resettlement havens in underdeveloped areas (e.g. Guyana, formerly British Guiana, and the Philippines), but these
were not suitable alternatives.
Two important factors should be noted. During the period prior to the outbreak of World
War II, the Germans were in favor of Jewish emigration. At that time, there were no
operative plans to kill the Jews. The goal was to induce them to leave, if necessary, by the
use of force. It is also important to recognize the attitude of German Jewry. While many
German Jews were initially reluctant to emigrate, the majority sought to do so following
Kristallnacht (The Night of Broken Glass), November 9-10, 1938. Had havens been
available, more people would certainly have emigrated.
50
28. What was Hitler's ultimate goal in launching World War II?
Answer: Hitler's ultimate goal in launching World War II was the establishment of an
Aryan empire from Germany to the Urals. He considered this area the natural territory of
the German people, an area to which they were entitled by right, the Lebensraum (living
space) that Germany needed so badly for its farmers to have enough soil. Hitler
maintained that these areas were needed for the Aryan race to preserve itself and assure
its dominance.
There is no question that Hitler knew that, by launching the war in the East, the Nazis
would be forced to deal with serious racial problems in view of the composition of the
population in the Eastern areas. Thus, the Nazis had detailed plans for the subjugation of
the Slavs, who would be reduced to serfdom status and whose primary function would be
to serve as a source of cheap labor for Aryan farmers. Those elements of the local
population, who were of higher racial stock, would be taken to Germany where they
would be raised as Aryans.
In Hitler's mind, the solution of the Jewish problem was also linked to the conquest of the
eastern territories. These areas had large Jewish populations and they would have to be
dealt with accordingly. While at this point there was still no operative plan for mass
annihilation, it was clear to Hitler that some sort of comprehensive solution would have
to be found. There was also talk of establishing a Jewish reservation either in Madagascar
or near Lublin, Poland. When he made the decisive decision to invade the Soviet Union,
Hitler also gave instructions to embark upon the "Final Solution," the systematic murder
of European Jewry.
29. Was there any opposition to the Nazis within Germany?
Answer: Throughout the course of the Third Reich, there were different groups who
opposed the Nazi regime and certain Nazi policies. They engaged in resistance at
different times and with various methods, aims, and scope.
From the beginning, leftist political groups and a number of disappointed conservatives
were in opposition; at a later date, church groups, government officials, students and
businessmen also joined. After the tide of the war was reversed, elements within the
military played an active role in opposing Hitler. At no point, however, was there a
unified resistance movement within Germany.
30. Did the Jews try to fight against the Nazis? To what extent were such efforts
successful?
Answer: Despite the difficult conditions to which Jews were subjected in Nazi-occupied
Europe, many engaged in armed resistance against the Nazis. This resistance can be
51
divided into three basic types of armed activities: ghetto revolts, resistance in
concentration and death camps, and partisan warfare.
The Warsaw Ghetto revolt, which lasted for about five weeks beginning on April 19,
1943, is probably the best-known example of armed Jewish resistance, but there were
many ghetto revolts in which Jews fought against the Nazis.
Despite the terrible conditions in the death, concentration, and labor camps, Jewish
inmates fought against the Nazis at the following sites: Treblinka (August 2, 1943); Babi
Yar (September 29, 1943); Sobibór (October 14, 1943); Janówska (November 19, 1943);
and Auschwitz (October 7, 1944).
Jewish partisan units were active in many areas, including Baranovichi, Minsk, Naliboki
forest, and Vilna. While the sum total of armed resistance efforts by Jews was not
militarily overwhelming and did not play a significant role in the defeat of Nazi
Germany, these acts of resistance did lead to the rescue of an undetermined number of
Jews, Nazi casualties, and untold damage to German property and self-esteem.
31. What was the Judenrat?
Answer: The Judenrat was the council of Jews, appointed by the Nazis in each Jewish
community or ghetto. According to the directive from Reinhard Heydrich of the SS on
September 21, 1939, a Judenrat was to be established in every concentration of Jews in
the occupied areas of Poland. They were led by noted community leaders. Enforcement
of Nazi decrees affecting Jews and administration of the affairs of the Jewish community
were the responsibilities of the Judenrat. These functions placed the Judenrat in a highly
responsible, but controversial position, and many of their actions continue to be the
subject of debate among historians. While the intentions of the heads of councils were
rarely challenged, their tactics and methods have been questioned. Among the most
controversial were Mordechai Rumkowski in Lodz and Jacob Gens in Vilna, both of
whom justified the sacrifice of some Jews in order to save others. Leaders and members
of the Judenrat were guided, for the most part, by a sense of communal responsibility,
but lacked the power and the means to successfully thwart Nazi plans for annihilation of
all Jews.
32. Did international organizations, such as the Red Cross, aid victims of Nazi
persecution?
Answer: During the course of World War II, the International Red Cross (IRC) did very
little to aid the Jewish victims of Nazi persecution. Its activities can basically be divided
into three periods:
1. September, 1939 - June 22, 1941:
The IRC confined its activities to sending food packages to those in distress in Nazioccupied Europe. Packages were distributed in accordance with the directives of the
52
German Red Cross. Throughout this time, the IRC complied with the German contention
that those in ghettos and camps constituted a threat to the security of the Reich and,
therefore, were not allowed to receive aid from the IRC.
2. June 22, 1941 - Summer 1944:
Despite numerous requests by Jewish organizations, the IRC refused to publicly protest
the mass annihilation of Jews and non-Jews in the camps, or to intervene on their behalf.
It maintained that any public action on behalf of those under Nazi rule would ultimately
prove detrimental to their welfare. At the same time, the IRC attempted to send food
parcels to those individuals whose addresses it possessed.
3. Summer 1944 - May 1945:
Following intervention by such prominent figures as President Franklin Roosevelt and
the King of Sweden, the IRC appealed to Miklós Horthy, Regent of Hungary, to stop the
deportation of Hungarian Jews.
The IRC did insist that it be allowed to visit concentration camps, and a delegation did
visit the "model ghetto" of Terezin (Theresienstadt). The IRC request came following the
receipt of information about the harsh living conditions in the camp.
The IRC requested permission to investigate the situation, but the Germans only agreed
to allow the visit nine months after submission of the request. This delay provided time
for the Nazis to complete a "beautification" program, designed to fool the delegation into
thinking that conditions at Terezin were quite good and that inmates were allowed to live
out their lives in relative tranquility.
The visit, which took place on July 23, 1944, was followed by a favorable report on
Terezin to the members of the IRC which Jewish organizations protested vigorously,
demanding that another delegation visit the camp. Such a visit was not permitted until
shortly before the end of the war. In reality, the majority were subsequently deported to
Auschwitz where they were murdered.
33. How did Germany's allies, the Japanese and the Italians, treat the Jews in the
lands they occupied?
Answer: Neither the Italians nor the Japanese, both of whom were Germany's allies
during World War II, cooperated regarding the "Final Solution." Although the Italians
did, upon German urging, institute discriminatory legislation against Italian Jews,
Mussolini's government refused to participate in the "Final Solution" and consistently
refused to deport its Jewish residents. Moreover, in their occupied areas of France,
Greece, and Yugoslavia, the Italians protected the Jews and did not allow them to be
deported. However, when the Germans overthrew the Badoglio government in 1943, the
Jews of Italy, as well as those under Italian protection in occupied areas, were subject to
the "Final Solution."
53
The Japanese were also relatively tolerant toward the Jews in their country as well as in
the areas which they occupied. Despite pressure by their German allies urging them to
take stringent measures against Jews, the Japanese refused to do so. Refugees were
allowed to enter Japan until the spring of 1941, and Jews in Japanese-occupied China
were treated well. In the summer and fall of 1941, refugees in Japan were transferred to
Shanghai but no measures were taken against them until early 1943, when they were
forced to move into the Hongkew Ghetto. While conditions were hardly satisfactory, they
were far superior to those in the ghettos under German control.
34. What was the attitude of the churches vis-a-vis the persecution of the Jews? Did
the Pope ever speak out against the Nazis?
Answer: The head of the Catholic Church at the time of the Nazi rise to power was Pope
Pius XI. Although he stated that the myths of "race" and "blood" were contrary to
Christian teaching (in a papal encyclical, March 1937), he neither mentioned nor
criticized anti-Semitism. His successor, Pius XII (Cardinal Pacelli) was a Germanophile
who maintained his neutrality throughout the course of World War II. Although as early
as 1942 the Vatican received detailed information on the murder of Jews in concentration
camps, the Pope confined his public statements to expressions of sympathy for the
victims of injustice and to calls for a more humane conduct of the war.
Despite the lack of response by Pope Pius XII, several papal nuncios played an important
role in rescue efforts, particularly the nuncios in Hungary, Romania, Slovakia, and
Turkey. It is not clear to what, if any, extent they operated upon instructions from the
Vatican. In Germany, the Catholic Church did not oppose the Nazis' anti-Semitic
campaign. Church records were supplied to state authorities which assisted in the
detection of people of Jewish origin, and efforts to aid the persecuted were confined to
Catholic non-Aryans. While Catholic clergymen protested the Nazi euthanasia program,
few, with the exception of Bernhard Lichtenberg, spoke out against the murder of the
Jews.
In Western Europe, Catholic clergy spoke out publicly against the persecution of the Jews
and actively helped in the rescue of Jews. In Eastern Europe, however, the Catholic
clergy was generally more reluctant to help. Dr. Jozef Tiso, the head of state of Slovakia
and a Catholic priest, actively cooperated with the Germans as did many other Catholic
priests.
The response of Protestant and Eastern Orthodox churches varied. In Germany, for
example, Nazi supporters within Protestant churches complied with the anti-Jewish
legislation and even excluded Christians of Jewish origin from membership. Pastor
Martin Niemoeller's Confessing Church defended the rights of Christians of Jewish origin
within the church, but did not publicly protest their persecution, nor did it condemn the
measures taken against the Jews, with the exception of a memorandum sent to Hitler in
May 1936.
In occupied Europe, the position of the Protestant churches varied. In several countries
(Denmark, France, the Netherlands, and Norway) local churches and/or leading
54
clergymen issued public protests when the Nazis began deporting Jews. In other countries
(Bulgaria, Greece, and Yugoslavia), some Orthodox church leaders intervened on behalf
of the Jews and took steps which, in certain cases, led to the rescue of many Jews.
35. How many Nazi criminals were there? How many were brought to justice?
Answer: We do not know the exact number of Nazi criminals since the available
documentation is incomplete. The Nazis themselves destroyed many incriminating
documents and there are still many criminals who are unidentified and/or unindicted.
Those who committed war crimes include those individuals who initiated, planned and
directed the killing operations, as well as those with whose knowledge, agreement, and
passive participation the murder of European Jewry was carried out.
Those who actually implemented the "Final Solution" include the leaders of Nazi
Germany, the heads of the Nazi Party, and the Reich Security Main Office. Also included
are hundreds of thousands of members of the Gestapo, the SS, the Einsatzgruppen, the
police and the armed forces, as well as those bureaucrats who were involved in the
persecution and destruction of European Jewry. In addition, there were thousands of
individuals throughout occupied Europe who cooperated with the Nazis in killing Jews
and other innocent civilians.
We do not have complete statistics on the number of criminals brought to justice, but the
number is certainly far less than the total of those who were involved in the "Final
Solution." The leaders of the Third Reich, who were caught by the Allies, were tried by
the International Military Tribunal in Nuremberg from November 20, 1945 to October 1,
1946. Afterwards, the Allied occupation authorities continued to try Nazis, with the most
significant trials held in the American zone (the Subsequent Nuremberg Proceedings). In
total, 5,025 Nazi criminals were convicted between 1945-1949 in the American, British
and French zones, in addition to an unspecified number of people who were tried in the
Soviet zone. In addition, the United Nations War Crimes Commission prepared lists of
war criminals who were later tried by the judicial authorities of Allied countries and those
countries under Nazi rule during the war. The latter countries have conducted a large
number of trials regarding crimes committed in their lands. The Polish tribunals, for
example, tried approximately 40,000 persons, and large numbers of criminals were tried
in other countries. In all, about 80,000 Germans have been convicted for committing
crimes against humanity, while the number of local collaborators is in the tens of
thousands. Special mention should be made of Simon Wiesenthal, whose activities led to
the capture of over one thousand Nazi criminals.
Courts in Germany began, in some cases, to function as early as 1945. By 1969, almost
80,000 Germans had been investigated and over 6,000 had been convicted. In 1958, the
Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; West Germany) established a special agency in
Ludwigsburg to aid in the investigation of crimes committed by Germans outside
Germany, an agency which, since its establishment, has been involved in hundreds of
major investigations. One of the major problems regarding the trial of war criminals in
the FRG (as well as in Austria) has been the fact that the sentences have been
disproportionately lenient for the crimes committed. Some trials were also conducted in
55
the former German Democratic Republic (GDR; East Germany), yet no statistics exist as
to the number of those convicted or the extent of their sentences.
36. What were the Nuremberg trials?
Answer: The term "Nuremberg Trials" refers to two sets of trials of Nazi war criminals
conducted after the war. The first trials were held November 20, 1945 to October 1, 1946,
before the International Military Tribunal (IMT), which was made up of representatives
of France, Great Britain, the Soviet Union, and the United States. It consisted of the trials
of the political, military and economic leaders of the Third Reich captured by the Allies.
Among the defendants were: Goering, Rosenberg, Streicher, Kaltenbrunner, SeyssInquart, Speer, Ribbentrop and Hess (many of the most prominent Nazis -- Hitler,
Himmler, and Goebbels -- committed suicide and were not brought to trial). The second
set of trials, known as the Subsequent Nuremberg Proceedings, was conducted before the
Nuremberg Military Tribunals (NMT), established by the Office of the United States
Government for Germany (OMGUS). While the judges on the NMT were American
citizens, the tribunal considered itself international. Twelve high-ranking officials were
tried, among whom were cabinet ministers, diplomats, doctors involved in medical
experiments, and SS officers involved in crimes in concentration camps or in genocide in
Nazi-occupied areas.
56
II.C.
GLOSSARY OF TERMS, PLACES, AND PERSONALITIES
AKTION (GERMAN)
Operation involving the mass assembly. Deportation,
and murder of Jews by the Nazis during the Holocaust.
ALLIES
The nations fighting Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy
during World War II; primarily the United States, Great
Britain, and the Soviet Union.
ANIELEWICZ, MORDECAI
(1919-1942)
Major leader of the Jewish resistance in the Warsaw
Ghetto. Killed, May 8, 1943.
ANSCHLUSS
(“CONNECTION”)
Incorporation of Austria into Germany on March 13,
1938.
ARYAN RACE
“Aryan” was originally applied to people who spoke an
Indo-European language. The Nazis however, primarily
applied the term to people of Northern European racial
background. Their aim was to preserve the purity of
European blood. (See Nuremberg Laws).
AUSCHWITZ
Concentration and extermination camp in upper Silesia,
Poland. Established in 1940 as a concentration camp, it
became an extermination camp in early 1942.
Eventually, it consisted of three sections: Auschwitz I
was the main camp, Auschwitz II (Birkenau) was an
extermination camp, Auschwitz III (Monowitz) was the
I.G. Farben labor camp, also known as Buna. In
addition, Auschwitz had numerous subsidiary camps.
AXIS
The Axis powers were originally Nazi Germany and
Fascist Italy (the Rome-Berlin Axis). When Japan
entered World War II, this pact was extended to include
that country as well. (The Berlin-Rome-Tokyo Axis).
BAECK, LEO
Chief Rabbi of Berlin during the time that the Nazis
were in power. He became Chief of the Reich
Association of Jews in Germany, an organization
responsible to the Nazi regime concerning Jewish
matters. Baeck refused to leave his flock despite the
opportunity to emigrate. In 1943, he was deported to the
ghetto of Theresienstadt (Terezin), where he became
head of the Council of Elders and spiritual leader of the
Jews imprisoned there. He survived the war and
emigrated to England.
57
BELZEC
One of six extermination camps in Poland. Established
in 1942 by Odil Globocnik, SS and police leader of the
Lublin District. It was opened for the sole purpose of
murdering Jews in occupied Poland. By the time the
camp ceased operations in January, 1943, more than
600,000 persons had been murdered there.
CHAMBERLAIN, NEVILLE
(1869-1940)
British Prime Minister 1937-1940. He concluded the
Munich Agreement in 1938, which he falsely believed
would bring “peace in our time.”
CHELMNO
A special extermination camp established in late 1941 in
Wartheland (the incorporated region of Western
Poland); where the SS killed the Jews of Lodz and
Pozan province, using mobile gas vans.
CHURCHILL, WINSTON
(1875-1965)
British Prime Minister 1940-1945. He succeeded
Chamberlin on May 10, 1940 at the height of Hitler’s
conquest of Western Europe. Churchill has been one of
the very few Western politicians who, early on,
recognized the threat that Hitler posed to Europe and
strongly opposed Chamberlain’s appeasement policies.
CONCENTRATION CAMPS
Immediately after their assumption of power on January
30, 1933, the Nazis established concentration camps for
the imprisonment of all “enemies” of their regime:
actual and potential political opponents (e.g.
Communist, Socialist, Monarchists). Jehovah’s
Witnesses, Gypsies, homosexuals and other “asocials”
were included later on. The general round-up of Jews
did not start until 1938. Before then, only Jews who fit
one of their earlier categories were interned in camps.
The first three concentration camps were Dachau (near
Munich), Buchenwald (near Weimar) and
sachsenhausen (near Berlin).
DER STUERMER
“The Assailant” was an anti-Semitic German weekly,
founded and edited by Julius Streicher, which was
published in Nuremberg between 1923 and 1945.
58
EICHMANNN, ADOLF
(1906-1962)
SS Lieutenant-Colonel and head of the “Jewish Section”
of the Gestapo, he was instrumental in implementing the
Final Solution by organizing the transportation of Jews
from all over Europe to death camps. Eichmannn
participated in the Wannsee Conference (January 20,
1942) and was arrested at the end of World War II in the
American zone, but escaped, went underground, and
disappeared. On May 11, 1960, members of the Israeli
Secret Service discovered him in Argentina and
smuggled him to Israel. Eichmannn was tried in
Jerusalem (April-December, 1961), convicted, and
sentenced to death. He was executed on May 31, 1962.
EINSATZGRUPPEN
Mobile killing units of the Security Police and SS
Security Service that followed the German armies into
the Soviet Union in June, 1941. They were supported
by units of the uniformed German Order Police and
auxiliaries of volunteers (Ukrainian, Latvian,
Lithuanian, and Estonian) For the murders. Their
victims, primarily Jews, were executed by shooting and
were buried in mass graves from which they were later
exhumed and burned. At least a million Jews were
killed in this manner. There were four Einsatzgruppen
(A,B,C,D) which were subdivided into Einsatzgruppen.
EUTHANASIA
The original meaning of this term was the easy and
painless death for the terribly ill. However, the Nazis
euthanasia program took on quite a different meaning:
the taking of eugenic measures to improve the quality of
the German “race.” This was the beginning of a
development that culminated in enforced “mercy”
deaths for the incurably insane, permanently disabled,
deformed, and “superfluous.” In due course, three major
classifications were developed: 1: euthanasia for
incurables; (2) direct extermination by “special
treatment”; and 3) experiments in mass sterilization.
EVIAN CONFERENCE
Conference convened by President Franklin D.
Roosevelt, in July 1938, to discuss the problem of
refugees. Thirty-two states met at Evian-lesBains,
France. However, not much was accomplished, since
most western countries were reluctant to accept Jewish
refugees.
59
EXTERMINATION CAMPS
Nazi camps for the mass killing by gas of Jews and
others (e.g. Gypsies, Russian prisoners-of-war, ill
prisoners). Known as “death camps,” these were:
Auschwitz-Birkenau, Belzec, Chelmno, Majdanek,
Sobibor, and Treblinka. All were located in Eastern
Europe.
FINAL SOLUTION
The cover name for the plan to destroy the Jews of
Europe, the “Final Solution of the Jewish Question.”
Beginning in December 1941, Jews were rounded up
and sent to concentration camps in the East. The
program was deceptively disguised as “resettlement in
the East.”
FRANK, HANS
Governor-General of occupied Poland. A Nazi from the
earliest days (Hitler’s personal lawyer), he announced,
“Poland will be treated like a colony; the Poles will
become slaves of the Greater German Reich.” By 1942,
more than 85% of the Jews in Poland have been
transported to extermination camps. Frank was tried at
Nuremberg, convicted, and executed in 1946.
FRICK, WILHELM
(1877-1946)
A dedicated Nazi bureaucrat who was appointed
Minister of the Interior in 1933. In 1935, he was tried at
Nuremberg, convicted, and executed.
GENOCIDE
The partial or entire destruction of religious, racial, or
national groups.
GERSTEIN, KURT
Head of the Waffen SS Institute of Hygiene in Berlin.
While maintaining ties with the resistance, Gerstein
purchased the gas needed in Auschwitz, officially for
fumigating purposes, but actually used for the killing of
Jews. He passed on information about the killings to
Swedish representatives and Vatican papal nuncios.
Overwhelmed with remorse, he hanged himself in a
French jail after the war. He is the author of a widelyquoted description of a gassing procedure in Belzec,
protagonist of Rolf Hochhuth’s The Deputy, and the
subject of Saul Friedlander’s biography, The Ambiguity
of Good.
60
GHETTO
The Nazis revived the medieval ghetto to describe their
compulsory “Jewish Quarter” (Wchnbezirk). These
were poor sections of a city where all Jews from the
surrounding areas were forced to reside. Surrounded by
barbed wire or walls, the ghettos were sealed.
Established mostly in Eastern Europe (e.g. Lodz,
Warsaw, Vilna, Riga, Minsk), the ghettos were
characterized by overcrowding, starvation and heavy
labor. All were eventually dissolved and the Jews
deported to death camps.
GOERING, HERMANN
An early member of the Nazi party, Goering participated
in Hitler’s “Beer Hall Putsch” in Munich in 1923 (see
Hitler, Adolf). After its failure, he went to Sweden
where he lived (for a time in a mental institution) until
1928. In 1928, was elected to the Reichstag and
became its president in 1932. When Hitler came into
power in 1933, he made Goering Air Minister of
Germany and Prime Minister of Prussia. He was
responsible for the rearmament program and especially
for the creation of the German Air Force. In 1939,
Hitler designated him his successor. During World War
II, he was responsible for the total air war Germany
waged. Convicted at Nuremberg, in 1946, Goering
committed suicide by taking poison just two hours
before his scheduled execution.
GREATER GERMAN
REICH
Designation of an expanded Germany that was intended
to include all German-speaking peoples. It was one of
Hitler’s most important aims. After the conquest of
most of Western Europe during World War II, it became
a reality for a short time.
GRYNSZPAN, HERSCHEL
(1921-19??)
A Polish Jewish youth who had emigrated to Paris. He
agonized over the fate of his parents who, in the course
of a pre-war roundup of Polish Jews living in Germany,
were deported to Poland, where they were shoved back
and forth in the no-man’s land between the two
countries. On November 7, 1938, he went to the
German Embassy and shot and mortally wounded Third
Secretary Ernst vom Rath. The Nazis used this as an
excuse for KRISTALLNACHT (Night of Broken
Glass).
61
GYPSIES
A nomadic people, believed to have come originally
from northwest India, from where they emigrated to
Persia in the first millennium. They divided into 5
main groups that still exist today. Traveling in small
caravans, their bands are led by Elders. Gypsies
appeared in Western Europe in the 15th century. By the
16th century, they has spread throughout Europe, where
they were persecuted almost as relentlessly as the Jews.
It is believed that approximately 500,000 perished
during the Holocaust. Note: Most gypsy victims were
shot, not gassed.
HESS, RUDOLF
(1894-1987)
Hitler’s deputy; was at his side from the earliest days of
the Nazi movement. On May 10, 1941, he flew alone
from Augsburg and parachuted, landing in Scotland
where he was promptly interned. The purpose of his
flight has never become clear. He possibly wanted to
persuade the British to make peace with Hitler as soon
as he attacked the Soviet Union. Hitler promptly
declared him insane. Hess was tried at Nuremberg,
found guilty and was sentenced to life imprisonment.
He was the only Nazi in Spandau Prison until he
apparently committed suicide in 1987.
HEYDRICH, REINHARD
Former naval officer who joined the SS in 1932, after
dismissal from the Navy. He headed the SS Security
Service (SD), a Nazi party intelligence agency. In
1933-34, he became head of the political police
(Gestapo) and later of the criminal police (Kripo). In
1939, Heydrich combined the SD and SIPO into the
Reich Security Main Office. He organized the
Einsatzgruppen which killed Jews in occupied Russia
in 1941-42 and, in 1941, was asked by Goering to
implement a “Final Solution to the Jewish Question.”
In January 1942, he presided over the Wannsee
Conference, an international meeting to coordinate the
Final Solution. In 1941, he was also appointed
protector of Bohemia and Moravia. On May 29, 1942,
he was assassinated by Czech partisans who parachuted
in from England. (For consequences of this
assassination, see Lidice).
62
HITLER, ADOLF
Fuhrer and Reich Chancellor. Although born in Austria,
he settled in Germany in 1913. At the outbreak of
World War I he enlisted in the Bavarian Army, became
a corporal and received the Iron Cross First Class for
bravery. Returning to Munich after the war, he joined
the newly formed German Worker’s Party which was
soon reorganized under his leadership as the National
Socialist German Workers Party (NSDAP). In
November, 1923, he unsuccessfully attempted to
forcibly bring Germany under nationalist control. When
his coup, known as the “Beer Hall Putsch” failed, Hitler
was arrested and sentenced to 5 years in prison. It was
during this time that he wrote Mein Kampf. Serving
only 9 months of his sentence, Hitler quickly re-entered
German politics and soon outpolled his political rivals in
national elections. In January 1933, Hindenburg made
Hitler chancellor of a coalition cabinet but Hitler (who
took office on January 30, 1933) immediately began to
set up a dictatorship. In 1934, the chancellorship and
presidency were united in the person of the Fuhrer.
Soon, all other parties were outlawed and opposition
brutally suppressed. By 1938, Hitler implemented his
dream of a “Greater Germany”, first annexing Austria;
then, (with the acquiescence of the Western
Democracies), the Sudetenland (the German province of
Czechoslovakia); and, finally Czechoslovakia itself. On
September 1, 1939, Hitler’s armies invaded Poland. By
this time, the Western Democracies realized that no
agreement with Hitler could be honored and World War
II had begun. Although initially victorious on all fronts,
Hitler’s armies began suffering setbacks shortly after
America joined the war in 1941. Although the war was
obviously lost by early 1945, Hitler insisted that
Germany fight to the death. On April 30, 1945, Hitler
committed suicide rather than be captured alive.
HOLOCAUST
The destruction of some 6 million Jews by the Nazis and
their followers in Europe between the years 1933-1945.
Other individuals and groups suffered grievously during
this period, but only the Jews were marked for complete
and utter annihilation. The term “Holocaust”- literally
meaning a “completely burnt sacrifice”- tends to
suggest a sacrificial connotation to what occurs. The
word Shoah, originally a Biblical term meaning
widespread disaster, is the modern Hebrew equivalent.
63
JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES
A religious sect, originating in America, organized by
Charles Taze Russell, whose doctrine centers on the
second coming of Christ. The Witnesses base their
beliefs on the Bible and have no official ministers.
Recognizing only the Kingdom of God, the Witnesses
refuse to salute the flag, bear arms in war, and to
participate in the affairs of government. This doctrine
brought them into conflict with National Socialism.
They were considered enemies of the state and
relentlessly persecuted.
JUDENRAT
(PLURAL: JUDENRAETE)
Council of Jewish representatives set up in communities
and ghettos under the Nazis to carry out their
instructions.
JUDENREIN
German for “clean of Jews,” denoting area where all
Jews had been either murdered or deported.
KAPO
Prisoner in charge of a group of inmates in Nazi
concentration camps.
KRISTALLNACHT
Night of Broken Glass…Pogrom (mass riot) unleashed
by the Nazi on November 9-10, 1938. All over
Germany and Austria, synagogues and other Jewish
institutions were burned down; Jewish stores were
destroyed; and their contents were looted. At the same
time, approximately 35,000 Jewish men were sent to
concentration camps. The “excuse” for this action was
the assassination of Ernst vom Rath in Paris by a Jewish
teenager whose parents had been rounded up by the
Nazis.
LIDICE
Czech mining village (pop. 700)…In reprisal for the
assassination of Reinhard Heydrich, the Nazis
“liquidated” the village in 1942. They shot the men,
deported the women and children to concentration
camps, razed the village to the ground, and struck its
name from the maps. After World War II, a new village
was built near the site of the old Lidice, which is now a
national park and memorial.
64
LODZ
City in Western Poland, (renamed Litzmanstadt by the
Nazis) where the first major ghetto was created in April
1940. By September 1941, the population of the ghetto
was 144,000 in an area of 1.6 square miles, (statistically,
5.8 people per room). In October 1941, 20,000 Jews
from Germany, Austria and the Protectorate of Bohemia
and Moravia were sent to the Lodz Ghetto. Deportation
from Lodz during 1942 and June-July 1944 led to the
extermination camp Chelmno. In August-September
1944, the ghetto was dissolved and the remaining 60,000
Jews were sent to Auschwitz.
MAJDANEK
Mass murder camp in Eastern Poland. At first a labor
camp for poles and a POW camp for Russians, it was
turned into a gassing center for Jews. Majdanek was
liberated by the Red Army in July 1944, but not before
250,000 men, women, and children had lost their lives
there.
MAUTHAUSEN
CONCENTRATION CAMP
A camp for men, opened in August 1938, near Linz in
northern Austria. Mauthausen was classified by the SS
as a camp of utmost severity, and conditions there were
brutal even by concentration camp standards. Nearly
125,000 prisoners of various nationalities were either
worked or tortured to death at the camp before liberating
American troops arrived in May, 1945.
MEIN KAMPF
This autobiographical book by Hitler was written while
he was imprisoned in the Landsberg fortress after the
“Beer Hall Putsch” in 1923. In this book, Hitler
propounds all his ideas, beliefs, and plans for the future
of Germany. Everything, including his foreign policy, is
permeated by his “racial ideology.” The Germans,
belonging to the “superior” Aryan race have a right to
“living space” (Lebensraum) in the East, which is
inhabited by the “inferior” Slavs. Throughout the book
he accuses Jews of being the source of all evil, equating
them with Bolshevism and, at the same time, with
international capitalism. Unfortunately, those people
who read the book (except for his admirers) did not take
it seriously but considered it the ravings of a maniac.
65
MENGELE, JOSEF
SS physician at Auschwitz, notorious for pseudomedical
experiments, especially on twins and Gypsies. He
“selected” new arrivals by simply pointing to the right or
the left, thus separating those considered able to work
from those who were not. Those too weak, or too old to
work, were sent straight to the gas chambers after all
their possessions, including their clothes, were taken for
resale in Germany. After the war, he spent some time in
a British internment hospital but disappeared, went
underground, and escaped to Argentina, later, to
Paraguay, where he became a citizen in 1959. He was
hunted by Interpol, Israeli agents, and Simon
Wiesenthal. In 1986 his body was found in Embu,
Brazil.
MUSSELMANN
Nazi camp slang word for prisoner on the brink of death.
NIGHT AND FOG DECREE
Issued on December 7, 1941, by Hitler, to seize “persons
endangering German Security” who were to vanish
without a trace into night and fog.
NUREMBERG LAWS
Two anti-Jewish statutes enacted in 1935 during the
Nazi party’s national convention in Nuremberg. The
first, the Reich Citizenship Law, deprived German Jews
of their citizenship and all rights pertinent thereto. The
second, the Law for the Protection of the German Blood
and Honor, outlawed marriages of Jews and non Jews,
forbade Jews from employing German females of
childbearing age, and prohibited Jews from displaying
the German flag. Many additional regulations were
attached to the two main statutes which provided the
basis for removing Jews from all spheres of German
political, social, and economic life. The Nuremberg
laws carefully established definitions of Jewishness
based on bloodlines. Thus, many Germans of mixed
ancestry called “Mischlinge,” faced anti-Semitic
discrimination if they had a Jewish grandparent.
PARTISANS
Irregular troops engaged in guerrilla warfare. During
World War II, this term was applied to all resistance
fighters in Nazi-occupied countries.
66
PROTOCOLS OF THE
LEARNED ELDERS OF
ZION
A major piece of anti-Semitic propaganda, written in
Paris by members of the Russian Secret Police.
Essentially it was a copy of a French polemic, by the
French lawyer Maurice Joly, and directed against
Napoleon III. Substituting Jewish leaders, the Protocols
maintained that Jews were planning world dominion by
setting Christian against Christian, corrupting Christian
morals and attempting to destroy the economic and
political viability of the West. It gained great popularity
after World War II and was translated into many
different languages. It encouraged anti-Semitism in
German, France, Great Britain, and in the United States.
It has long been repudiated as an absurd and hateful lie.
The book currently has been reprinted and is widely
distributed by Neo-Nazis and third world countries who
are committed to the destruction of the State of Israel.
RATH, ERNST VOM
(19??-1938)
Third secretary at the German Embassy in Paris, who
was assassinated on November 7, 1938 by Herschel
Grynzpan (see Grynszpan, Herschel).
RIGHTEOUS OF THE
NATIONS (RIGHTEOUS
GENTILES)
Term applied to those non-Jews who saved Jews from
their Nazi persecutors, at the risk of their own lives.
SA
(abbreviation: Sturmabteilungen): the storm troops of
the early Nazi party, organized in 1921.
SELECTION
Euphemism for the process of choosing victims for the
gas chambers in the Nazi camps by separating them
from those considered fit to work. (see Mengele, Josef).
SOBIBOR
Extermination camp in the Lublin district in Eastern
Poland (see Belzec; Extermination Camp). Sobibor
opened in May 1942 and closed one day after rebellion
of the Jewish prisoners on October 14, 1943. At least
250,000 Jews were killed there.
SS
Abbreviation usually written with two lightning
symbols, for Schutzstaffel (Protective Units), Originally
organized as Hitler’s personal bodyguard, the SS was
transformed into a giant organization by Heinrich
Himmler. Although various SS units were assigned to
the battlefield, the organization is best known for
carrying out the destruction of European Jewry.
67
SS ST. LOUIS
The Steamship St Louis was a refugee ship that left
Europe in the Spring of 1939, bound for Cuba.
When the ship arrived, only 22 of the 1128 refugees
were allowed to disembark. Initially no country,
including the United States, was willing to accept the
others. The ship finally had to return to Europe
where most of the refugees were finally granted entry
into England, Holland, France, and Belgium.
STRUMA
Name of a boat carrying 769 Jewish refugees, which
left Rumania late in 1941. It was refused entry to
Palestine or Turkey, and was tugged out to the Black
Sea where it sank in February 1942, with the loss of
all on board except one.
TEREZIN (CZECH)
THERESIENSTADT
(GERMAN)
Established in early 1942 outside Prague as a
“model” ghetto, Theresienstadt was not a sealed
section of town, but rather a fifteenth-century
Austrian garrison. It became a Jewish town,
governed and guarded by the SS. When the
deportations from central Europe to the extermination
camps began in the Spring of 1942, certain groups
were initially excluded: invalids, partners in a mixed
marriage and their children, and prominent Jews with
special connections. These were sent to the ghetto in
Terezin. They were joined by old and young Jews
from the Protectorate, and later by small numbers of
prominent Jews from Denmark and Holland. Its
large barracks served as dormitories for communal
living; they also contained offices, workshops,
infirmaries, and communal kitchens. The Nazis used
Terezin to deceive public opinion. They tolerated a
lively cultural life on theatre, music, lectures, and art.
Thus, it could be shown to officials of the
International Red Cross. Terezin, however, was only
a station on the road to the extermination camps;
about 88,000 were deported to their deaths in the
East. In April 1945, only 17,000 Jews remained in
Terezin, where they were joined by 14,000 Jewish
concentration camp prisoners, evacuated from camps
threatened by the Allied armies. On May 8, 1945,
Terezin was liberated by the Red Army.
UMSCHLAGPLATZ
German word meaning “transshipment place.” It was
a square in the Warsaw Ghetto where Jews were
herded together for deportation to Treblinka.
68
WANNSEE
Lake near Berlin where the Wannsee conference
was held on January 20, 1942. It was an
intramural meeting to coordinate the Final Solution
and was attended by Heydrich, Eichmann, and
other ranking Nazis.
WALLENBERG, RAOUL
Swedish industrialist who, in 1944, went to
Hungary on a mission to save as many Jews as
possible by handing out Swedish papers, passports
and visas. He is credited with saving the lives of at
least 30,000 people. After the liberation of
Budapest, he was mysteriously taken into custody
by the Russians and that is the last that is known of
him. Reported sightings of Wallenberg indicate
that he may still be alive. An international effort is
underway to find out what really happened.
WARSAW GHETTO
Established in November 1940, the Ghetto was
surrounded by a wall confining almost 500,000
Jews. Nearly 45,000 Jews died there in 1941 alone,
due to overcrowding, forced labor, lack of
sanitation, starvation, and disease. A revolt took
place in the Ghetto in April 1943, when the
Germans, commanded by General Jurgen Stroop,
attempted to raze the Ghetto and deport the
remaining inhabitants to Treblinka. The uprising,
led by Mordecai Anielewicz lasted 28 days.
YELLOW BADGE
A distinctive sign which Jews were compelled to
wear in the Middle Ages. The Nazis adopted the
concept, forcing Jews under their control to wear a
distinctive badge or arm band with the star of
David.
69
II. C.
SIGNIFIGANT DATES OF THE HOLOCAUST ERA
November, 1923
Munich Beer Hall Uprising. Adolf Hitler sentenced to
Landsberg Prison for five years, serving less than 13
months. He wrote Mein Kampf-My Struggle – in which
his plans for world control and organized Jewish
annihilation are presented.
January 30, 1933
Appointment of Adolf Hitler as Reich Chancellor or
Prime Minister.
1933
Dachau Concentration Camp opened - first political camp.
May 10, 1934
Burning of books of Jewish content and of books
opposing Nazi philosophy.
September 10, 1935
Nuremberg Laws passed. Imposing extensive anti-Jewish
racist legislation.
July 16, 1937
Opening of Buchenwald Concentration Camp.
March 13, 1938
Annexation o Austria by Germany
July, 1938
Evian Conference - Conference on refugee problem called
by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, in French summer
resort. Talked to resolve Jewish refugee problem. Nothing
was ever resolved
November 9-10, 1938
Kristallnacht. Crystal Night or Night of Broken Glass Anti-Jewish riots throughout Germany and Austria“spontaneous” punishment for killing Ernst Von Rath,
German third secretary in Paris by seventeen-year-old
Hershel Grynzspan. More than 20,000 Jews arrested, 191
synagogues destroyed, 7,500 shops (and glass windows)
burnt and looted.
March 15, 1939
Occupation of Czechoslovakia by Germany.
September 1, 1939
Invasion of Poland by Germany - beginning of WWII.
September 21, 1939
Establishment of ghettos in Poland, each governed by a
Judenrat - by orders of Reinhard Heydrich.
November 23, 1939
Jewish star armband required on all Jews of Central
Poland.
April 9, 1940
Occupation of Denmark, Southern Norway by Germany.
70
May 10, 1940
Invasion of Holland, Belgium, France by German.
June 22, 1940
Surrender of French army to Germany
April 29, 1940
Directive to establish concentration camp in Auschwitz by
Heinrich Himmler.
November 15, 1940
Sealing off of Warsaw Ghetto.
August 17, 1940
Demonstrations by masses of starving people in Lodz
Ghetto, Poland
April 6, 1941
Invasion of Yugoslavia and Greece by Germany.
June 22, 1941
Germany attacks U.S.S.R.
December 11, 1941
Germany declares war on the United States
July 31, 1941
Hermann Goering appoints Reinhard Heydrich to carry
out the “Final Solution” against the Jews.
October 10, 1941
Theresienstadt Ghetto established in Czechoslovakia.
December 8, 1941
Establishment of Chelmno extermination camp near Lodz.
Poland.
January 20, 1942
Wannsee Conference in suburb of Berlin. Drafting of
detailed plan to annihilate the eleven million Jews of
Europe - the “Final Solution”
March 1, 1942
Sobibor death camp extermination begins.
March 17, 1942
Belzec extermination begins.
June 1, 1942
Opening of Treblinka death camp.
June 10, 1942
Liquidation of Lidice, Czechoslovakia Christian
community in reprisal for murder of Reinhard Heydrich.
July 22, 1942
Large-scale evacuation in Warsaw Ghetto leading to
deportation of 300,000 Jews to Treblinka.
July 28, 1942
“Jewish Fighting Organization” (Z.O.B.) set up in the
Warsaw Ghetto.
April 19, 1943
Bermuda Conference for discussion of U.S. and British
resolution of situation of Nazi victims. Futile discussion.
71
April 19-May 16, 1943
Destruction of the Warsaw Ghetto by forces of General
Jurgen Stroop.
April 19, 1943
Uprising by less than 5,000 Jews in Warsaw Ghetto under
leadership of 23 year old Mordecai Anielewicz.
June, 1943
Liquidation of all ghettos in Poland ordered by Heinrich
Himmler.
June-September, 1943
Underground fighters in Vilna Ghetto leave by the
hundreds for surrounding forests.
August 2, 1943
Revolt in Treblinka death camp
March 19, 1944
Invasion of Hungary by Germany
May 15, 1944
Deportation of Hungarian Jews to Auschwitz. More than
380,000 deported by the end of June.
June 6, 1944
Allied invasion of Normandy.
January 17, 1945
Prisoners from Auschwitz begin “Death March” as Nazis
evacuate the extermination camp.
April 15, 1945
British Liberate Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp.
May 8, 1945
Germany surrenders, marking the end of Hitler’s
“Thousand Year Reich.”
SOURCE: Lea trice B. Rabinsky, ”Guide for Use with Tomorrow Came Much Later: A Journal of Conscience
(Lawrence, Kansas: Centron Films, 1980). Pp. +6. Some material adapted from The Holocaust, Yad Vashem,
Jerusalem, Israel, 1975.
72
III.
BRIEF HISTORY OF ANTI-SEMITISM
As a result of the conquest of their biblical homeland by Persians, Greeks, Assyrians and
Romans, Jews were scattered throughout Europe. However, the Hebrew Bible created
unity among the Jews even though they settled far from each other in very different
cultures. They continued to pray in Hebrew, even as they took on the languages of the
different host nations. They also continued to follow the laws and religious observances
of the Bible. They carried with them their customs, religious rituals and beliefs.
At first, anti-Jewish feelings were primarily a religious matter. Christianity was a child
of Judaism and considered one of its branches or sects. Jesus was a Jew who quoted from
and interpreted the Hebrew Bible. Yet the dilemma for early Christians arose from the
refusal of other Jews to accept Jesus as the messiah. There had been Jewish groups that
had accepted earlier messiahs. None of those groups, however, had broken with Judaism
until this one. That break began soon after the death of Jesus with the teachings of Paul.
He sought to gain non-Jewish followers for Christianity. Paul accomplished this by
dropping the requirements of conversion: Christians would no longer have to follow the
dietary and ritual laws of Judaism. He also abandoned the requirement of circumcision
considered by Jews to be the Biblical mark of the “covenant of Abraham.” Paul’s
followers became the new Christians, separated from the parent religion, Judaism.
When the Jews tried to drive the Romans our of their homeland, the Roman armies
destroyed the holy Temple in Jerusalem in 70 A.D. This dealt a crushing blow to the
Jewish religion, as Jews were driven from their country and dispersed or scattered all
over Europe. New Christian communities on the outskirts of the Roman world were
unaffected by the destruction of the Temple. Their separation from Judaism widened
even more.
Europe gradually became Christian through wondering Christian missionaries like Paul.
In the 3rd century A.D., Christianity had achieved such success that it became the official
religion of the Roman Empire. Jews were a small minority. They were considered
foreigners and outsiders, strangely different. Some church officials even accused them of
being agents of the devil.
The Jews continued their religious and social practices and, consequently, set themselves
apart from Christian society. Christians were no longer instructed in the Hebrew Bible
and often forgot the roots they shared with Jews. Jews persisted in praying in Hebrew,
reading from right to left. Christians saw Hebrew as a collection of symbols having to do
with witchcraft. Jews ate different foods and refused to eat what Christians ate, pork, for
example. Christian saw these differences as mysterious and evil. Jews celebrated the
Sabbath on Saturday rather than Sunday. Christians called this witch’s or devil’s
Sabbath.
As they had for thousands of years, Jews practiced circumcision as a sign of their
“covenant with God.” Christians saw this as an evil custom somehow related to the sign
of the devil. Eventually Jews dressed differently. They maintained traditional customs,
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like growing long beards, while modern practice changed to shaving. Jews became
stereotyped in their physical appearance.
Throughout the Middle Ages, local governments discriminated against Jews, denying
them the right to own land or hold public office. Medieval unions (guilds) refused
membership to Jews so that they could not work in many occupations. The effect of this
prejudicial treatment and isolation was to force Jews into commerce, and many became
merchants. Although the majority remained poor, some became wealthy. Because the
church prohibited money lending, Jews were among the first bankers. This historical
condition would foster a stereotype of Jews as money lenders. That stereotype would
increase persecution, especially in economically hard times.
From the 12th to the 20th centuries, Jews were persecuted, tried and murdered on the basis
of many myths. The myth that Jews murdered Christian children, for example, was
created in Norwich, England, around 1150 by a superstitious priest and an insane monk
when a Christian boy was found dead. The boy was probably killed by an outlaw. The
two clergymen invented the story that this murder was a part of a Jewish plot to kill
Christian children. The myth became more mysterious and complicated when the story
that Jews required the blood of Christian children to make unleavened bread (matzos) for
Passover was invented and added to it. Even some saints had supposedly accused Jews
of murdering Christian children for their blood. Such stories spread across Europe and
the Nazis would later manipulate them and other legends to stimulate racist antiSemitism.
From the late Middle Ages on, anti-Semitism was expressed in many ways. Jews were
expelled from cities or forced to live in restricted areas. Jews were excluded from
various occupations and denied citizenship. However, in the second half of the 19th
century, Europe became more democratic. The full or partial emancipation of the Jews
was achieved in Prussia, France, England, and other nations. This meant that Jews
officially were granted limited or full civil rights by governments. Also, some economic
and social restrictions were gradually removed by law. However, anti-semitic feelings
and beliefs lingered. Myths, superstitions and deep-seated beliefs still clung to
Europeans and had become part of the fabric of their civilization. Occasionally, antiSemitism exploded into violence.
The 19th century saw the beginnings of an anti-Semitism not based on religion but on
theories that Jews were a separate “race.” At the time, “race” meant a group of people set
apart because of genetically inherited characteristics such as skin color. Some even
believed that cultural characteristics such as beliefs, customs and behaviors were
inherited by members of a race.
By distorting Jewish history, 19th century racist labeled Jews as wanderers who inherited
their “rootlessness” through their “blood.” Thus, their nature was determined by heredity
and unchangeable. Wanderers were strangers; and as in the Middle Ages, people feared
strangers. They saw them as dangerous criminals, wrapped in mystery and evil. Hatemongers claimed that for the safety of Christian children, Jews had to be avoided. Or,
better yet, they urged that Jews should be kept at a distance or driven out of Christian
communities. There was no other choice – character was inherited, it could not be
74
changed. Such a theory, pretending to be scientific, was adopted by Hitler and others
who transformed theory to practice in the Holocaust.
Poor farmers and struggling urban people were suffering from the effects of the industrial
revolution of the 19th century. Many lost their land. Many lost their jobs. Many lost
their status and prestige. Worse, growing numbers of them could not feed their families
or provide shelter for them in the new environment of the city slum. Nothing was certain
any more. Some blamed their situation on the “rootless Jew” who became a scapegoat.
They repeated the stories about the “rootless wandering Jew” and the ritual murders.
They harped on the Jews as merchants and bringers of urban, commercial civilization.
Anti-Semites in the 19th and 20th centuries inflamed fear and hatred that had lurked
beneath the surface. The myth of a world Jewish conspiracy was fostered by a notorious
forgery called The Protocols of the Elders of Zion. This book claimed that the Jews of
the world were plotting to take over the governments of Christian countries and, thereby,
added fuel to the fire.
The myths and stereotypes of Jews were based on deliberate lies and ancient
superstitions. It did not even matter if anti-Semites knew Jews who did not fit the
stereotypes. Because they are based on irrational fear or resentment, stereotypes reject
specific evidence. The real world does not matter when fear, superstition and resentment
are at work.
With an ancient tradition of religious hostility to draw upon, racism brought together fake
scientific theories and anti-Jewish stereotypes. It offered solutions to economic and
social problems and promised a hope for a better future once the offending group was
removed from society. Without critical thinking or questioning, frequently in blatant
defiance of Christian morality, educated and uneducated people accepted the stereotypes
and the mythology with terrifying results.
A definition of anti-Semitism might be: hostility toward Jews as individuals, toward
Judaism as a religion, toward the Jewish people as a group. Throughout history, it has
expressed itself through religious prejudice, social exclusion, economic boycotts,
restrictive laws, physical attacks, killings and exiling of identifiable Jews.
DIFFERENT TYPES OF ANTI-SEMITISM
Religious anti-Semitism: Through the Middle Ages, the persecution of the Jews was
based on religious differences (rituals, belief in Jesus as the messiah, etc). If Jews would
convert to Christianity, they would be accepted. If they did not convert, they were
segregated, expelled, or killed.
Secular anti-Semitism: Beginning around the 18th century, as Europe became less
religious, Jews suffered social and economic discrimination. They were forced to live in
restricted areas, denied citizenship, excluded from various occupations, etc. Even if they
converted to Christianity, Christian communities would not accept them. Racial antiSemitism: By the late 19th century, Jews were seen as an inferior and dangerous “race.”
Racist argued that, like blue eyes, historically determined cultural traits such as business
75
skills were passed on through the genes. The “logic” of this thinking leads to
extermination.
Summary: The history of anti-Semitism can, thus, be summed up as described by Raul
Hilberg in The Destruction of the European Jesw as
Religious: You may not live among us as Jews.
Secular:
You may not live among us.
Racial:
You may not live.
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IV.
POLITICAL SCENE IN GERMANY AFTER WORLD WAR I
In 1918, Germany lost World War I. With the allies fast approaching, Kaiser Wilhelm
fled, leaving Germany without an official representative to negotiate with the victors.
The new government, the Weimar Republic, therefore, seemed to be a product of
Germany’s defeat.
The Weimar Republic was a federal republic (like the United States) composed of states
such as Prussia and Bavaria. It had a democratic constitution, which allowed for a
Reichstag (parliament), a president, a chancellor and a cabinet of ministers. The
constitution guaranteed civil rights and basic freedoms. It provided for elections and a
multiple party system. The new government’s first official act, unfortunately, was
signing the Versailles Treaty in 1919, which ended World War I. In this treaty, Germany
was forced by Allied representatives to accept total defeat and total responsibility for
starting the war. The Weimar Republic accepted defeat; a defeat the majority of
Germans did not understand.
The German people were bewildered by the defeat. During the war, they had received
news only through the severely censored government newspapers. No foreign soldier
was on German soil when the German armies surrendered. Only the military and
political leaders knew that they were utterly defeated and that the Allied forces (France,
England, and the U.S.) threatened to devastate Germany by starvation and armed force.
These facts were not made public, even after the armistice (cease fire).
Many Germans felt there had been some betrayal behind the scenes. The
Dolchstosslegende {dolsh-schtoss-leggendeh} or “stab in the back legend” became
widely believed. Extremists linked Germany’s defeat to false stories of Communist and
Jewish conspiracies to dominate the world. Some famous Jews had participated actively
in radical or revolutionary movements in Europe. For example, many were active in the
Russian Communist Revolution of 1917.
The 1920’s were a time of political crisis and turmoil in Germany. People of various
political viewpoints were dissatisfied with the Weimar Republic because of its role in
Germany’s surrender. Some groups on the political right wanted to re-establish an oldstyle monarchy. Other groups on the political left wanted to establish a communistic
people’s government (called a soviet.) There were several attempts to overthrow the new
government. Also, rightwing, armed gangs called Freikorps, who belonged to extreme
nationalist groups like the National Socialist or Nazi party, fought Communist
demonstrators in the streets all over Germany.
Freikorps often attacked Jews and Jewish businesses. Perhaps the most infamous
example of such assaults occurred in 1921. The German Foreign Minister, Walther
Rathenau, was assassinated by a fanatical member of an ultra-nationalist group.
Rathenau had been a staunch supporter of the Kaiser. He had organized the war economy
and was responsible for Germany’s remarkable ability to continue to fight until 1918.
Devoted to Germany, he then became a central figure in the Weimar Republic. Rathenau
was a Jew. Despite his patriotism, Rathenau was identified by anti-Semitic groups as a
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symbol of their invented “Jewish conspiracy” to dominate the world. Rathenau’s
murderers believed that no Jew should or could represent Germany. Although he was
totally dedicated to his country, they killed him. His assassination robbed Germany of
one of its ablest economic administrators who was internationally respected.
Opponents of the Weimar Republic were generally anti-Jewish. They accused Jews of
being traitors, responsible for Communism and, at the same time, responsible for all that
Communism opposed. In short, these groups blamed whatever seemed to be wrong with
the country on the Jews. Facts simply were irrelevant; the Jews again became
scapegoats.
Many Germans felt humiliated by the World War I defeat. They had lost national pride
and had a negative self-image. Millions were unemployed. Because of the startling
changes brought about by the war and its aftermath - loss of the war, change of
government, violence in the streets, inflation - many Germans felt a sense of alienation
and confusion. They were drawn to political parties that wanted to regain lost territory,
rearm and expand the army, return to an aggressive stand and oppose Communism at all
costs. They looked for political parties with strong leaders. These political parties talked
of rejecting the Versailles Treaty, the new Republic and democratic institutions. Almost
all such groups were anti-Semitic.
On November 9, 1923, Adolf Hitler and his young Nazi (or National Socialist) Party
attempted to seize power in Munich, Bavaria. (Munich is the capital of Bavaria, the
second largest state in Germany.) The Nazis accused all their political opponents of
treason, greed and conspiracy, which they said had brought about Germany’s defeat in
World War I.
Having attempted to overthrow the state government of Bavaria by force in the so-called
Beer Hall Putsch, Hitler was sentenced to five years in a minimum security prison. He
served less than nine months. His trial gave him the opportunity to gain publicity.
During the trial, the judges allowed him to rant his political speeches day after day. The
judges and the public seemed willing to listen to his ideas. This was a bad omen for the
Weimar Republic.
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IV.A.
MAP OF EUROPE AFTER WWI
79
IV. B.
BRIEF BIOGRAPHY OF ADOLF HITLER
Adolf Hitler was born in Linz, Austria. His mother seems to have been a kind woman.
His strict father was an Austrian government worker. Hitler was almost constantly
fighting with his father. Against his father’s wishes, he went to Vienna as a young man
to study art. He was refused entrance into an art school. Impoverished, he became one of
Vienna’s unemployed, eking out a living painting post cards. Living in a flop-house, a
cheap man’s hotel, in Vienna, he began to listen to street corner anti-Semitic speakers.
He later said he learned “the truth about the international Jew” in Vienna.
Hitler enlisted in the German army when World War I broke out and claimed, in his
autobiographical Mein Kampf (My Struggle), that he was astonished to discover that
Germany had lost the war in 1918. After World War I, unemployed again, he moved to
Germany where he joined the newly formed German Workers party in 1920. After Hitler
failed to seize the government of Bavaria, a state in southern Germany, in 1923, it
seemed as if his political career was over. Nevertheless, turning to legal methods of
gaining political power, Hitler worked behind the scenes to rebuild his party. In the 1925
presidential elections, Hitler convinced the World War I commanding general, Erich von
Ludendorff, to run on the Nazi ticket. The Nazis failed miserably as Hindenburg was
elected with an overwhelming majority. In 1932, Hitler himself ran for president.
Although he was defeated by Hindenberg, Hitler received over 36 percent of the popular
vote, more than 13 million votes.
For many reasons, Hitler’s support had grown between 1925 and 1932. He was among to
first to employ modern techniques for election campaigns. His use of fast cars and
airplanes allowed him to speak to thousands of people each day. His professional
propagandists and film makers used radio and film to create an image of Der Fuehrer,
The Leader, as confident, strong and concerned. He was unmatched as a public speaker
and took pride in his ability to manipulate and intimidate people. In the end, it was not
what Hitler said to crowds of thousands that mattered, but how he said it. Slogans and
carefully staged meetings and rallies gave the country the impression that he could do no
wrong and knew exactly what Germany needed.
In 1933, President von Hindenberg and his political advisors perceived Hitler as an
uneducated gutter politician. Yet, they believed that only Hitler could bring a stop to the
violence in the streets often cause by Nazi Brown shirts (SA men). Convinced that he
80
would be able to control Hitler, Hindenberg appointed him chancellor on January 30,
1933. Hitler was 44 years old.
By March 1933, it was clear that Hindenberg had been seriously mistaken about
controlling Hitler. The chancellor used a variety of methods to gain total power and
govern Germany as a dictator. He manipulated the mass media. He invented a
Communist conspiracy which he claimed was directed at dominating Germany. In order
to save the country from this communist threat, he said, the civil rights guaranteed by the
Weimar Treaty had to be eliminated. Even Hindenberg seemed to believe the conspiracy
theory.
The President allowed Hitler to replace the constitution with a series of emergency
decrees. One of the most sweeping was the Enabling Act. This act gave Hitler the right
to govern Germany by passing laws without approval of the Reichstag (parliament).
Based on such emergency decrees, he shut down newspapers, radio stations, trade unions
and opposition political parties. He also had government agencies write laws that began
to remove Jews from German society and from the economy.
Under Hitler’s rule, Germany seemed to be regaining prestige. In accordance with the
Versailles Treaty, some of the territory lost after World War I was returned to Germany.
Hitler strengthened the army in spite of the Versailles Treaty which had limited the
German armed forces. Arms industries helped pull Germany out of the depression, and
unemployment was reduced drastically. Other countries seemed to support Hitler whom
they saw as a defense against communism and the Soviet Union. It seemed that his
promise of “law and order” was being kept. The police were everywhere, and it was safe
for most Germans to walk the streets at night.
All those thought to hold anti-Nazi opinions, however, or Jews or those suspected of not
supporting the Nazi government were subject to arrest and/or beatings. People were
taken from their homes or off the streets to the newly opened concentration camps. They
might be kept there for years without any news of their whereabouts being sent to their
families. Upon release, they were made to swear they would remain silent about their
experiences in the camp under the threat of being arrested along with their families. Few
were willing to break that promise knowing their families might be endangered.
Hitler believed that to maintain power his philosophy had to be aimed at Germany’s
young people. In December 1936, he passed the “Law Concerning Hitler youth.” Article
2 of the law stated that “the entire German youth is to be educated physically, mentally,
and morally in Hitler Youth in the spirit of National Socialism.” Young people now
owed their allegiance first and foremost to their Fuehrer, Hitler, even if it meant
abandoning their families, traditions, religion and friends. Germany would be “united in
its Youth.”
By 1938, Hitler boasted that Germany would become an empire that would rule Europe
for 1000 years. At first, his success was astonishing. For example, with no resistance,
German-speaking Austria became part of the Third Reich, Hitler’s “Third Empire,” in
1938. A half million Austrians greeted their new leader with joyous cries of “Heil
Hitler!” as he rode triumphantly through the streets of Vienna.
81
Obsessed with obtaining Lebensraum (living space), Hitler led Germany into World War
II and destruction. Because of his fanatical desire to create an “Aryan” Europe for
Germans, he ordered what one historian has called “the war against Jews,” the attempted
genocide of all Europe’s Jews. World War II was to gain space for the Germans; the war
against the Jews was to guarantee “purity of race.” These were two wars. They were
related because they happened at the same time, but they were two separate issues in
Hitler’s mind.
Hitler was a powerful, clever and ruthless politician. He totally dominated Germany and
then most of Europe during World War II. Hitler promised the German people glory and
prosperity. His promises were offered in empty slogans and phrases that masked lies or
irrational arguments. Yet, because of his magnetic style, many people accepted those
slogans and phrases without thinking. Hitler could not have caused the Holocaust or
World War II by himself, but neither of those events could have occurred without him.
By 1945, he was responsible for the death of nearly 6 million Jews and an estimated 40
million more men, women and children.
Hitler committed suicide in May 1945, as the Soviet Army approached his underground
bunker in Berlin.
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IV. C.
THE BELIEFS OF THE NAZI PARTY
The National Socialist German Workers Party (known as the Nazi Party) was the most
nationalistic of the many German political parties of the Weimar Republic. The
handbook of the party began with the fundamental rule of the Fuehrer of Leader
Principle. This stated that all power was “in the leader (Fuehrer)” who had to be obeyed
at all cost.
The core of the Nazi Party ideology, its collection of ideas and beliefs, was exclusion.
According to the Nazis, all those who were not “of pure Aryan blood” were excluded
from the party and even from German citizenship. This policy was based on the racist
philosophy known as Aryanism. The word “Aryan” or “Nordic” was applied to those
who were white-skinned, light haired and light-eyed. Nazi scientist established other
criteria for Aryan status: skull size, height, ancestral religion, energy and strength. These
people were said to be “pure” descendants of the ancient Greeks and Romans. “Pure”
meant that they had not bred outside of their own race.
The Aryans’ most important characteristic was shared “race-soul.” Quiet, strong,
innocent and good, their mission was to defeat evil. In this fantasy, the bearers of evil in
the world had been and continued to be the Jews, referred to as a “race.” Jews
epitomized mixing of races and, therefore, weakening the “blood.” As a “weak race,”
they were bearers of disease and would ultimately destroy the healthy and innocent
Aryan race-soul.
Aryanism insisted that all racial characteristics were determined internally, by the soul
and the “blood,” and not by environment or culture. Therefore, Jews would remain Jews
no matter how long they had lived with Germans and no matter what religion they or
their ancestors had adopted. Aryans, as long as they avoided marrying Jews, would
remain Aryans no matter what.
In a pure Aryan state, Jews would be treated as foreigners and would not have the right to
vote. All their civil rights under German law would also be removed from them. Thus,
Jews would not be able to count on police protection. They would not be able to appeal
to the law courts for any injustice done to them. They would not have the right to attend
schools or participate as equals in any part of society.
The Nazis insisted that the Versailles Treaty must be rejected and all reparations ended.
They believed that Germany must once again take a position as a strong and forceful
power in the world. One of Germany’s main missions would be to fight communism.
According to the Nazi views, Germans must learn again what it meant to be a “good”
German: obedience to authority and unquestioning devotion to traditional German
values. All Germans should be reeducated: women should be in the home raising
children; men should cultivate the “manly virtues” as soldiers or workers for the
Fatherland. Nazi leaders claimed the modern world was too permissive. It was filled
with corrupt politics, pornography, sensual art, and literature, and sexual promiscuity.
Such modern things were to be combated.
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Hitler offered the Nazi ideology to mass audiences. He skillfully combined notions of
German nationalism with fears of foreign, communist or “racial” corruption. He
presented the myth of the “Aryan Race,” and he defined its members as Uebermenschen
or “overmen” or “supermen.” This super-race, according to Hitler, was destined to
dominate the world because of its purity and strength. He believed the world was
governed by a kind of jungle law. In such a world, the strongest and purest would
naturally triumph.
According to Hitler, the danger to the “Aryan race” came from its opposite, the “Jewish
race.” He believed that by mixing and polluting the blood of the “Aryans,” Jews had
“infiltrated” German culture, politics, and thinking. The Jews, he said, had been the
underlying cause of the German defeat in World War I. They were responsible for
Germany’s loss of territory or Lebensraum or “living spaces.”
It followed from his racial theories of life that in order to save the “Aryan race” and
ultimately the world, “inferior races” like the Jews had to be first isolated and then
eliminated. The beliefs of the Nazi Party became the policies of the Nazi state.
84
IV. D.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS FOR THE WAVE
1. What was the purpose of the teachers experiment?
2. How did the class respond to the experiment?
3. Which character did not want to go along with the group? Why?
4. Who liked the idea the most? Why?
5. What makes a group have power?
6. What was the most frightening thing about this video?
85
V. B. 12
THE YELLOW STAR
Below are examples of Yellow Stars worn in other countries under Nazi occupation.
The above stars are from Holland, Germany, France, Belgium, and Romania.
This is a photo of an authentic Yellow Star. The size is authentic. This Star was from
Germany.
Here is a photo of some Jewish men wearing the yellow star.
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THE YELLOW STAR
By Nazi law, all Jews over the age of six were forced to wear a yellow Jewish Star or
armband when appearing in public. This law was imposed first in Germany, and then in
all countries which Germany occupied. The word “Jew” was printed in the center of the
star in the language of each country. The purpose of this law was to humiliate the Jews,
to segregate them from the rest of the population, and to make them more vulnerable to
persecution. Jews found without the A star risked heavy fines, torture and imprisonment
or being shot in the spot. Even children were shot.
According to a report in the New York Times on November 23, 1940, some citizens of
Antwerp, Belgium showed their contempt for this law by wearing the yellow star
themselves for a while. In Holland there was also a brief period of resistance to this law,
but the ruthless Nazi occupation soon overcame it. In most other countries the civilian
population cooperated fully with the law. Jews could not risk punishment by disobeying.
In Germany, Rabbi Leo Baeck urged the Jews to “Wear the Jewish star with pride,” not
to let themselves be degraded by the Nazis. Jews who managed to find hiding places for
themselves, with false identification, among non-Jews, risked their lives by removing the
yellow star. Even in the darkest hours of the Holocaust, however, the Jews did not lose
hope, as expressed in this song, written during the Holocaust.
We shall yet live to see brothers, yet live to see
There will again be spring and victory and dawn
And then we shall straighten our backs
And sing a new song of liberty and freedom
Brigades of Jews
Fearless and without yellow badges
Are marching back
Forward to our homeland
A. Akselrod
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V. E.
KRISTALLNACHT
“Night of the Broken Glass.” Using the shooting of a minor German official in Paris,
Ernst vom Rath, by a young Jewish student, the Nazis, organized and led by SA men all
over Germany, carried out three nights of violence against Jews, Jewish homes,
synagogues and business. The Nazis smashed, burned and looted. Over 35,000 Jews
were arrested and taken into “Protective Custody” and sent to concentration camps for
days or weeks; many were beaten in the streets; about 35 were killed. This was the last
pogrom in Germany, and it took place on November 9-11, 1938. Among the results were
the enormous claims filed by Germans against German insurance companies; openly
hostile publicity from foreign reporters who observed the anti-Jewish riots; protest from
foreign ministries - including the United States. President Roosevelt temporarily
withdrew the American Ambassador to Germany. The Jews were charged a billion mark
penalty to pay for the damages and the event was followed by a series of anti-Jewish
laws.
88
VI. D. 5. b.
WARSAW GHETTO
Warsaw, the capital of Poland, was the largest Nazi ghetto. Many young children used to
sneak food into the ghetto, often at the risk of their lives. Food was scarce and hunger
pervasive. Thousands of people died from starvation and disease. Their bodies could be
found in the streets each day. Death and disease were the daily experience of every child
in the overcrowded ghetto of 450,000 Jews.
“The Little Smuggler”
Over the wall, through the holes, and past the guard,
Through the wires, ruins, and fences,
Plucky, hungry, and determined,
I sneak through, dart like a cat.
At noon, at night, at dawn,
In snowstorm, cold or heat,
A hundred times I risk my life
And put my head on the line.
Under my arm a gunny sack,
Tatters on my back,
On nimble young feet,
With endless fear in my heart.
But one must endure it all,
One must bear it all,
So that tomorrow morning
The fine folk can eat their fill.
SOURCE: Henryka Lazawert, from Itzhak Tatelbaum, Through Our Eyes, I.B.T.
Publishing, Jerusalem, 1985, p. 75.
QUESTIONS AND ISSUES TO DISCUSS
1. How does the little smuggler work his way out? (Call on different students to
describe different scenes.)
2. How do we know that he is quick?
3. Why does he risk his life?
4. Why is the little smuggler always afraid?
5. Why does he have to endure it all?
89
VI. G.
THE WANNSEE CONFERENCE
From 1933 to 1945, a holocaust, or complete destruction by fire, occurred in Europe.
Many people suffered, but it was the Jews who were singled out for destruction, murder,
and extinction by fire.
Jews became subjects, rather than citizens, of Germany. They were forced to include
Sarah and Israel as their middle names in the early years of the Nazi makeover, sell their
businesses to non-Jews for a tiny fraction of what they were really worth, and wear a
yellow star. In the concentration camps, they were given a number and had no names at
all.
On November 9-10, 1938, the first burning took place throughout Germany and Austria.
Jewish homes, businesses, and synagogues were burned. Many Jewish men were taken
to concentration camps. This event became known as Kristallnacht, or the “Night of the
Broken Glass.”
What did the average German do during this tragic period? What did the Germans think
when the Jews who were their neighbors, friends, and acquaintances suddenly
disappeared? What did the clerks, secretaries, department store salespeople, train
conductors, plumbers, carpenters, doctors, and lawyers think when their friends and
neighbors disappeared? Did they like the Jews or only tolerate them? Did they know
why or want to know why this was happening? Were they surprised? Did they care?
We want to think that the Holocaust was caused by people who were mentally
unbalanced or insane. But this is not so. When we think of the millions of people who
were involved in the murder of six million Jews, we know it was ordinary people who
helped to carry out this terrible crime. That’s what makes it so frightening. Ordinary
people in any country could do the same to a group of people of their choice. Any race,
religion, or nationality could be singled out.
It was such people as architects who sat at their drawing boards and designed and
planned crematoria; train conductors who took the Jews and packed them into cattle cars
to send them to concentration and death camps; cement company employees who built
the gas chambers and crematoria; and clerks who planned timetables of how many Jews
could be transported on trains and in camps. There were doctors who got pleasure from
carrying out frightening experiments, most of which caused deaths of the inmates in the
camps, and lawyers who forced the Jews, after Kristallnacht, to pay for the damage done
by the storm-troopers and to sell their homes and businesses. There were all the average
people who refused to sell groceries, clothing, and other commodities to the Jews.
We begin to see that it is not possible that all these people could have been mentally
unbalanced. Their actions were part of a Nazi master plan called the “Final Solution.” A
major conference, the Wannsee Conference, was held to put this plan into action.
90
Many conferences are held so that people can improve knowledge about a subject. There
are conferences on education, economics, health, science, etc. This conference was
different from any other, but it was also the same. On Tuesday, January 20, 1942, a
conference was held at a mansion in the elegant Berlin suburb of Wannsee. Fourteen top
Nazis were invited to this meeting by Reinhard Heydrich, head of the Security Police and
the Secret Service of Nazi Germany. The conference lasted only 85 minutes. In that
short time, the attendees decided on the “Final Solution” of the Jews of Europe and other
“undesirables.”
The attendees had stopped thinking of Jews as human beings. Therefore, they had no
need to worry about conscience. This was merely a conference to decide how to present
their plan to the public, how much of the plan to do in secret, and how to make it happen.
They knew it would not be easy to dispose of millions of people, but they regarded it as a
challenge and as a means to assert their belief that Germany was the most efficient nation
in the world.
Some of the comments in a secret document issued for the Wannsee Conference included
the following (emphasis added):
Under appropriate direction, the Jews are to be utilized for work in the East in an
expedient manner in the course of the final solution. In large (labor) columns,
with the sexes separated, Jews capable of work will be moved into these areas as
they build roads, during which a large proportion will no doubt, drop out through
natural reduction. The remnant that eventually remains will require suitable
treatment, because it will, without doubt, represent to most (physically) resistant
part. It consists of a natural selection process that could, on its release, become
the germ-cell of a new Jewish revival.
German Undersecretary of State Luther suggested that some difficulties could be
encountered in the Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Holland, Sweden, etc). But
since there were so few Jews in those countries, postponement of the “final solution”
there would not be a problem. The conferees went through the names of countries they
expected to conquer or had already conquered, as if they were taking inventory. How
many Jews? How quickly could the Jews be disposed?
There was a relatively long discussion about what would happen to those Jews who
married Germans. These Jews were called first-degree mischlinges. Their children were
second-degree mischlinges. If a second degree Mischlinge looked Jewish in appearance,
that would be the end for that young person. The second degree Mischlinge who had a
bad police or political rating, indicating that the person “feels and behaves as a Jew” also
faced the end.
Reinhard Heydrich’s aim was to prove that he was the only person in charge of the “Final
Solution.” He outlined the plan, estimating that 11 million Jews would be annihilated.
Heydrich was a vain man, always wanting more power and control, according to Adolf
Eichmann, Heydrich’s subordinate. State Secretary Dr. Friesler of the Department of
Justice told the conferees that he would turn over the authority for punishing this element
of people to Heydrich.
91
It was a straightforward administrative conference, as might have been held anywhere.
Like other conferences, it concluded with a meal. Waiters carried trays to everyone
serving drinks and other refreshments. But unlike other conferences, it dealt with the
death of 11 million human beings.
On May 29, 1942, Heydrich was wounded by a hand grenade thrown by members of a
Czech resistance group. He died a week later. To avenge this deed, on June 10, the
Nazis murdered the male population above the age of 14 in Czech Christian village of
Lidice.
Nevertheless, the “Final Solution” was carried out with help from all the “little” people of
Germany and countries that were occupied by Nazi Germany.
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VII. C. 2.
RAILROAD CAR: POLAND, 1942
My name is David. I am a Polish Jew aged 13. I have just been taken from the Warsaw
ghetto, along with many other Jews, old and young, for transportation to a so-called labor
camp, called Treblinka. We are lined up beside a railroad cattle car. As we are pushed
into the car, some of us fall off and are thrown back on by the German guards. Once we
are in, I notice a think layer of lime and chlorine over which water has been poured has
been spread on the floor. There is no room to sit. In order to make room we are forced to
stand with our hands above our heads. There are about 150 people in our car. As I look
up, I notice that there is no roof on the car. The wintery weather is already beginning to
make itself felt. Suddenly the door is slammed shut and sealed. A water bucket is tossed
in the car for use as a disposal container for human waste. The car is hitched to a
locomotive and begins to move. The crunch in the car is horrible as the mass of people
try to find room. Terrible cries pierce the air as some people suffer from the sudden
lurching. From time to time, the car stops to pick up other victims from other towns
along the way. At these stops, a loaf or two of bread is thrown in. This causes us to
trample on those near us for food. An old lady jammed near me has just died. A little
boy is screaming for his mother. I feel that I too want to die. Suddenly the train
screeches to a halt. I don’t know how long we have been traveling, but it seems like
days.
The door is opened, and those nearest it fell out on the roadside. German guards quickly
jump aboard and herd the occupants out with their rifle butts. Some occupants don’t
leave for they are either frozen stiff along the metal walls of the car or are dead on the
floor. As we are herded along, those who stumble and fall are weeded out and place in
trucks bound for the ovens of Treblinka. The rest of us, as we will find out, will first be
sent to labor camps, and then to the ovens. Very few of us will be spared.
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VII.C.3.a
BACKGROUND TO AUSCHWITZ
The small town of Oswiecem {os-svee-chem}, called Auschwitz in Germany, was located
in the Upper Silesia, Poland. During World War 1, stables were converted in to Polish
army barracks just outside the town. Late in 1940, the Reichsfuehrer SS, Heinrich
Himmler, decided to make use of the already constructed army barracks and selected
Auschwitz to serve as a concentration camp - a place to concentrate “enemies of the
Reich.” From a relatively small area located on a swamp, Auschwitz would be expanded
to 440 acres, housing close to 200,000 prisoners. It is unlikely that even Himmler
foresaw this in 1940. In March 1941, Himmler told Rudolf Hoess, Commandant of
Auschwitz, that Auschwitz had been selected as the main operations center of the murder
of Europe’s Jews.
Auschwitz was divided into three camps. Each camp housed thousands of prisoners, and
each camp had a different function. Auschwitz I remained a concentration camp, housing
political prisoners and “criminals” as defined by the German authorities. Auschwitz IIBirkenau was constructed between the end of 1941 and the middle of 1942 and became
the death camp. Auschwitz III-Monowitz, where slave laborers were constructing what
was to be the largest synthetic rubber factory in the world, was the I.G. Farben Buna
plant. (I.G. Farben was the largest chemical-industrial conglomerate in the world. Buna
was the name given to the synthetic rubber that was to be produced to make Germany
self-sufficient in the war.) Auschwitz also included some 35 smaller labor camps within
a 50-mile radius.
Trains arrived regularly at Auschwitz-Birkenau carrying cattle cars crammed with Jews
form all parts of Europe. The Jews were driven off the trains onto a long railroad
platform, and forced to line up and move toward the end of the platform where several SS
men, directed by doctors, would determine who seemed capable of working and whos
would be “non-productive.” At this selection process, these men sent people directly to
their deaths with a flick of the thumb or wrist or a nod of the head. The “non-productive”
category automatically included children under age 16 and adults over age 40, cripples,
the mentally deficient, those already emaciated from starvation, mothers carrying small
children and others deemed “non-productive” for no apparent reason.
Those who survived the selection were forced to do slave labor at Auschwitz IIIMonowitz or at one of the smaller labor camps. Some were selected for the
Sonderkommando (special duty). They were used to clear gas chambers of dead bodies
and carry them to the crematoria to be burned. Most of these men were killed after three
months when they were replaced by new prisoners. Other prisoners were given jobs in
the camp such as kitchen or latrine duty. Those needed by the SS, such as carpenters or
physicians, also were spared for a time. All prisoners were underfed and lived under
miserable conditions. The SS doctors had calculated the number of calories given to
prisoners. They rationed food so that no prisoner would survive more than three months.
This led to savage behavior - stealing from other prisoners and secretly trying to steal
form garbage heaps - surviving by any means.
94
The first experiments with prussic acid gas called Zyklon B, previously used as
insecticide, took place in September 1941. Before long, at Auschwitz-Birkenau, there
were four enormous gas chambers, which could be used to murder 15,000 people daily.
Their attached crematoria were used for disposing of the bodies. By the end of 1944,
when Auschwitz was abandoned to the oncoming Russian armies, over two million Jews
had died of disease or starvation, or had been worked to death, gassed, shot, hanged,
infected with lethal drugs or experimentally tortured. Over 30,000 non-Jewish Polish
prisoners were also murdered at Auschwitz, along with thousands of other political or
national enemies of Germany. More that 250,000 Gypsies also were killed there. Jews
and Gypsies were to be annihilated simply because they existed.
95
VII.C.3.b.
ARRIVAL IN AUSCHWITZ
“You have 15 minutes. Pack one suitcase and report in front of your house.”
You and your family join a procession marching to the railroad station. You are guarded
by SS men and local police. The train arrives - cattle cars. You hold your father’s hand
as you are forced into a car with 80 to 100 other people. The door slams and you hear the
lock. About one-half hour later, the train begins to move.
After two hours, people grow thirsty; there is no room even to sit down; one small
opening in a corner of the car is the sole source of air. There are no windows. It is
almost impossible to see because of the darkness. You gasp for breath. There is no
toilet, only a bucket somewhere in the middle of the car. The heat grows unbearable.
Your father’s hand has slipped from yours and you cannot see your family members.
People begin to groan and scream, babies cry. The train stops - but nothing happens.
Other trains pass by in a different direction.
The smell of sweat, excrement and urine permeates the car. People grow panicky,
irritable, frantic. After eight hours, about 25 of the people have passed out or died. After
20 more hours, the train stops again. People cry out for water as they hear voices outside.
A machine gun sprays the car and four people fall with blood flowing from their bodies.
Your sister is one of them. Silence.
The doors open - air rushes in. “Raus! Raus! Out! Out!” There are dogs, men with guns.
Prisoners in striped uniforms take suitcases, old people and the dead out of the car. You
watch as they now throw your sister’s body onto a wagon. You move almost in a daze
and get off the car onto the platform with crowds of others. Thousands of people have
stumbled, fallen from the long line of cattle cars. The noises are deafening, frightening.
“Line up by fives! No talking!” Shots are heard. The air is filled with foul smelling
smoke. A chimney is visible; flames and smoke billow from it. You are made to move
in an endless line - shouts in German or other languages route people in different
directions. Your father is again next to you. Someone whispers that you should lie
about your age, “Tell them you’re 16.” A handsome SS man with a whip in his hand and
his coat draped over his shoulders asks your age. “Sixteen, “ you lie. He points his whip
to the left and you and your father follow his direction. You see your mother and old
people and children going to the right. Unknown to you, you will never see them again.
All those under 16 and over 40 are sent to die. You mother, younger brothers and
grandparents have disappeared.
There are lines, yelling, crying, dogs, orders, shots. Men and women have been separated
from one another. You are made to strip and stand naked. Next, a bathhouse. You are
sprayed with delousing solution - it burns. Still naked, you are marched to a long room
where all body hair is shaved; your arm is tattooed with a number, and you are given an
ill-fitting uniform and shoes. Finally, you are herded into a barracks with about 200
others.
96
What has happened? Where are we, you wonder. What has happened to your mother
and brothers? Your father is silent; he seems to be hypnotized, stiff, not responding to
anything around him. Where did they take your poor sister’s body? You ask someone
with a striped uniform, another prisoner, when you will see your mother and brothers
again. Where are they? He roughly drags you to a window and points: “Do you see that
chimney? Do you see the smoke? There are your mother and your brothers. This is not
a summer camp - this is Auschwitz.”
97
VII.C.3.a
A”NORMAL” DAY IN AUSCHWITZ
As a 15-year-old girl, you have survived the selection on the platform. You are alone packed into barracks with hundreds of others but with no one from your family. You
share your “bunk” with tree bunkmates. The word “bunkmates” is not exactly correct there are three other frightened, emaciated victims who share the wooden board on which
you sleep.
4 a.m.: Appel or role call. Fall out, with only a prisoner’s striped uniform and a pair of
wooden shoes, into the biting zero-degree cold. Stand. One hour passes and Kapo, a
prisoner who is in charge of the barracks, calls numbers. Your number is called. All
must wait because one person is not present. Fifteen minutes later, the body is dragged to
its place. Even the dead must report. The Kapo yells his count to the SS guard: “All
present or accounted for! One hundred ninety-four are standing, five are in the sick
barrack, one is dead.”
“Coffee” - dark water - and slice of coarse bread are given to you as you stand in line.
No one has been allowed to use the latrines. Three hours have passed, some people have
urinated on themselves; finally, you are allowed to line up for the latrines. You are given
three minutes in the large room with a mud floor and a series of cement slabs with holes
in them. A prisoner is given a whip with which she beats women who take too long. An
older woman confides to you that prisoners are found dead here each morning - suicides
or drowned in excrement by someone else. The smell is overpowering, and you feel the
urge to vomit. Yet, such smells are no longer new to you: the stench in the cattle car, the
sickening odor of the smoke from the chimneys, the body smells of the prisoners
crammed into the barracks and now this latrine smell. The older woman tells you that
almost all the women have ceased menstruating - either from fear, malnutrition or
disease.
Again the Appelplatz (role call place), where you see women being beaten for “slacking.”
You are chosen for a work detail at the Brezhinka, the mountain of clothing collected
form victims, most of whom were gassed upon their arrival. Your job is to sort clothing.
You are lucky - one can “organize,” that is, steal extra clothes from here. Should you be
caught, you will probably be beaten, or worse. As you work, you watch trains arrive, the
chimneys of the crematoria belching flames, the lines of people at the gas chamber, the
dogs barking, the women crying, children screaming and SS men shouting commands.
At noon, you are given “coffee” and another slice of bread with margarine. Ten minutes
to eat. Back to work. In the distance, you see men carrying cement blocks from one
place to another. Later, they are made to carry them back. Every so often you hear
gunshots. Everyone around you has the stench of death, disease and excrement. All are
crawling with lice. The sky is gray, trees glisten with snow, icicles form on the barracks
and on the barbed wire fences.
While you work at the Brezhinka, you suddenly find a familiar sweater, your mother’s,
and a pair of shoes - your sister’s. They are dead, you know that now. You cannot stop
98
to mourn or think of them. Guards are watching. You tear the sweater to pieces. It is a
small act of defiance, of sabotage.
All prisoners move as if in a fog. Some are beaten, some are hung, shot or tortured-they
seem to show no emotion because of their starved, semi-hypnotized conditions. By 6
p.m., your head swims - malnutrition, grief, fear, pain, thirst - all take their toll.
Another Appel. Nineteen people have died from your group - a small number for this
day-in the bitter cold.
After the final ‘meal,’ which consists of one slice of bread and a small piece of hard
salami, you return to the barracks. People stare blankly. The Kapo grabs a young girl
and beats her until blood pours from her head - the girl has not performed some simple
task to the Kapo’s satisfaction. She moans on the wooden floor. No one moves. The
Kapo swears at the prisoners and storms into her room at the end of the barracks.
You lay on you board with two other girls (the third has not returned) thinking of your
mother and sister in your kitchen at home and fall asleep.
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VII.C.3.c.
THE DEATH CAMPS
The “selection,” which decided which Jews were to be worked and which ones
immediately gassed, took place at the railroad siding as soon as the victims had been
unloaded from the freight cars in which they had been locked without food or water for as
much as a week - for many came from distant parts of Holland, France and Greece.
Though there were heart-rending scenes as wives were torn away from husbands and
children from parents, none of the captives, as Hoess testified and survivors agree,
realized just what was in store for them. In fact some of them were given pretty picture
postcards marked “Waldsee” to be signed and sent back home to their relatives with a
printed inscription saying:
We are doing very well here. We have work and we are well treated. We await your
arrival.
The gas chambers themselves and the adjoining crematoria, viewed from a short distance,
were not sinister-looking places at all; it was impossible to make them out for what they
were. Over them were well-kept lawns and flower boarders; the signs at the entrances
merely said baths. The unsuspecting Jews thought they were simply being taken to the
baths for the delousing which was customary at all camps. And taken to the
accompaniment of sweet music!
For there was light music. An orchestra of “young and pretty girls all dressed in white
blouses and navy-blue skirts,” as one survivor remembered, had been formed from
among the inmates. While the selection was being made for the gas chambers this unique
musical ensemble played gay tunes from The Merry Widow and Tales of Hoffmann.
Nothing solemn and somber from Beethoven. The death marches at Auschwitz were
sprightly and merry tunes, straight out of Viennese and Parisian operetta.
To such music, recalling as it did happier and more frivolous times, the men, women, and
children were led into the “bath houses,” where they were told to undress preparatory to
taking a “shower.” Sometimes they were even given towels. Once they were inside the
“shower room” - and perhaps this was the first moment that they may have suspected
something was amiss, for as many as two thousand of them were packed into the chamber
like sardines, making it difficult to take a bath - the massive door was slid shut, locked
and hermetically sealed. Up above where well-groomed lawn and flower beds almost
concealed the mushroom-shaped lids of vents that ran up from the hall of death, orderlies
stood ready to drop into them the amethyst-blue crystals of hydrogen cyanide, or Zyklon
B.
Through the heavy glass portholes the executioners could catch what happened. The
naked prisoners below would be looking up at the showers from which no water spouted
or perhaps the floor wondering why there were no drains. It took some moments for the
gas to have much effect. But soon the inmates became aware that it was issuing from the
perforations in the vents. It was then that they usually panicked, crowding away from the
pipes and finally stampeding toward a metal door where, as Reislinger puts it, “they piled
100
up in one blue clammy blood-spattered pyramid, clawing and mauling each other even in
death.
Twenty or thirty minutes later when the huge mass of naked flesh had ceased to writhe,
pumps drew out the poisonous air, the large door was opened and the men of the
Sonderkommando took over. These were Jewish male inmates who were promised their
lives and adequate food in return for performing the most ghastly job of all.* Protected
with gas masks and rubber boots and wielding hoses they went to work. Reitlinger has
described it.
Their first task was to remove the blood and defecations before dragging the clawing
dead apart with nooses and hooks, the prelude to the ghastly search for gold and the
removal of teeth and hair which were regarded by the Germans as strategic materials.
Then the journey by lift or rail-wagon to the furnaces, the mill that ground the clinker to
fine ash, and the truck that scattered ashes in the stream of the Sola.
SOURCE: William L. Shirer, The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1960, pp. 969971
*
They were inevitably and regularly dispatched in the gas chambers and replaced by new teams who
continued to meet the same fate. The S.S. wanted no survivors to tell tales.
101
VII.C.3.d.
A PRECIOUS GIFT
This is the story of Edith Pick Lowy, a Holocaust survivor. She was born in
Czechoslovakia, and survived six concentration camps. After the war she lived in Israel
for eleven years, and then came to the United States in 1958. Today she is a teacher. She
is married and has two children. She lives in Rockville, Maryland.
I was in Poland, and it was a time of war. For the Jews of Europe, it was a long and
terrible war. It had been five years since my family was forced to leave our home in
Czechoslovakia and begin a journey to an unknown, new life. No one imagined that the
new life would be so very sad and cruel.
My father and I were in a concentration camp, a place nothing like our home. We were
caged behind barbed-wire fences. Every day we were marched to work in ammunition
factories, always watched from both sides by German guards. There was no escape for
us. We lived in barracks, many women or men in the same huge room. Or beds were
hard, wooden planks. And we were hungry. Always hungry.
It had been more than two years since I last saw my mother. She was taken away in a
cattle train with many other Jews from our city. Their destination was unknown. We
heard terrible rumors about what happened, but I just could not believe them. I refused to
believe them. I thought about my mother every day, and I missed her. How I missed
her!
My only brother, Erik, was shot over a year ago, when we were in a different
concentration camp. They shot all the children under the age of 16. I was 13 at the time.
I don’t know how I survived. I can still hear the sound of the machine guns that killed
him. How could Erik be dead? He was just 11 years old. It was the only time in my life
that I wanted to die, but I had to live. I was all my father had left. I had to live for him.
My father worked the day shift, and I worked some days and some nights, yet we
managed to see each other every day. We lived for our short, precious moments together.
One day, standing in line for food, I held a place for my father. The other prisoners did
not mind, because I was one of the few children in the camp, and they protected me
whenever they could. But this evening my father did not show up. I took my bowl of
soup for him and went to his barrack. He was in bed. He said he was too tired to come to
supper, but I knew this was not true. I later learned that earlier in the day he’d found a
carrot in a trash can near the camp’s kitchen and had taken it for me. He was caught and
beaten terribly. He missed coming to the food line because he could not move. But he
managed to hide his pain from me.
Outside the camp, life continued. Families were together and the seasons changed. For
us, time had no meaning. Each day was the same. Fear, sadness, hunger, and hope
dominated our lives.
102
It was winter again. In my other life, in my world back home, I looked forward to winter,
because it brought my birthday. But here, in this place, what was the point of
remembering? Most of us did not even know what day of the month it was. What
difference would it make? And how could one celebrate a birthday? We had nothing to
give.
Yet my father remembered. He must have thought about it for weeks ahead of time.
When we met on December 22, his eyes were full of tears. He had a birthday gift for me.
It was a simple, steel comb which he had made in the camp workshop. I could not
imagine how he had done it, since German overseers watched us all the time to make sure
prisoners were doing their jobs. What a terrible risk he had taken to make this gift for
me. The comb was crude; its teeth were not completely even. But to me, it was the most
beautiful gift.
From that day on, I carried the comb with me to work, and I kept it in my bed at night. It
was always with me. Days passed, months passed, and still I treasured my comb.
One day, orders came to evacuate the camp. Once more, men and women were separated
and hoarded into cattle trains. This time, we were shipped to a concentration camp in
Germany. When we arrived, I found our that my father had been shipped elsewhere. I
had no idea where. New horror and sadness came over me.
We were ordered to put all of our clothing and possessions in a pile. I had written a
collection of poems and stories. It was hard for me to give them up, but I put them on the
pile, too. But under no circumstances would I give away my precious comb. Hidden by
a crowd of frightened women, I dug a hole in the ground and buried it. I thought that if I
lived through the day, I would be able to find it again.
We were led to big rooms, where they shaved our heads and gave us striped prisoners’
clothes. When we came back out, I tried to remember where I had hidden my comb. I
did not realize how difficult it would be. It had been so crowded, and I’d been so scared
when I buried it. I looked a long time, but couldn’t find the comb.
Many times during my stay in the camp, I tried to find my comb, always frightened the
guards would catch and punish me. To my great sadness, I was never able to find it.
The war ended a very long time ago. Since then, I have received many gifts which have
meant a lot to me. But still I am sad that I never found the gift, given to me with so much
love, in a place where there was nothing to give.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. Why was Edith forced to leave her home?
2. What were the conditions in the concentration camp?
3. How was Edith separated from her mother?
103
4. Why did she go on living?
5. Why was Edith’s father unable to meet her in the food line one day?
6. How do you think her father risked his life?
7. Describe the comb which Edith’s father made for her.
8. Why was the comb so important?
104
9. VII.C.3.e.
CALORIE TALLY ACTIVITY
The daily food allotment for prisoners in the concentration camps was approximately
500-750 calories, depending on the work the prisoner was assigned. The diet of ghetto
residentse was usually even less than this and consisted chiefly of stale bread, rotten
potatoes, and a few vegetables that might be smuggled into the ghetto.
Ask students to keep a log and calorie tally of all the food they consume in one day.
Have students compare their total calorie intake with that of the prisoners in the camps
and ghettos.
105
CALORIE TALLY
DIRECTIONS: On the Calorie Tally list each item of food you eat during one day and
add up the total number of calories.
FOOD
___________________________________________
BREAKFAST ___________________________________________
___________________________________________
___________________________________________
___________________________________________
___________________________________________
___________________________________________
Calorie Total:
CALORIES
________________
________________
________________
________________
________________
________________
________________
________________
LUNCH
___________________________________________
___________________________________________
___________________________________________
___________________________________________
___________________________________________
___________________________________________
___________________________________________
Calorie Total:
________________
________________
________________
________________
________________
________________
________________
________________
DINNER
___________________________________________
___________________________________________
___________________________________________
___________________________________________
___________________________________________
___________________________________________
___________________________________________
Calorie Total:
________________
________________
________________
________________
________________
________________
________________
________________
SNACKS
___________________________________________
___________________________________________
___________________________________________
___________________________________________
___________________________________________
___________________________________________
___________________________________________
Calorie Total:
________________
________________
________________
________________
________________
________________
________________
________________
TOTAL CALORIES FOR THE DAY:_____________
106
VII.C.3.f.
JANUSCZ KORCZAK
FATHER OF ORPHANS
Some time ago, a Jewish physician who had been in the Warsaw Ghetto hospital was
asked, “Perhaps you knew Januscz Korczak?”
Softly he answered, “Knew him? Yes I knew him well. There was only one Januscz
Korczak in the whole world - only one man like him.”
Januscz Korczak was a pediatrician, a children’s doctor. He was also an educator,
interested in progressive, modern education. In addition, he was a writer of children’s
stories, and the director of an orphanage. Because he cared for each child in the
orphanage as his own, he soon began to be called “Father of Orphans.”
In the year 1879, Henryk Goldszmit was born into a Jewish home in Warsaw, Poland.
When he grew up and began writing stories for children, he took the name Januscz
Korczak. This had been the name of a make-believe hero in a Polish novel, and this
became Henryk Goldszmit’s pen name - and the name we know him by today.
Korczak’s father was a lawyer, and in the middle-class home in the large Polish city in
which he was brought up, the lad scarcely knew he was Jewish. His father died when he
was very young; his childhood was lonely. As he grew older, he supported himself by
teaching. In visiting the slums of Warsaw, he became interested in how the poor children
were living and how they were educated. In 1903 he graduated from the University of
Warsaw, and continued his studies in medicine, specializing in pediatrics.
Although he could have been a physician of the richest families in Warsaw, he chose to
take care of the children of slum families. He was the doctor who accepted “undesirable”
house calls which other young physicians refused. He took time to stay and play with his
little patients. He cared for many of these children without a fee, or, as he once
explained, he took a symbolic kopek, since a “physician who takes no fee does not help
the patient.”
More and more he became involved in the care and welfare of poor and orphaned
children, and finally, in 1911, he gave up his hospital activities and successful private
practice to become the head of a large Jewish orphanage in Warsaw. His House of
Orphans at 92 Krochmalna Street became famous as one of the first institutions in the
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world to bring up children in an atmosphere of self-respect, affection, and selfexpression. Discipline was based on a set of rules adopted by a committee of children
selected by children. Duties were assigned by the children, and a children’s “court”
judged those who broke the rules. The youngsters even published their own newspaper.
With inspiration, insight, and devotion, Korczak and his assistant Stefa showed what
should be done under difficult conditions.
He received no salary, and lived in a small, poorly furnished attic room, which he often
shared with a child who had to get away from the others, or who needed quiet for a while.
He even did some of the lowly tasks like washing dishes or scrubbing the floor.
The six full-length books he wrote for children have become favorites both in Poland and
Israel. In each story, Korczak taught an important principal for good living. Many times
he wrote about children who find themselves in positions of responsibility and the things
they have to do for the benefit of others.
A children’s weekly, which was a supplement to a well-known Polish-Jewish newspaper,
and which supported the idea of Palestine becoming a Jewish state, may have had an
influence in bringing him back to Judaism. Also, many of his students at the orphanage
“graduated” and went to Palestine. They corresponded with the doctor. He became
interested in that land and traveled twice to Palestine. The second time he spent several
weeks with his former students on a kibbutz. The spirit of self-sacrifice, the ideals, and
the society built on trust that one person had for another - all of this appealed to him.
When the Nazis began pressuring Jews, he became more closely identified with his
people. In the fall of 1940, he was told that his orphanage was outside the limits of the
ghetto set up by the Nazis. He was ordered to move the children. During the move a
sack of potatoes Korczak had obtained with great effort was stolen by the German
guards. He went directly to the office of the governor of Warsaw complaining that the
potatoes were for “his children”. He was arrested and forced to spend four months in jail.
After his release, although his non-Jewish friends begged him to leave the ghetto - and
the country - he returned to the children.
On Wednesday morning, September 5, 1942, at the age of 64, Januscz Korczak led “his
children” from the Jewish orphanage to the Umschlagplatz. Passerby could not believe
their eyes. They saw a procession of singing children dressed in their “best” Sabbath
clothes, led by a stately old man carrying a sick child.
The scene was described in these words:
Today Korczak’s orphanage was “evacuated”…Korczak refused to stay
behind. He would not abandon “his” children. He went with them. And
so, a long line formed in front of the orphanage…a long procession,
children small, rather precocious, emaciated, weak, shriveled, and
shrunk...no one is crying. Their eyes are turned toward the doctor. He is
going with them, so what do they have to be afraid of? They are not
alone, they are not abandoned…
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Although he knew the truth, he told the children that they were going to sunshine and
green fields. At the railroad station, one of the guards watched as the children were told
to take off their yellow stars and pile them together. “It was like a field of buttercups,”
said the guard, sadly. From the railroad station, the children went to Treblinka and to
death in the gas chambers.
From “Januscz Korczak’s Last Walk” by Hanna Morkowicz-Olcakowa. Courage and
resistance during the Holocaust took many forms. The last walk was a quiet, but forceful
statement of moral victory.
DISSUSSION
1. Resistance comes in many forms. In the Warsaw ghetto, resistance meant
fighting the battalion of German armed forces. But the word ‘resistance’ has a
special meaning when we recall a man like Januscz Korczak. In what ways do
you think Korczak resisted the Nazi terror?
2. Was Korczak right to lie to the children about the future?
3. The Jewish religion has always considered the plight of the orphan a special case.
Special laws are indicated in the Bible to provide for the widow and orphan.
What was there about the way in which Korczak treated the orphans which made
them love him? Do you think that Korczak was a good leader of children?
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VIII.B.5.
ARMED RESISTANCE
WARSAW GHETTO UPRISING
On April 19, 1943, German troops surrounded the Warsaw Ghetto in order to begin the
final deportations. Over 310,000 Jews had already been deported since June 1942.
Almost all had been sent directly to the gas chambers at Treblinka. The Jewish Fighting
Organization (ZOB), led by 23-year-old Mordechai Anielewicz (ann-nee-lev-itch),
consisted of abut 1,500 young men and women. These young resistance fighters had
lived in the ghetto for over two years and were nearly starved, suffering from disease and
the sadness of having lost families and friends. In addition to these terrible conditions,
they had managed to get only three light machine guns, about 100 riffles, a few dozen
pistols, some hand grenades and explosives. When the resistors opened fire, the surprised
German troops fled from the ghetto. The Warsaw Ghetto Rebellion had began. It would
last about one month.
The ZOB faced 3,000 German troops who were equipped with armored trucks, artillery,
flame throwers, heavy machine guns and heavy explosives. The ZOB resisted until May
16, when the Great Synagogue was blown up and the ghetto, already in flames, was
burned to the ground. Along with a few Polish non-Jews who had helped in the battle,
56,065 Jews surrendered. The prisoners were either shot, sent to Treblinka or Majdanek
death camps or to the labor camps where almost all died. Sixteen Germans had been
killed. The Warsaw Ghetto Rebellion against the Germans was an utter failure from a
military point of view. But word of it spread across Europe as a symbolic sign of hope
for all those resisting the Nazis.
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VIII.B.10.
SURVIVAL AS RESISTANCE
Under unique circumstances like those of the Holocaust, “resistance” has to be redefined.
Armed resistance was almost impossible - yet, it did occur. But another type of
resistance became a way of life for Jews: to defeat death, from moment to moment and
hour to hour. Even if survival was a result of what some survivors say was “pure luck,” it
represented resistance. Each day of survival meant successfully resisting the Nazi plan of
genocide. To survive, to live, meant resistance.
As was apparent from “A ‘Normal’ Day in Auschwitz,” the prisoners lost the freedom to
make choices. To make choices was to act like a human being. One scholar has noted
that committing suicide was one of the first signs of resistance by prisoners. They chose
to die when they could make no choices about anything else. Some chose to attempt to
escape, although few succeeded. Survivors describes small acts of “sabotage.” Some at
Auschwitz tore clothing apart as they sorted clothes in the Brezhinka. Others reported
pouring sand into machinery they were forced to build in slave labor camps.
One prisoner of Auschwitz washed his hands in extremely filthy water each day. When
another prisoner asked him why he bothered to “wash” in such water, he replied: ‘To
prove to myself that I am still a human being.” As he stood on the Appelplatz on his first
full day in Auschwitz, a fourteen-year-old boy, alone after being separated from his
family the day before, met an old man standing next to him. “What portion of the Bible
were you studying at home?” the old man asked him. The boy told him. “We will begin
reciting at that place today and go further each day,” the old man whispered. “Why?”
asked the boy. “To continue.” Simple, routine or ritual acts became choices that allowed
people to maintain links with their former lives.
Praying, one of the most serious “crimes” in any of the concentration, labor, or death
camps, was an act of resistance. Several survivors recall conducting secret religious
services in the barracks. They risked their lives with the action but maintained their
identities as Jews. This, to them, was resistance. One survivor of a labor camp recalled
that on the Jewish Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur, she and many other prisoners chose
to observe the religious tradition of fasting. When the SS guards discovered that these
Jews were not eating, they forced them to do hours of punishing exercise. Then, the
prisoners were not given rations for two days.
Those who survived have spoken of these acts as resistance - defeating the Nazi
insistence that they become less than human.
The Nazis forced their victims to give up part of what it meant to be human: the freedom
of choice. They tried to rob Jews of their human status.
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IX.A.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS FOR FILM THE COURAGE TO CARE:
1. Why did people risk their lives to save Jews in Nazi Europe?
2. What factors enter into people making difficult ethical decisions?
3. How do people behave under stress, i.e., physical and mental reactions? Share a
personal experience that shows how you behave under stress.
4. Compare responses of Marion Pitchard, killer of the Dutch policeman, who said,
“I’d do it again,” with Mmme. Tocume, who said, ”Do not plan for revenge.”
Which position do you believe was correct? Explain your answer.
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IX.B.
THE RESCUE IN DENMARK
BY RALPH COHEN
In the late Summer of 1943, the Holocaust had already consumed the lives of millions of
Jews and others whom the Nazis deemed undesirable. In continued to rage unchecked in
those countries occupied by the Nazis or under their domination - with the singular
exception of Denmark.
In that small country, some 7,000 Jews, less than two per thousand of the population, still
lived relatively normal lives, went about their daily businesses unmolested and walked
the streets with nothing to distinguish them from their fellow Danes - all this despite the
fact that Denmark had been under German occupation for almost three years.
While most were unaware of it, they were in grave jeopardy. Their very existence was a
growing aggravation and a challenge to those Nazis like Adolf Eichmann who were
determined to carry out the annihilation which was Hitler’s final solution to “the Jewish
problem.”
During September of that year, despite the opposition of other Germans, these elements
were given a free hand to wipe out this Danish anomaly once and for all. Special
Kommando units were organized by the Gestapo to round up the Jews on Rosh Hashanah
- October 1 that year - when they would be conveniently found in synagogues or at home
and ships were dispatched across the Baltic to carry them off to concentration camps in
Germany.
At that point, the miracle occurred. Thanks to a warning passed to the Danish authorities
by the German shipping attaché, George Ferdinand Duckwitz, when the Kommandos
called, the Jews had vanished. Overnight they had been hidden in the homes of friends,
in basements and attics, churches, hospitals, and schools. And by the end of the month,
all but about 500 had been transported across the Oresund Strait by boat to safe haven in
Sweden, in a spontaneous popular rescue effort involving Danes of every kind and
condition. All risked their lives in the effort; some lost them.
The escape route for the Jews became highways for couriers and resistance fighters, some
of whom moved on to Britain while others stayed in Sweden together with many Jewish
refugees to organize official Danish forces which returned to Denmark when the
Germans capitulated in May, 1945.
With them, the Jews of Denmark also returned from Sweden and even from
Theresienstadt to resume their places as Danes in a free and democratic Denmark.
Even those who could not escape and were carried off to a concentration camp at
Theresienstadt were given support from Denmark and when the war ended, 425 of them
survived to return home.
The Rescue in Denmark has become one of the biggest legends of our time. The actual
story is far from simple. Volumes of historical study and popular fiction have been
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devoted to it. That it happened at all is due in part to Germans who opposed the policy
for reasons of conscience as well as expediency, and in part to the welcoming attitude of
the Swedes.
But in the final analysis, it was possible because of the Jewish experience through three
centuries of Danish history and what the principal historian of the Rescue, Leni Yahil,
has called, “the special character and moral stature of the Danish people and their love of
democracy and freedom.
SOURCE: Ralph Cohen, “The Rescue in Denmark,” Jewish Points of Interest: Denmark-You’ll love it, a travel guide
(Copenhagen, Denmark: Danish tourist Board, 1983), pp.2 ff. Reprinted with permission.
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IX.C.
RAOUL WALLENBERG
Raoul Wallenberg, a Swedish diplomat in Hungary, was on a rescue mission in that
country. After Adolf Eichmann had deported many of the Hungarian Jews, Wallenberg
did all he could to save the remaining two hundred thousand Jews. With financial help
from the United States- created War Refugee Board, Wallenberg strove to outwit the
Nazis. He bought buildings and flew the Swedish flag over them, making the buildings
Swedish territory. Persons living in such buildings were under the protection of Sweden.
Hundreds of Jews crowded into the protected houses for safety. They were not always
safe. The Arrow Cross was a murderous Hungarian Nazi group. Gangs seized Jews from
the houses and took them to the Danube River. Sometimes they shot them and left them.
Sometimes they tied them in groups of three and shot the middle person, killing one and
causing the two who fell with him to drown.
Wallenberg also created a special Swedish protective passport. The Jews who received
these passports were able to leave Hungary and escape the roundups. Some diplomats
from other neutral countries followed Wallenburg’s lead and did the same, saving yet
other lives.
Wallenberg did everything humanly possible, frustrating the Nazis wherever he could.
Despite his tireless efforts, he was able to save only half the Hungarian Jews. The
Gestapo had tried several times to assassinate him, without success. But Wallenberg met
a mysterious end. After Russian forces liberated Hungary from the Germans, he was
seen going into Soviet headquarters in Budapest and was never seen or hear from again.
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X.
TIME SEQUENCE IN THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK
1926
Margot Frank born to Otto and Edith Frank in Germany
1929
June 12: Anne Frank born
1933
Adolf Hitler becomes chancellor of Germany. The Frank family
moves from Germany to the Netherlands.
1939
WWII begins when Germany invades Poland on Sept. 1.
Sept. 3: Great Britain and France declare war on Germany.
1940
April and May: Germany invades Norway, Denmark, the
Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, and France.
May 13: Queen Wilhelmina sets up a Dutch government in exile in
London.
June 22: France falls to Germany.
1941
Dec. 11: U.S. declares war on Germany.
1942
July 6: Frank family goes into hiding in Amsterdam.
1944
Aug. 4: Franks, Van Daans and Dussel arrested by Green Police and
sent to concentration camps.
1945
March: Anne dies at Bergen-Belsen concentration camp.
April 12: Netherlands liberated.
April 30: Adolf Hitler commits suicide.
May 8: Germany surrenders.
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X.B.
STUDY SHEET FOR THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK
CHARACTER
1. How does Anne’s diary help her to understand herself?
2. Compare and contrast the personalities of Margot and Anne.
3. Why does no one know Anne’s second self - the gentler, “deeper” Anne seen in
the diary?
PLOT
1. How does life change for the Dutch Jews after the German invasion of Holland?
2. How do the people of Holland respond to the plight of Jews in their country?
3. What precautions against detection must the inhabitants of the Secret Annexe
take?
4. How do the adults react to Anne’s friendship with Peter?
THEME
1. What examples of man’s inhumanity to man does Anne encounter?
2. How do these actions affect her attitude toward mankind in general?
3. Who does Anne blame for the war? What does Anne think must take place before
wars can be abolished?
4. What message do you think Anne’s diary contains for today’s world?
INTERPRETATION AND OPINION
1. What can individuals do to prevent such tragedies as the war and its concentration
camps from recurring?
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X.C.
THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK
A TRAGEDY REVEALED: HEROINE’S LAST DAYS
BY ERNST SCHNABEL
Last year in
which Anne
and it is an
Amsterdam I found an old reel of movie film on
Frank appears. She is seen for only 10 seconds
accident that she is there at all.
The film
Anne Frank
Annexe.” It
people
nervous
and groom.
was taken for a wedding in 1941, the year before
and seven others went into hiding in the “Secret
has a flickering, Chaplinesque quality with
popping suddenly in and our of doorways, the
smiles and hurried waves of the departing bride
Then, for just a moment, the camera seems uncertain where to look. It darts to the right,
then to the left, then whisks up a wall, and into view comes a window crowded with
people waving after the departing automobiles. The camera swings farther to the left to
another window. There a girl stands alone, looking out into space. It is Anne Frank.
Just as the camera is about to pass on, the child moves her head a trifle. Her face flits
more into focus, her hair shimmers in the sun. At this moment she discovers the camera,
discovers the photographer, discovers us watching 17 years later, and laughs at all of us,
laughs with sudden merriment and surprise and embarrassment all at the same time.
I asked the projectionist to stop the film for a moment so that we could stand up to
examine her face more closely. The smile stood still, just above our heads. But when I
walked forward close to the screen, the smile ceased to be a smile. The face ceased to be
a face, for the canvas screen was granular and the beam of light split into a multitude of
tiny shadows, as if it had been scattered on a sandy plain.
Anne Frank, of course, is gone too, but her spirit has remained to stir the conscience of
the world. Her remarkable diary has been read in almost every language. I have seen a
letter from a teenaged girl in Japan who says she thinks of Anne’s Secret Annexe as her
second home. And the play based on the diary has been a great success wherever it is
produced. German audiences, who invariably greet the final curtain of The Diary of Anne
Frank in stricken silence, have jammed the theaters in what seems almost a national act
of penance.
Last year I set out to follow the fading trail of this girl who has become a legend. The
trail led from Holland to Poland and back to Germany, where I visited the moss-grown
site of the old Berger-Belsen concentration camp at the village of Belsen and saw the
common grave shared by Anne Frank and 30,000 others. I interviewed 42 people who
knew Anne or who survived the ordeal that killed her. Some had known her intimately in
those last tragic months. In the recollections of others she appears only for a moment.
But even these fragments fulfill a promise. They make explicit a truth implied in the
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diary. As we somehow knew she must be, Anne Frank, even in the most frightful
extremity, was indomitable.
The known story contained in the diary is a simple one of human relationships, of the
poignant maturing of a perceptive girl who is 13 when her diary begins and only 15 when
it ends. It is a story without violence, though its background is the most dreadful act of
violence in the history of man, Hitler’s annihilation of six million European Jews.
In the summer of 1942, Anne Frank, her father, her mother, her older sister Margot and
four others were forced into hiding during the Nazi occupation of Holland. Their refuge
was a tiny apartment they called the Secret Annexe, in the back of an Amsterdam office
building. For 25 months the Franks, the van Daan family, and later a dentist, Albert
Dussel, lived in the Secret Annexe, protected from the Gestapo only by a swinging
bookcase which masked the entrance to their hiding place and by which the heroism of a
few Christians who knew they were there. Anne Frank’s diary recounts the daily
pressures of their cramped existence: the hushed silences when strangers were in the
building, the diminishing food supply, the fear of fire from the incessant Allies air raids,
the hopes for an early invasion, above all the dread of capture by the pitiless men who
were hunting Jews from house to house and sending them to concentration camps.
Anne’s diary also describes with sharp insight and youthful humor the bickering, the
wounded prides, the tearful reconciliations of the eight human beings in the Secret
Annexe. It tells of Anne’s wishes for the understanding of her adored father, of her
despair at the gulf between her mother and herself, of her tremulous and growing love for
young Peter van Daan.
The actual diary ends with an entry for August 1, 1944, in which Anne Frank, addressing
her imaginary friend Kitty, talks of her impatience with her own unpredictable
personality. The stage version goes further: it attempts to reconstruct something in the
events of August 4, 1944, the day the Secret Annexe was violated and its occupants
finally taken into a captivity from which only one returned.
What really happened on the August day 14 years ago was far less dramatic than what is
now depicted on the stage. The automobiles did not approach with howling sirens, did
not stop with screaming brakes in front of the house on the Prinsengracht canal in
Amsterdam. No rifle butt pounded against the door until it reverberated as it now does in
the theater every night somewhere in the world. The truth was, at first, that no one heard
a sound.
It was mid-morning on a bright summer day. In the hidden apartment behind the secret
bookcase there was a scene of relaxed domesticity. The Franks, the Van Daans and Mr.
Dussel had finished a poor breakfast of ersatz coffee and bread. Mrs. Frank and Mrs.
Van Daan were about to clear the table. Mr. Van Daan, Margot Frank and Mr. Dussel
were resting or reading. Anne Frank was very likely at work on one of the short stories
she often wrote when she was not busy with her diary or her novel. In Peter Van Daan’s
tiny attic room Otto Frank was chiding the 18-year-old boy for an error in his English
lesson. “Why, Peter,” Mr. Frank was saying,” you know that double is spelled with only
one b.”
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In the main part of the building four other people, two men and two women, were
working their regular jobs. For more than two years these four had risked their lives to
protect their friends in the hideout, supplied them with food and brought them news of a
world from which they had disappeared. One of the women was Miep, who had just got
married a few months earlier. The other was Elli, a pretty typist of 23. The men were
Kraler and Koophuis, middle-aged spice merchants who had been business associates of
Otto Frank’s before the occupation. Mr. Kraler was working in the office by himself.
Koophuis and the two girls were in another.
I spoke to Miep, Elli, and Mr. Koophuis in Amsterdam. The two women had not been
arrested after the raid on the Secret Annexe. Koophuis had been released in poor health
after a few weeks in prison, and Kraler, who now lives in Canada, had eventually escaped
from a forced labor camp.
Elli, now a mother whose coloring and plump good looks are startling like those of the
young women painted by the Dutch masters, recalled: “I was posting entries in the
receipts book when a car drove up in front of the house. But cars often stopped, after all.
Then the front door opened, and someone came up the stairs. I wondered who it could
be. We often had callers. Only this time I could hear that there were several men…”
Miep, a delicate, intelligent, still young-looking woman, said: “ The footsteps moved
along the corridor. Then a door creaked and a moment later the connecting door to Mr.
Kraler’s office opened, and a fat man thrust his head in and said in Dutch: ‘Quiet. Stay in
your seats.” I started and at first did not know what was happening. But then, suddenly, I
knew.”
Mr. Koophuis is now in very poor health, a gaunt, white-haired man in his 60s. He
added: “I suppose I did not hear them because of the rumbling of the spice mills in the
warehouse. The fat man’s head was the first thing I knew. He came in and planted
himself in front of us. ‘You stay here, understand?’ he barked. So we stayed in the office
and listened as someone else went upstairs, and doors rattled, and then footsteps
everywhere, They searched the whole building.”
Mr. Kraler wrote me this account from Toronto: “A uniformed staff sergeant of the
Occupation Police and three men in civilian clothes entered my office. They wanted to
see the storerooms in the front part of the building. All will be well I thought, if they
don’t want to see anything else. But after the sergeant had looked at everything, he went
into the corridor, ordering me again to come along. At the end of the corridor, they drew
their revolvers all at once and the sergeant ordered me to push aside the bookcase and
open the door behind it. I said: ‘But there’s only a bookcase there!” At that he turned
nasty, for he knew everything. He took hold of the bookcase and pulled. It yielded and
the secret door was exposed. Perhaps the hooks had not been properly fastened. They
opened the door and I had to precede them up the steps. The policemen followed me. I
could feel their pistols in my back. I was the first to enter the Franks’ room. Mrs. Frank
was standing at the table. I made a great effort and managed to say: ‘The Gestapo is
here.’”
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Otto Frank, now 68, has remarried and lives in Switzerland. Of the eight who lived
at the secret Annexe, he is the only survivor. A handsome soft-spoken man of
obviously great intelligence, he regularly answers correspondence that comes to
him about his daughter from all over the world. He recently went to Hollywood for
consultation on the movie version of The Diary of Anne Frank. About the events
of that August morning in 1944 Mr. Frank told me: “I was showing Peter Van
Daan his spelling mistakes when suddenly someone came running up the stairs.
The steps creaked, and I started to my feet, for it was morning, when everyone was
supposed to be quiet. But then the door flew open and a man stood before us
holding his pistol aimed at my chest.
“In the main room the others were already assembled. My wife and the children and Van
Daans were standing there with raised hands. Then Albert Dussel came in, followed by
another stranger. In the middle of the room stood a uniformed policeman. He stared into
our faces.
“’Where are your valuables?” he asked. I pointed to the cupboard where my cashbox was
kept. The police took it out. Then he looked around and his eye fell on a leather
briefcase where Anne kept her diary and all her papers. He opened it and shook
everything out, dumped the contents on the floor so that Anne’s papers and notebooks
and loose sheets lay scattered at our feet. No one spoke, and the policeman didn’t even
glance at the mess on the floor as he put our valuables into the briefcase and closed it. He
asked us whether we had any weapons. But we had none, of course. Then he said, ‘Get
ready.’”
Who betrayed the occupants of the Secret Annexe? No one is sure, but some suspicion
centers on a man I can only call M., whom the living remember as a crafty and
disagreeable sneak. He was a warehouse clerk hired after the Franks moved into the
building, and he was never told of their presence. M. used to come to work early in the
mornings, and he once found a locked briefcase in which Mr. Van Daan had carelessly
left in the office, where he sometimes worked in the dead of the night. Though Kraler
claimed it was his own briefcase, it is possible the clerk suspected. Little signs lead to
bigger conclusions. In the course of the months he had worked in the building, M. might
have gathered many such signs: the dial on the office radio left at BBC by nocturnal
listeners, slight rearrangements in the office furniture, and of course, small inexplicable
sounds from the back of the building.
M. was tried later by a war crimes court, denied everything, and was acquitted. No one
knows where he is now. I made no effort to find him. Neither did I search out
Silberthaler, the German police sergeant who made the arrest. The betrayers would have
told me nothing.
Ironically enough, the occupants of the Secret Annexe had grown optimistic in the last
weeks of their self-imposed confinement. The terrors of those first nights had largely
faded. Even the German army communiqués had made clear the war was approaching an
end. The Russians were well into Poland. On the Western front, Americans had broken
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through at Avranches and were pouring into the heart of France. Holland must be
liberated soon. In her diary Anne Frank wrote that she thought she might be back in
school by fall.
Now they were all packing. Of the capture Otto Frank recalled: “No one wept. Anne
was very quiet and composed, only just as dispirited as the rest of us. Perhaps that was
why she did not think to take along her notebooks, which lay scattered about on the floor.
But maybe she too had the premonition that all was lost now, everything, and so she
walked back and forth and did not even glance at her diary.”
As the captives filed out of the building, Miep sat listening. “I heard them going,” she
said, “first in the corridor and then down the stairs. I could hear the heavy boots and the
footsteps, and then the very light footsteps of Anne. Through the years she had taught
herself to walk so softly that you could hear her only if you knew what to listen for. I did
not see her, for the office door was closed as they all passed by.”
At Gestapo headquarters the prisoners were interrogated only briefly. As Otto Frank
pointed out to his questioners, it was unlikely, after 25 months I n the Secret Annexe, that
he would know the whereabouts of any other Jews who were hiding in Amsterdam.
The Franks, Van Daans, and Dussel were kept at police headquarters for several days, the
men in one cell , the women in the other. They were relatively comfortable there. The
food was better than the food they had had in the Secret Annexe and the guards left them
alone.
Suddenly all eight were taken to the railroad station and put on a train. The guards
named their destination Westerbork, a concentration camp for Jews in Holland about 80
miles from Amsterdam. Mr. Frank said: “We rode in a regular passenger train. The fact
that the door was bolted did not matter very much. We were together and had been given
a little food for the journey. We were actually cheerful. Cheerful, at least when I
compare that journey to our next. We had already anticipated the possibility that we
might not remain in Westerbork to the end. We knew what was happening to Jews in
Auschwitz. But weren’t the Russians already deep into Poland? We hoped our luck
would hold.
“As we rode, Anne would not move from the window. It was summer outside.
Meadows, stubble fields, and villages flew by. The telephone wires along the right of
way curved up and down along the windows. After two years it was like freedom for her.
Can you understand that?”
Among the names given me of survivors who had know the Franks at Westerbork was
that of a Mrs. De Wiek, who lives in Apeldoorn, Holland. I visited Mrs. De Wiek in her
home. A lovely, gracious woman, she told me that her family, like the Franks, had been
in hiding for months before their capture. She said: “We had been at Westerbork three
or four weeks when the word went around that there were new arrivals. News of that
kind ran like wildfire through the camp, and my daughter Judy came running to me,
calling, ’New people are coming, Mama!’
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“The newcomers were standing in a long row in the mustering square, and one of the
clerks was entering their names on a list. We looked at them, and Judy pressed close
against me. Most of the people in the camp were adults and I had often wished for a
young friend for Judy, who was only 15. As I looked along the line, fearing I might see
someone I knew, I suddenly exclaimed ‘Judy, see!’
“In the long line stood eight people whose faces, white as paper, told you at once that
they had been in hiding and had not been in the open air for years. Among them was this
girl. And I said to Judy, ’Look, there is a friend for you.’
“I saw Anne Frank and Peter Van Daan every day in Westerbork. They were always
together and I said to my husband, ‘Look at those two beautiful young people.’
“Anne was so radiant that her beauty flowed over into Peter. Her eyes glowed and her
movements had a lilt to them. She was very pallid at first, but there was something so
attractive about her frailty and her expressive face that at first Judy was too shy to make
friends.
“Anne was happy there, incredible as it seems. Things were hard for us in the camp. We
‘convict Jews’ who had been arrested in hiding places had to wear blue overalls with a
red bib and wooden shoes. Our men had their heads shaved. Three hundred people lived
in each barracks. We were sent to work at five in the morning, the children to a cable
workshop and the grownups to a shed where we had to break up old batteries and salvage
the metal and the carbon rods. The food was bad, we were always kept on the run, and
the guards all screamed ‘Faster, faster!’ But Anne was happy. It was as if she had been
liberated. Now she could see new people and talk to them and could laugh. She could
laugh while the rest of us thought of nothing but: Will they send us to the camps in
Poland? Will we live through it?
“Edith Frank, Anne’s mother, seemed numbed by the experience. She could have been a
mute. Anne’s sister Margot spoke little and Otto Frank was quiet too, but his was a
reassuring quietness that helped Anne and all of us. He lived in the men’s barracks, but
once when Anne was sick he came over to visit her every evening and would stand beside
her bed for hours, telling her stories. Anne was so like him. When another child, a 12year-old boy named David, fell ill, Anne stood by his bed and talked to him. David came
from an Orthodox family, and he and Anne always talked about God.”
Anne Frank stayed at Westerbork only three weeks. Early in September a thousand of
the “convict Jews” were put on a freight train, 75 people to a car. Brussels fell to the
Allies, then Antwerp, then the Americans reached Aachen. But the victories were
coming too late. The Franks and their friends were already on the way to Auschwitz, the
camp in Poland where 4 million Jews died.
Mrs. De Wiek was in the same freight car with the Franks on that journey from
Westerbork to Auschwitz. “Now and then when the train stopped, “she told me ,” the SS
guards came to the door and held our their caps and we had to toss our money and
valuables into the caps. Anne and Judy sometimes pulled themselves up to the small
barred window of the car and described the villages we were passing through. We made
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the children repeat the addresses where we could meet after the war if we became
separated in the camp. I remember that the Franks chose a meeting place in Switzerland.
“I sat beside my husband on a small box. On the third day in the train, my husband
suddenly took my hand and said ‘I want to thank you for the wonderful life we have had
together.’
“ I snatched my hand away from his, crying, ‘What are you thinking about? It’s not
over!’
“But he calmly reached for my hand again and took it and repeated several times, ‘thank
you. Thank you for the life we have had together.’ Then I left my hand in his and did not
try to draw it away.”
On the third night the train stopped, the doors of the car slid violently open, and the first
the exhausted passengers saw of Auschwitz was the glaring searchlights fixed on the
train. On the platform Kapos (criminal convicts who were assigned to positions of
authority over the other prisoners) were running back and forth shouting orders. Behind
them, seen distinctly against the light, stood the SS officers, trimly built and smartly
uniformed, many of them with huge dogs at their sides. As the people poured out of the
train, a loudspeaker roared, ”Women to the left! Men to the right!”
Mrs. de Wiek went on calmly: “I saw them all as they went away, Mr. Van Daan and Mr.
Dussel and Peter and Mr. Frank. But I saw no sign of my husband. He had vanished. I
never saw him again.
“Listen! The loudspeaker bawled again. ‘It is an hour’s march to the women’s camp. For
the children and the sick there are trucks waiting at the end of the platform.’
“We could see the trucks,” Mrs. De Wiek said, “They were painted with big red crosses.
We all made a rush for them. Who among us was not sick after those days on the train?
But we did not reach them. People were still hanging on the backs of trucks as they
started off. Not one person who went along on that ride ever arrived at the women’s
camp, and no one has ever found any traces of them.”
Mrs. De Wiek, her daughter, Mrs. Van Daan, Mrs. Frank, Margot, and Anne survived the
brutal pace of the night march to the women’s camp at Auschwitz. Next day their heads
were shaved; they learned that the hair was useful as packing for pipe joints in U-boats.
Then the women were put to work digging sods of grass which they placed in great piles.
As they labored each day, thousands of others were dispatched with maniacal efficiency
in the gas chambers, and smoke rising from the stacks of the huge crematoriums
blackened the sky.
Mrs. De Wiek saw Anne every day at Auschwitz. “Anne seemed even more beautiful
there,” Mrs. De Wiek said, ”than she had at Westerbork. Of course her long hair was
gone, but now you could see that her beauty was in her eyes, which seemed to grow
bigger as she grew thinner. Her gaiety had vanished, but she was still alert and sweet,
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and with her charm she sometimes secured things that the rest of us had longed since
given up hoping for.
“For example, we each had only a gray sack to wear. But when the weather turned cold,
Anne came in one day wearing a suit of men’s long underwear. She had begged it
somewhere. She looked screamingly funny with those long white legs, but somehow still
delightful.
“Though she was the youngest, Anne was the leader in her group of five people. She also
gave out the bread to everyone in the barracks and she did it so fairly there was none of
the usual grumbling.
“We were always thirsty at Auschwitz, so thirsty that at roll call we would stick out
our tongues if it happened to be raining or snowing, and many became sick from bad
water. Once when I was almost dead because there was nothing to drink, Anne
suddenly came to me with a cup of coffee. To this day I don’t know where she got
it.
“In the barracks many people were dying, some of starvation, others of weakness
and despair. It was almost impossible not to give up hope, and when a person gave
up, his face became empty and dead. The Polish woman doctor who had been caring for
the sick said to me, ‘You will pull through. You still have your face.’
“Anne Frank too still had her face up to the very last. To the last also she was moved by
the dreadful thing the rest of us had somehow become hardened to. Who bothered to
look when the flames shot up into the sky at night from the crematoriums? Who was
troubled that every day new people were being selected and gassed? Most of us were
beyond feeling. But not Anne. I can still see her standing at the door and looking down
the camp street as a group of naked gypsy girls were driven by on their way to the
crematorium. Anne watched them going and cried. And she also cried when we
marched past the Hungarian children who had been waiting half a day in the rain in front
of the gas chambers. And Anne nudged me and said ‘Look, look! Their eyes!’ Anne
cried. And you cannot imagine how soon most of us came to the end of our tears.”
“Late in October the SS selected the healthiest of the women prisoners for work in a
munitions factory in Czechoslovakia. Judy de Wiek was taken from her mother, but
Anne and her sister Margot were rejected because they contracted scabies. A few days
later there was another selection for shipment from Auschwitz. Stripped, the women
waited naked for hours on the mustering ground outside the barracks. Then, one by one,
they filed into the barracks where a battery of powerful lights had been set up and an SS
doctor waited to check them over. Only those able to stand a trip and do hard work were
being chosen for this new shipment, and many of the women lied about their age and
condition in the hope that they would escape the almost certain death of Auschwitz. Mrs.
de Wiek was rejected and so was Mrs. Frank. They waited, looking on.
“Next it was the turn of the two girls, Anne and Margot,” Mrs. de Wiek recalled. “Even
under the glare of that light Anne still had her face, and she encouraged Margot, and
Margot walked erect into the light. There they stood for a moment, naked and shaven-
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headed, and Anne looked at us with her unclouded face, looked straight and stood straight
and then they were approved and passed along . We could not see what was on the other
side of the light. Mrs. Frank screamed, ”The children! Oh, God!’”
The chronicle of most of the other occupants of the Secret Annexe ends at Auschwitz.
Mrs. Frank died there of malnutrition two months later. Mr. Frank saw Mr. Van Daan
marched to the gas chambers. When the SS fled Auschwitz before the approaching
Russians in January 1945, they took Peter Van Daan with them. It was bitter cold and the
roads were covered with ice and Peter Van Daan, Anne Frank’s shy beloved, was never
heard of again.
From Auschwitz, Mr. Dussel, the dentist, was shipped to a camp in Germany where he
died. Only Otto Frank remained there alive until liberation. Anne Frank and Mrs. Van
Daan and Margot had been selected for shipment to Bergen-Belsen.
Last year I drove the 225 miles from Amsterdam to Belsen and spent a day there walking
over the heath. The site of the old camp is near the city of Hannover in the state of
Lower Saxony. It was June when I arrived, and lupine was in flower in the scrubland.
My guide first showed me the cemetery where 50,000 Russian prisoners of war, captured
in one of Hitler’s great early offensives, were buried in 1941. Next to them is a cemetery
for Italians. No one knows exactly whether there are 300 or 3,000 in that mass grave.
About a mile later we came to the main site of the Bergen-Belsen camp. Amid the low
growth of pine and birches many large rectangular patches can be seen on the heath. The
barracks stood on these, and between them the worn tracks of thousands of bare feet are
still visible. There are more mass graves nearby, low mounds overgrown with heath
grass or new-planted dwarf pines. Boards bearing the numbers of the dead stand beside
some mounds, but others are unmarked and barely discernible. Anne Frank lies there.
The train that carried Anne from Auschwitz to Belsen stopped at every second station
because of air raids. At Bergen-Belsen there was no roll calls, no organization, almost no
sign of the SS. Prisoners lived on the heath without hope. The fact that the Allies had
reached the Rhine encouraged no one. Prisoners died daily - of hunger, thirst, sickness.
The Auschwitz group had at first been assigned to tents at the Bergen-Belsen heath, tents
which one survivor recalls gave an oddly gay carnival aspect to the camp. One night that
fall a freak windstorm brought the tents crashing down, and their occupants were then put
in wooden barracks. Mrs. B. of Amsterdam remembered about Anne: “We lived in the
same block and saw each other often. In fact, we had a party together at Christmastime.
We had saved up some stale bread, and we cut this up and put onions and boiled cabbage
on the pieces. Over our feast we nearly forgot our misery for a few hours. We were
almost happy. I know that it sounds ghastly now, but we really were a little happy in
spite of everything.”
One of Anne Frank’s dearest childhood friends in Amsterdam was a girl named Lies
Goosens. Lies is repeatedly mentioned in the diary. She was captured before the Franks
were found in the Secret Annexe, and Anne wrote of her great fears for the safety of her
friend. Now the slim and attractive wife of an Israeli army officer, Lies lives in
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Jerusalem. But she was in Bergen-Belsen in February 1945, when she heard that a group
of Dutch Jews had been moved into the next compound.
Lies said, “ I waited until that night. Then I stole out of the barracks and went over to the
barbed wire which separated us from the newcomers. I called softly into the darkness, ‘Is
anyone there?’
“A voice answered, ’I am here. I am Mrs. Van Daan.’
“We had known the Van Daans in Amsterdam. I told her who I was and asked whether
Margot or Anne could come to the fence. Mrs. Van Daan answered that Margot was sick
but that Anne could probably come and that she would go look for her.
“ I waited shivering in the darkness. It took a long time. But suddenly I heard a voice:
‘Lies? Lies? Where are you?’
“I ran in the direction of the voice, and then I saw Anne beyond the barbed wire. She
was in rags. I saw her emaciated, shrunken face in the darkness. Her eyes were very
large. We cried and cried as we told each other our sad news, for now there was only the
barbed wire between us, nothing more, and no longer any differences in our fates.
“But there was a difference after all. My block still had food and clothing. Anne had
nothing. She was freezing and starving. I called to her in a whisper, ‘Come back
tomorrow. I’ll bring you something.”
“And Anne called across, ‘Yes, Tomorrow. I’ll come.’
“I saw Anne again when she came to the fence on the following night, “Lies continued. ”I
had packed up a woolen jacket and some zwieback and sugar and a tin of sardines for her.
I called out, ‘Anne, watch now!’ Then I threw the bundle across the barbed wire.
“But I heard only screams and Anne crying. I shouted, ‘What’s happened?’ And she
called back, weeping, ‘A woman caught it and won’t give it to me.’ Then I heard rapid
footsteps as the woman ran away. Next night I had only a pair of stockings and
zwieback, but this time Anne caught it.”
In the last weeks at Bergen-Belsen, as Germany was strangled between the Russians and
the western Allies, there was almost no food at all. The roads were blocked, the railroads
had been bombed, and the SS commander of the camp drove around the district trying
unsuccessfully to requisition supplies. Still, the crematoriums worked night and day.
And in the midst of the starvation and the murder, there was a great epidemic of typhus.
Both Anne and Margot Frank contracted the disease in late February or early March of
1945. Margot lay in a comma for several days. Then, while unconscious, she somehow
rolled from her bed and died. Mrs. Van Daan also died in the epidemic.
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The death of Anne Frank passed almost without notice. For Anne, as for millions
of others, it was only the final anonymity, and I met no one who remembers being
with her that moment. So many were dying. One woman said, “I feel certain she
died because of her sister’s death. Dying is easy for anyone left alone in a
concentration camp.” Mrs. B., who had shared the pitiful Christmastide feast with
Anne, knows a little more: “Anne, who was very sick at the time, was not informed
of her sisters death. But a few days later she sensed it and soon afterward she died,
peacefully.”
Three weeks later British troops liberated the camp.
Miep and Elli, the heroic young women who had shielded the Franks for two years, found
Anne’s papers during the week after the police raid on the secret Annexe. “It was terrible
when I went up there ,”Miep recalled. “Everything had been turned upside down. On the
floor laid clothes, papers, letters, and school notebooks. Anne’s little wrapper hung from
a hook on the wall. And among the clutter on the floor lay a notebook with a redchecked cover. I picked it up, looked at the pages, and recognized Anne’s handwriting.”
Ellie wept as she spoke to me: “Their table was still set. There were plates, cups, and
spoons, but the plates were empty, and I was so frightened I scarcely dared take a step.
We sat down on the floor and leafed through all the papers. They were all Anne’s, the
notebooks and the colored duplicate paper from the office too. We gathered all of them
and locked them up in the main office.
“A few days later ‘M.’ came into the office, ’M.’ who now had keys to the building. He
said to me, ‘I found some more stuff upstairs,’ and he handed me another sheaf of Anne’s
papers. How strange, I thought, that he should be the one to give these to me. But I took
them and locked them up with the others.”
Miep and Elli did not read the papers they saved. The redchecked diary, the office account books into which it
overflowed, the 312 tissue-thin sheets of colored paper filled
with Anne’s short stories and the beginnings of a novel about a
young girl who was to live in freedom, all these were kept safe
until Otto Frank finally returned to Amsterdam alone. Thus
Anne Frank’s voice was preserved out of the millions that were
silenced. No louder than a child’s whisper, it speaks for those
millions and has outlasted the raucous shots of the murderers,
soaring above the clamorous voices of passing time.
SOURCE: “A Tragedy Revealed: Heroine’s last Days” By Ernst Schnabel from Life,
August 18, 1958. Copyright 1958 by Fisher Bucherei KG. Reprinted by permission
of Joan Daves.
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XI.B.2.
THE SS ST. LOUIS
One of the last ships to leave Nazi Germany before World War II erupted was the
German luxury liner, SS St. Louis. It sailed from Hamburg on May 13, 1939. There
were 937 passengers aboard. Most were Jews who had bought visas to Cuba and were
looking forward to a safe haven there.
While the ship was in the mid-Atlantic, a power struggle took place in Cuba. As a result,
the refugees’ visas were not honored upon arrival in the Havana. The United States, too,
refused to give them refuge. Despite the fact that there was much publicity in the press
about the SS St. Louis, it was not permitted to discharge its passengers. The ship shuttled
and circled between Havana and points north past Miami for four days. A special appeal
was made to President Roosevelt, who refused to amend the strict immigration quotas.
The appeal failed.
The ship was finally forced to return to Europe, arriving in Antwerp, Belgium on June
17, 1939. Some passengers remained there while others were permitted to enter France,
Holland, and England.
As Germany proceeded to invade Belgium, France, and Holland, many of these refugees
were eventually sent to concentration camps, where they perished.
Questions for discussion:
1. Even though Cuba was far off and foreign to the passengers on board the ship,
how do you think they felt about leaving Germany?
2. What were their hopes for the future?
3. How do you think they felt arriving in Cuba and being unable to disembark?
4. Describe their feelings as they hoped for the possibility of landing in the United
States. Point out how tantalizingly close they were to finding a safe haven which
would have saved their lives.
5. How did the passengers feel when told that they had to return to Europe?
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XI.C.4.
HANNAH SENESH
CHANA SZENES – PORTRAIT OF A HEROINE
BY PETER HAY
The myth that European Jews went to their death passively has impeded
understanding and acceptance of the full tragedy of the Holocaust. The story of
Chana Szenes,† her mother Catherine, and her brother George provides a
counter-balance to that myth and a microcosm of the incomprehensible
bereavement of the Jewish people.
Hannah, a national heroine in Israel, contradicts the stereotype of the unresisting
or fleeing victim as much as of the helpless woman. In the darkest hour of the
Jewish people she gave up the safety of Palestine and her life. She volunteered
as a paratrooper to be dropped into occupied Europe. She was executed as a British spy
at the age of 23.
Hannah was horn in 1921 in Budapest, the birthplace also of Theodor Herzl, the father of
modern political Zionism. Her family was assimilated into Hungarian society and
cultural life. Hannah wanted to be a writer like her father, a celebrated playwright, Bela
Senesh. In the growing anti-Semitic atmosphere of the 1930s Hannah became a Zionist
and decided to immigrate to Palestine – alone. She was barely eighteen and World War
II had just started when she arrived in Nahalal – to study agriculture at the school
founded by the Canadian WIZO.
The young girl who wrote poetry, went to dances and did not know the meaning of
housework in Budapest, now spent twelve hours a day in the laundry and the chickencoop, doing what had to be done to build the land. Graduating after two years, she helped
to found Sdot Yam, a kibbutz eked out of sand dunes among the ruins of ancient
Caesarea.
By 1943 the true dimensions of Hitler’s war against the Jews were known in Israel.
Hannah’s diary and letters show constant anxiety about her brother Georgee, on a frantic
odyssey from occupied France to Palestine, and Catherine, who was trapped in Hungary,
then an ally of Nazi Germany. Hannah was tormented by a sense of helplessness – of
being safe while millions faced annihilation.
She fought hard to join the Palmach, the underground arm of the Haganah (an arm for
Jewish independence before the state of Israel was founded), and she was trained by the
British as part of an elite group of 33 commandos to help downed airmen escape. The
parachutists were dropped into occupied Yugoslavia. The month was March, 1944, and
Adolf Eichmann had just brought his final solution to Hungary, the last enclave for about
one million Jews in Central Europe.
†
Editor’s Note: “Chana Szenes” is the original spelling of the subject’s name. However, “Hannah Senesh,”
the anglicized form of her name, is more frequently used and will be used hereafter.
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Hannah was impatient to continue her mission to Budapest, but with the German
occupation, this was considered too dangerous now. She fought her superiors for weeks
until the leader of the group, Reuven Dafne, reluctantly gave in to her insistent
arguments. “She was fearless, dauntless, stubborn,” he wrote later. The poet-tomboy as
he called Hannah, gave him a short poem the night she left. Dafne was angry at her futile
sacrifice and almost threw away the poem. Every Israeli now knows “Blessed is the
Match: by heart.
Hannah was captured soon after she crossed into Hungary. For five months the military
authorities and the Gestapo tried to break her body and spirit. They failed and even
developed a grudging admiration for her fearless and outspoken courage. The worst
moment came when Hannah was confronted with the person she loved most, her mother.
The British had promised to get Catherine out of Hungary, and Catherine believed
Hannah to be safe in Palestine. Now they were to spend several months in the same
prison, but separated. Neither gave in to their torturers.
When Hannah was captured in June, 1944, Eichmann had already sent almost half a
million Hungarian Jews to Auschwitz, where the gas chambers were operating beyond
peak capacity. It would be another month before Raoul Wallenberg would arrive in
Budapest to save a remnant.
Even though she knew that her mission had failed in military terms, Hannah was cheerful
and optimistic in jail, right up to her trial. Amidst the chaos of the Nazi retreat, she was
secretly murdered on November 7th, 1944, before sentence was pronounced. In 1950 her
remains were taken to Mount Herzl in Jerusalem where she was given a hero’s funeral by
the State of Israel.
Hannah died fulfilled because she knew that her mission was to bring hope. She felt she
had succeeded if a single Jew could retain hope because free Jews dropped from the sky
to help them. And, of course, she was right. She became a legend among the partisans,
in the ghettos and prisons of Budapest. Her gesture was symbolic, and that is why - in
Abba Eban’s words- “a whole generation came to see her as a symbol of vast martyrdom.
She bequeaths to her survivors, especially the youth among them, the lesson of
inescapable responsibility.”
In the middle of the war Hannah wrote this quote in her diary: “All the darkness cannot
extinguish a single candle, yet one candle can illuminate all the darkness.” Her life was
such a candle, and it is still burning today.
(Note: Peter Hay was born in Budapest in the year Hannah died; their families have been
close friends for three generations. A Holocaust survivor himself, Peter Hay was
educated at Oxford and now lives in Los Angeles. His book Ordinary Heroes: Chana
Szenes and the Dream of Zion first appeared in 1986 and is now available in paperback
from Paragon House.)
SOURCE: Handout preceding publication by Peter Hay. Ordinary Heroes: Chana Szenes and the Dream of Zion
(New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1986). Printed with permission from Peter Hay.
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XII.C.
AFTERMATH AND LIBERATION
In January 1945, the Russian force, the Red Army, approached Auschwitz. The
officials of I.G. Farben and the SS Officers of Auschwitz burned records and
dismantled Birkenau and Monowitz. By the time soldiers of the Red Army marched
into Auschwitz, the Germans had fled. The Russians found 6,000 sick, emaciated
prisoners in the “infirmary” of the main camp. Among then were almost 200 starving
children.
The third Reich seemed to be falling apart as the Allied troops closed in. On the Eastern
Front, the Russian troops fed those survivors they found, then either drafted them into
service or sent them to Russia. The Red Army was determined to reach Berlin and
continued to move forward, taking little time to help the victims of the camps.
The same held true in the West: the war was still on and to many British and American
units, the camps were a distraction from their main purpose. The troops that liberated
Landsberg, a concentrated and labor camp in Germany, for example, considered the
inmates a “problem” and moved on within six days. Prisoners had to be “deloused” and
their uniforms burned. They had to be issued new clothing. There was little time to treat
the broken victims with proper sympathy.
In April and May 1945, American troops marched into German concentration camps.
The Americans were greeted by blank stares from skeleton-like people. The stench and
sight was enough to cause physical and mental disorders among the American troops.
None of them had been told what they would find in the camps. Most had heard about
concentration camps but had little idea that such horrors existed. They were shocked by
what they discovered. One of the American soldiers who liberated the concentration
camp at Landsberg recalls that “even at its least terrible, it was incredibly terrible… It
simply boggles the mind…You have to not just see it; you have to smell it…There was a
kind of shock. I think we were in a state of shock. We were unprepared for this…There
was no cheering. They were just…They had given up…Almost given up hope.”
Bewildered, the troops had little choice but to begin to disinfect the Jews of the camps.
Many who remembered the same orders to undress and be “deloused” when they had first
arrived at the concentration camps were frightened.
Auschwitz had been “liquidated,” that is, taken apart. Over 58,000 prisoners were forced
to march in the bitter cold toward Germany. So began the Death Marches. No one was
allowed to stop for any reason whatsoever unless the guards stopped the whole column
for a brief rest period. Those who fell from exhaustion were shot. Those who stopped
for some reason or stumbled were also shot. Small groups of prisoners were given
wagons to push and were forced to pick up the dead bodies and put them on the wagons.
When the wagons were full, they had to stop and bury the dead. One survivor remembers
picking up a body and hearing his name called. The man was alive. “Let me carry him,
he is still alive,” said the survivor to the guard. The guard put the rifle to his head and
forced him to bury the still living man.
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The survivors of these Death Marches were herded into various camps in Germany, the
worst being Bergen-Belsen. Tens of thousands arrived within a week. They were
crammed into barracks and left to starve. Many of the Germans changed into civilian
clothes and ran. Yet, a few guards remained, shooting any prisoners who had the strength
to venture out of the barracks. To the very end, then, the “Final Solution” continued.
Even as the perpetrators lost the war and ran from the Allies, they tried to finish the task
of murdering the Jews.
When the British forces arrived at Bergen-Belsen, they found dead bodies rotting in the
mud. Corpses were piled everywhere. The stench of the camp could be smelled for
miles. Rats had begun to gnaw on the living, and some of the desperately starved people
had begun to eat the flesh of the dead. When the storehouses were opened by the British,
those survivors who were able stormed them and raced out with tin cans of food. Many
dropped dead within minutes because of the inability to digest food of that type after
years of malnourishment. The British then locked the storehouses, began disinfecting
prisoners and carefully started to feed them. Many of the British soldiers had to be
admitted to hospitals for psychological disorders after observing the horrible conditions.
Other inmates of smaller labor and concentration camps began to escape as the German
system crumbled. Many ran into forest seeking refuge in German or Polish homes.
Some found sympathetic responses, others were driven away or shot.
The Allies set up displacement persons camps (DP camps) as quickly as possible, and
most of the survivors were placed into them. Some spent the next four years in one or
more of these camps. Others immediately began thinking about going to the United
States or Palestine. Still other returned home, seeking relatives or friends. Of those who
tried to return home, many were attacked by native populations. In 1946, in Kielce
{kels}, Poland, there was a pogrom. Over 40 Jews who had returned to this city were
murdered. In smaller towns across Poland, Slovakia, and parts of Hungary, similar
outrages took place.
Jews became more aware that they had lost their homes and had no country. As they
returned to their former homes, they found no families left. Survivors tell of losing 50,
60, 70 or more members of their families. “Only when I arrived back home did I wish I
had not survived,” said one survivor. “What was their to live for? My parents, my sisters
and brother, all my aunts and uncles, cousins, friends, teachers - everyone was gone.”
Synagogues had been looted and burned. Whole communities had been destroyed approximately 4,500 of them.
Continuity had been central to Jewish life and culture in Europe. That continuity gave
Jews a feeling of things continuing from the past to the present and into the future, a
feeling of certainty. That continuity had been broken. With the death of so many
children, almost one and a half million, an entire generation had been destroyed. Almost
no one over 35 had survived. Traditions and lives, European Jewish culture, a way of
life, came to an end. In that respect, the “Final Solution” was a success.
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XII.C.
FACING THE SHOCK OF FREEDOM
AN EYE-WITNESS REPORT FROM A U.S. SOLDIER WHOSE UNIT LIBERATED
THE INFAMOUS DACHAU CONCENTRATION CAMP.
EXCERPTS FROM INTERVIEW WITH M.B.* 63RD INFANTRY DIVISION, 363RD
MEDICAL BATTALION. INTERVIEWED BY GERI SPIEGEL MANSDORF, MAY
11, 1975
*NAME, RANK, AND SERIAL NUMBER WITHHELD BY REQUEST OF
INTERVIEWEE
We entered the camp in several different directions, and after staying in the foreground
for perhaps 15 or 20 minutes, finally we noticed an old woman coming out of one of the
buildings…she couldn’t make out exactly what was in store. Then, after she came out,
another woman came out of this building, and a third and fourth woman and then finally
one of them broke, coming towards us, and fell at our feet and started kissing our feet and
the ground, and crying and they all seemed to be following her direction. Soon after that,
actually hundreds, and possibly thousands of people came out of various buildings all
around the compound. Some of them were just nothing but skin and bones. What we
saw was something that if we lived to be a thousand years old, we’d never forget it.
There was just skin and bones on many of them. They were emaciated skeletons! We
saw many old men and old women, lying on cots, lying on floors, lying on wooden
planks, too weak to be able to move. The impression was revolting. We couldn’t believe
what we saw. Most of the people in my particular outfit were non-Jews, and they just
stood astounded…They just saw what was happening, they saw the people, they just
couldn’t believe it, they were in a state of shock, as I was myself.
Within a short time after that, the medics took over. Many of the doctors attached to our
unit were rushed into the place. Emergency medical attention was administered right on
the grounds. Those that could have been moved were moved in ambulances to medical
units towards the back.
There were quite a number of children in camp, but the children seemed to be mingled
together with the adults. Some of them were three-,four-, five-year old kids, many of
them not even knowing what it was all about. Some of them were even playing, you
know, not even realizing the moment of history they were participating in. And, many of
them were without parents. They were holding onto people who were total strangers to
them. And they, I think, were getting the first attention, over and above everybody else,
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after the medical attention was taken care of for the sick and wounded. Although I don’t
have an official tally of exactly how many people there were in this concentration camp, I
understand there were approximately 30,000 at the time we liberated it.
The few that I spoke to, and I would say that I spoke to perhaps a dozen, described what
to me could only be pictured in a fiction type of book. The type of treatment that they
were getting, the type of starvation and deprivation, were the things which they were just
babbling; it just kept pouring out without a stop, without even asking. They immediately
said “This is what they did to us! This is how they treated us!” One of them showed us
that they had taken off three of her toes in some type of medical experiment. The things
that they were talking about were, you know, you listen to them but you can’t really
believe that this is what happened. But its unquestionable, this is a matter of fact, this is
no matter of fiction. It left an indelible memory, as far as I’m concerned. I’m sure it left
an indelible picture on everybody that came into that camp. Even though many of the
non-Jews in my company did not understand what these people were saying, but just
looked at them, at their gestures, their skin and bones, they knew the story, nobody had to
give them a sales pitch, nobody had to tell them exactly what had happened. It was very
obvious.
The other thing that I remember inside the camp was the stench that was permeating the
camp, almost in every direction. You couldn’t escape it. It was something so
extraordinary, we had never run into anything like that. And, of course, there was no
question that the stench came from bodies that had been lying there, from the medical
experimentation that was done there.
I, for one, was very happy to get out of there after three days. For me it was very
wracking, and it was one of the happiest days of my life when they told me that, “O.K.,
you’re going back, you’re going away.” Because I don’t know how much more I could
have taken of that camp. Not that I didn’t sympathize with the people, which I certainly
did, you know. I was crying with them, with the people. You understand, it hurt me, but
it was the type of position that you get yourself into, where it’s over and above, not the
call of duty, but what a human being is required to be responsible for, to be able to hold
himself in check. It’s something that you’re not prepared for. Who prepares you for
something like this?
From what I understand, in practically every unit of the camp, there was always one
particular outstanding person who seemed to give the rest of the group a little spirit to
“hang on in there, hang in there!” “Stay alive,” “Don’t give up!” “Don’t lay down and
die! Help is going to come very soon!” And it is these people, these individuals that
have done that, those are the famous people as far as the inmates were concerned, as far
as we were concerned, do you understand? Names didn’t mean anything, but these
individual people saw this thing through, tried to help these people to stay alive, to
bolster their spirits. These are the famous people.
The other inmates told us about them. They used to say, “Don’t worry, God will help, we
will get out of this, the Americans won’t let us down, the Americans are soon going to be
here, they’re going to free us, they’re going to bring us together with our families, our
families are not dead, they’re not wiped away.” As far as they knew, many of them were
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just by themselves. There was no husband, wife and child there. A child may have been
in another place, a husband may have been in another camp altogether, or he may have
been dead, do you understand? The family unit had mostly disappeared. But these
people kept all these hopeless inmates alive and, gathered from what the inmate told us,
they deserve to be sainted.
I never asked them why they took it, but the answer is very obvious. You know, you
don’t argue with a gun. You don’t argue with a murderer that has all the might on his
side, and he prods you and says, “Get over into the car, or ill kill you.” You just don’t
argue with him, do you understand? But you must understand! What else is there to
keep anybody alive there? Despair - they had plenty of it. It was all over the place! But
what kept them alive? That little bit of hope. That little bit of hope that, “Maybe my
husband is still alive? Maybe my children are still alive? If I can only hang in there, I
may yet see them.” That hope was probably the main reason for survival.
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XII.E.
THE NUMBER OF JEWS IN EUROPEAN COUNTRIES
PRIOR TO WW II
KILLED IN THE
HOLOCAUST
Germany
240,000
210,000
France
350,000
90,000
Belgium
65,000
40,000
Holland
140,000
105,,000
Denmark
8000
77
Norway
1,800
728
Italy
58,000
8,000
Yugoslavia
43,000
26,000
Albania
204
100
Bulgaria
64,000
14,000
Rumania
600,000
300,000
Hungary
650,000
450,000
Czechoslovakia
90,000
75,000
Poland
3,500,000
3,200,000
Soviet Union
3,200,000
1,500,000
Austria
125,000
65,000
Greece
70,000
54,000
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XIII.
BRINGING THE PERPETRATORS TO JUSTICE
War Crimes
In 1943, the Allies began to prepare for military war crimes trials. Those trials were
held in 1945 and 1946 in Nuremberg, one of Germany’s oldest cites. The Nuremberg
Trials were conducted by an International Military Tribunal made up of judges and
prosecutors from the four Allied powers: France, Great Britain, the Soviet Union and
the United States. The trials were approved by 19 other nations. As war crimes trials,
they dealt with Nazi actions connected to aggression in war - attacking other nations - not
specifically with crimes dealing with Jews or the Holocaust. Twenty-one German leaders
were tried as war criminals. The first charge against them was “Conspiracy to Commit
Aggressive War.” Seven organizations were also accused of crimes: The Reich Cabinet,
the Nazi Leadership Corps, the German General Staff, the Gestapo, the SD or Secret
Service (Sicherheitsdienst), the SS and the SA.
Chief Justice Jackson, the presiding American judge, stated:
The way Germany treats its inhabitants, or any other country treats its
inhabitants, is not our affair any more that it is the affair of some other
government to interpose itself in our problems…
The Tribunal agreed, declaring that “the atrocities committed inside Germany, under
German law…by authorities of the German state” were off limits. This included the antiJewish decrees and laws passed during the 1930’s.
Germany had attacked other countries and broken the peace. German forces had killed
civilians. These actions were among the war crimes. Jews were among the civilian
populations of those countries - Poland, France, Holland, Belgium, Norway, the Soviet
Union, Hungary, Romania and others. The killing of Jews as Jews was not considered as
a separate crime. Thus, a general who gave orders to attack Polish cities, to imprison and
abuse Polish prisoners of war or murder Jewish and non-Jewish citizens as part of the
attack, could be accused of committing war crimes.
The chief of the British prosecutors knew that the murder of the Jews had “shocked the
conscience of our people” and would have to be considered in the lists of the crimes. But
he would list “only such general treatment of the Jews as showed itself as part of the
general plan of aggression.”
Crimes Against Humanity
The Allies recognized that atrocities - extremely evil, cruel or inhuman acts - had been
committed against whole populations. The term “crimes against humanity” was created
by the International Tribunal. There crimes were to include “enslavement and mass
murder.” “War crimes” dealt with violence against countries and governments. “Crimes
against humanity” dealt with violence done to civilian populations, citizens of those
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countries. In practice, “crimes against humanity” were limited to acts of aggression
committed against national civilian populations: the Poles, Hungarians, French etc. The
killing of Jews because they were Jews was not listed as a crime.
Only one defendant, Julius Streicher, was condemned solely on the basis of his guilt for
“crimes against humanity.” He had little or nothing to do with the war, but his newspaper
was the most vicious anti-Jewish and racist Nazi publication. He was second to none-not
even Hitler - in his anti-Jewish ravings. Recognizing this unusual position, the
International Tribunal sentenced him to death only on the basis of “crimes against
humanity.”
Only top ranking Nazi or German officials were accused of crimes. Those condemned to
death were executed because of their role in World War II. Highest ranking among then
was Hermann Goering, Deputy Chancellor to Hitler. He committed suicide in his cell
after his trial. Heinrich Himmler, who had been next highest, never got to trial. He
committed suicide after being captured by the American Army. (Hitler had committed
suicide in his underground bunker in Berlin.)
The thousands of low-ranking officials involved in war crimes or crimes against
humanity were ignored or received light sentences and resumed their careers.
The murder of Jews at Auschwitz, Treblinka, and other death camps, and the killings by
the Einsatgruppen, were not issues beyond their involvement with the German war effort.
Although some organizations like the Gestapo were involved in mass murder, it could not
be shown that they waged war. In the end, membership in those organizations did not
count as a crime - even if it meant being a part of the concentration camp and death
system. As one historian note, the phrase “crimes against humanity” became deadwood,
that is, an empty phrase that had no real meaning in the trials. There were no penalties
for the killing of Jews as Jews.
Other trials were conducted at Nuremberg until 1949. Approximately 185 leading Nazi
and German officials were tried. These included two leaders of the Einstatzgruppen,
both of whom were executed, several doctors, industrialists, like I.G. Farben officials,
and leaders in the Nazi organizations. A small proportion of these officials were
executed; some were given life sentences in prison; most were given lesser prison
sentences.
After 1953, trials of Nazis were not confined only to war-related activities and were
conducted in other countries by national governments. France conducted trials on behalf
of Polish citizens, etc. In 1961, the first trial to deal solely with crimes against Jews or
Holocaust-related actions took place in Jerusalem. Adolf Eichmann had been caught in
Argentina by Israeli secret service agents. He was brought to Jerusalem where he was
tried for crimes committed against the Jewish people and crimes against humanity. After
a lengthy trial, he was found guilty and hanged.
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XIV.A
HATE GROUPS
The common denominator of all hate groups is a fundamental anti-Semitic and/or racist
ideology. Some groups advocate or engage in violence. Many espouse an antidemocratic philosophy and promote suspicions of secret, evil conspiracies controlling
mainstream public policy. Most reject the pluralism and the restraints of our society and
would close the doors on the free marketplace of ideas. But with all hate groups, a
history of bigotry and racial or religious scapegoating constitutes the chief criterion for
their inclusion here.
A variety of such groups exist: Aryan Nations, Institute for Historical Review, Ku Klux
Klan, Liberty Lobby, National Socialist Party of America/American Nazi Party, Western
Front, Skinheads. Two of these groups are reviewed below.
INSTITUTE FOR HISTORICAL REVIEW (IHR):
OUTLET FOR DENIAL PROPAGANDA
Founded in 1979 by Liberty Lobby leader Willis Carto, the Institute for Historical
Review (IHR) has spearheaded the international movement to deny the reality of the
Holocaust. Though it broke with Carto and the Liberty Lobby network in 1993, to its own
financial detriment, IHR remains the world's single most important outlet for Holocaustdenial propaganda.
A contradiction lies at the core of IHR activities; though operating under a guise of
scholarship and impartiality, and seeking to gain credibility within the academic
community, IHR remains committed to an anti-Semitic conspiracy theory which accuses
Jews of having fabricated tales of their own genocide to manipulate the non-Jewish
world. In support of this belief, IHR distributes a variety of books and propaganda
materials saturated with anti-Semitic innuendo. These include: The Zionist Factor, The
Hoax of the Twentieth Century, The Zionist Terror Network, Crying Wolf: A Study of
Hate Crime Hoaxes, and Auschwitz: The End of a Legend.
Similarly, IHR professional staffers and Editorial Advisory Committee members, even
those with academic degrees, have participated extensively in pro-Nazi and anti-Jewish
activities.
For example, Mark Weber, who currently serves as director of the organization, was an
activist in the neo-Nazi National Alliance during the 1970s, and an officer in the
Cosmotheist Church, founded by National Alliance leader William Pierce, during the
1980s. Additionally, the late Revilo P. Oliver, a retired professor of Classics and an IHR
editorial advisor, was a regular contributor to the neo-Nazi periodical, Liberty Bell.
Robert Faurisson, an IHR editorial advisor who bills himself as a Professor of Literature
at the University of Lyon-2 in France, was actually removed from his academic post as a
result of his anti-Semitic activities, and has been convicted on three occasions of
violating French hate-crime laws.
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In addition to its propaganda distribution, IHR publishes a magazine, The Journal of
Historical Review(JHR)and sponsors more-or-less annual conferences. These, too, have
been platforms for anti-Semitism and extremism. The September/October 1995 issue of
the JHR, for example, featured an article titled "My Impressions of the New Russia," by
Canadian neo-Nazi Ernst Zündel. The same issue included a review of Ron Chernow's
mainstream biography, The Warburgs. In the review, the author, John Weir, wrote,
"Chernow provides insight into how Jewish patricians operate in society. . . . Jews [in
Germany] were permitted to wield tremendous power and influence even though so many
of them. . . were part of a mighty, supranational Jewish network that was dedicated above
all to its own particular interests. . . . An international network of Jewish organizations
and charities devoted to the well being of Jewish communities around the world operated
as a shadow government for this scattered, stateless population."
IHR conferences have been the scene of even less restrained appeals to bigotry.
Attendees in recent years have included surviving representatives of the Nazi era, such as
Florence Rest van Tonnigen, widow of the Dutch collaborator M.M. Rest van Tonnigen;
Wolf Rudiger Hess, son of Rudolf Hess; and Major General Otto Ernst Remer, himself an
officer under Hitler whose anti-Semitic activities resulted in his 1986 conviction under
German hate-crime laws. Other attendees of these affairs have included Ernst Zündel,
British Holocaust-denier David Irving, and German neo-Nazi Ewald Althans.
One typical example of the rhetoric encouraged by such gatherings occurred at the 1983
conference, one of the best-attended in the organization's history; concluding his address,
Keith Thompson, one of IHR's early stalwarts, urged supporters to "stand by the Third
Reich" because, "if, in the end, the Holocaust did take place, then so much the better!"
Thunderous applause greeted these remarks. In keeping with its duplicitous efforts to
conjure an innocuous impression before the outside world, this statement was deleted
from recordings of the speech sold through the IHR catalog.
THE SKINHEAD INTERNATIONAL: THE SKINHEAD SCENE
The Skinhead phenomenon originated in England where gangs of menacing-looking,
shaven-headed and tattooed youths in combat boots began to be seen in the streets in the
early 1970's. Their style was meant to symbolize tough, patriotic, working-class attitudes
in contrast to the supposedly sissyish, pacifist, middle-class views of the hippies.
The racist and chauvinist attitudes that prevailed at the time among many Skinheads later
evolved into a crude form of Nazism. From the start, Skins drew public notice for their
bigotry and taste for violence, exemplified by their frequent assaults on Asian
immigrants, attacks which came to be known as "Paki-bashing."
In the years that followed, the Skinhead movement[1] spread from England to the
Continent and beyond. Racist Skinheads are found today in almost every industrialized
country whose majority population is of European stock. Those attracted to the
movement are almost uniformly white youths between the ages of 13 and 25, with males
outnumbering females. While Skins retail the mythology of the movement's workingclass origins, in reality they come from a broad range of socio-economic backgrounds.
141
The intimidating look favored by male Skinheads is instantly recognizable: a shaved head
or closely cropped hair; jeans; thin suspenders or braces; combat boots; a bomber jacket,
sometimes emblazoned with Nazi insignia; and tattoos of Nazi symbols and slogans. For
security reasons, Skinheads sometimes adopt a less conspicuous look, by, for example,
letting their hair grow out.
Most Skinhead gangs range in size from fewer than 10 to several dozen members. To
those devoted to the movement, being a Skinhead is a full-time way of life and not
simply adherence to a fashion. Skinhead activities dominate the social life - and the
domestic life - of gang members: they often live in communal crash-pads and stick to
themselves when out in public. The girls usually have Skinhead boyfriends.
Neo-Nazi[2] ideology combined with the gang lifestyle provides Skinheads with a
seductive sense of strength, group belonging and superiority over others. Invocation of
Viking imagery offers the Skinhead a perception of himself as a racial warrior. The
Skinheads glorify Hitler and aspire to create his vision of a world-wide, pan-Aryan
Reich.[3] These strands - a sense of power, of belonging, of destiny - combine to create
the appeal the Skinhead movement holds for disaffected youngsters.
Skinhead violence differs little from one country to the next. When on the prowl, they
seek out members of hated groups and attack them. While their means of attack varies,
Skinheads take special pride in using their boots as weapons. Vandalism is another
Skinhead specialty: they scrawl racist graffiti and desecrate Jewish synagogues,
cemeteries and memorials to the Holocaust.
While some Skinheads have been known to use drugs, virtually all drink. Heavy beer
consumption often precedes incidents of Skinhead violence.
Music and Magazines
A major aspect of Skinhead life is their devotion to bands that play white power "oi"
music, a hard-driving brand of rock and roll whose lyrics pound home a message of
bigotry and violence.[4] No other means of communication - neither the spoken nor
written word - compares with oi music's influence on their outlook and behavior. Music
is the Skinhead movement's main propaganda weapon and its chief means of attracting
young recruits into its ranks. Skins maintain universal ties through their music,
distributing recordings internationally and organizing concert tours and music fests that
feature both domestic and foreign bands.
Record labels devoted to white power music produce and market recordings, and
informal networks of enthusiasts exchange bootleg cassette tapes. The artwork on the
jackets of Skinhead recordings is characteristically devote to racist and violent images.
Concerts range from performances in local hangouts to international festivals that attract
Skinheads from neighboring countries. At these festivals, swastika-emblazoned banners
decorate the bandstands while Skinheads, arms outstretched, shout slogans like "Sieg
Heil" and "White Power." In whatever context the bands play, the event often
degenerates into a free-for-all of slam-dancing and scattered fistfights.
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Also central to the Skinhead scene are their magazines (commonly called skinzines or
zines), usually crudely written newsletters that focus on Skinhead bands and their
recordings. The zines promote Skinhead ideology and advertise services popular among
Skins such as tattoo parlors, clothing stores that sell Skin fashions, and oi music
distributors. In addition, they announce concerts and other events of interest to Skinheads
everywhere. Zines are published sporadically, and it is not unusual for some to fold after
a few issues and for new ones to crop up.
The zines serve as a vital link between Skinheads in different countries. The publications
generally maintain friendly relations internationally, carrying usually favorable reviews
of foreign bands and detailing - with some delight - the exploits of their counterparts
abroad.
The most commonly used propaganda items among Skinheades around the world are
printed and sold by an American neo-Nazi, Gary Lauck of Lincoln, Nebraska, who
publishes in 12 languages. Lauck supplies huge quantities of cheap colorful stickers
bearing swastikas and incendiary slogans like "Deport Race-Mixers" and "Polska Na
Zawsze Ziemia Aryjska!" ("Poland Will Forever Be Aryan!"). He also publishes a neoNazi tabloid (in many languages) which he markets to Skinheads and non-Skinheads
alike.
Law enforcement authorities in Germany and elsewhere have long linked Lauck's
material to numerous criminal acts. German prosecutors succeeded in bringing about
Lauck's arrest when they sent out a warrant to 15 other European countries where Lauck
was thought to have supporters. He was arrested in Denmark on March 20, 1995. Pending
Lauck's extradition to Germany, he has been charged with distributing illegal propaganda
and Nazi symbols, incitement, encouraging racial hatred and belonging to a criminal
group.
Other members of the Skinheads include Tom Metzger, leader of the California-based
White Aryan Resistance, who circulates his inflammatory tabloid WAR among
Skinheads around the world. In addition, pamphlets denying the reality of the Nazi
murder of six million Jews are eagerly read by Skinheads. One Holocaust-denial tract, the
"Leuchter Report," is distributed in large quantities by German-born Canadian Ernst
Zuendel. Copies have been supplied to readers in Germany through Bela Ewald Althans,
a Munich-based neo-Nazi.
In whatever form it takes - zines, music, slogans, propaganda - the rhetoric of Skinheads
and their supporters is designed to encourage violence. As this report shows, turning the
rhetoric of violence into action is the hallmark of Skinhead activity wherever the young
gangs have surfaced.
Disclaimer: Not all skinheads are neo-nazis or white supremacists. There are many
skinheads who are non- or anti-racist, and who come from a variety of different religious
and cultural backgrounds. Nizkor recognizes their achievements in anti-racism: they are
part of the traditional, non-racist skinhead subculture and are not the perpetrators of the
hate crimes discussed here.
143
Unless otherwise specified, the word "skinhead" within these pages refers only to neoNazi and white supremacist skinheads, the perpetrators of hate crimes and participants in
racist organizations. We cannot edit the body of the text above, because it was not written
by Nizkor, and to change the wording would be fraudulent. Please keep in mind that not
all skinheads are racist.
SOURCE: Anti-Defamation League. The Skinhead International: A Worldwide Survey of Neo-Nazi Skinheads. New
York: Anti-Defamation League, 1995. Anti-Defamation League, 823 United Nations Plaza, New York, NY 10017
144
XIV.B.
THE MORAL QUESTIONS IN HISTORY
FOR DISCUSSION
1. Dave observes a group of his classmates breaking into an auto supply store. The
group discovers that Dave is the only witness and threatens to beat him if he tells
the police. The next day Dave is questioned by the police. Should he tell the
truth? Why?
2. Roger, a new student in the school, sees some of his classmates provoking and
beating up younger students of a different nationality. He feels this is wrong, but
believes that if he interferes he’ll lose the friendship of his classmates. Should he
try to stop the fight? Why?
3. Herr (Mr.) Barten, a socialist and anti-Nazi who owns a small store, is approached
by a Nazi and asked to stop selling to his Jewish customers. Business is very bad,
so he refuses. That night his store window is smashed. Two days later the Nazi
returns and urges that Herr Barten “cooperate” with the boycott against Jewish
customers. What should Herr Barten do? Why?
4. Tom Rowell was the editor of the Rushville Weekly Star in a small North
Carolina town. After writing a strong editorial protesting the discriminatory
treatment of the town’s black population, he received many calls from whites
threatening possible “trouble.” He continued to write strong editorials calling for
equal treatment. Shortly after, many of his paper’s advertisers cancelled their
contracts. Next, the bank called and suggested that his loan from the bank was
jeopardized. Then his wife tearfully told him that their two children had hardly
any friends left in school. What should he do?
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XV.
ISRAEL, A HOMELAND FOR THE JEWS
The state of Israel was established in 1948.
Long and narrow in shape, the country is about 280 miles in length and some 85 miles
across at its widest point. The total area enclosed, by its boundaries and cease-fire lines
is 10,480 square miles.
Great variations in elevation exist within short distances: between Jerusalem, the capital
of Israel, at an altitude of 2,739 feet and the Dead Sea, the lowest point on Earth, at 1,300
feet below sea level. The distance is only 16 miles.
Four and a half million people from different religions, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds
live in Israel today. Since 1948, people have come from all over the world bringing a
wide variety of languages, traditions, educational standards, social outlooks, and
experiences.
Hebrew is the language of Israel. It is the only language in human history to come back
to life since ancient times.
Israel is a parliamentary democracy consisting of legislative, executive, and judicial
branches. Its parliament is called the Knesset. The President is the Head of State.
The ingathering of the exiles - the return of the Jews to their ancestral land from the
countries of their dispersion - is one of the basic tenets on which the State of Israel was
founded. In the years prior to the establishment of Israel, the majority came from Europe.
Immediately following independence, Israel’s population doubled with the arrival of
Holocaust survivors and Jews from other lands.
146
XVI.
HOLOCAUST STUDENT PROJECTS
Each student will be responsible for completing a project. You may work with one or
two partners on a project, but if you work with others, a log must be kept, explaining
what part of the project was done by whom and when. All projects must be chosen and
given approval before you begin. Listed below are suggested ideas for projects:
1. Make a model stage setting for the play, The Diary of Anne Frank. This could be
made with clay, Styrofoam, toothpicks, Popsicle sticks, etc. You might wish to
furnish the rooms.
2. Make a model of a concentration camp, using such materials as suggested in
number 1 above.
3. Make a model of a ghetto (Warsaw Ghetto perhaps), using such materials as
suggested in number 1 above.
4. Do research and write a report on one of the concentration camps, the Warsaw
Ghetto, or Kristallnacht. Use more than one source (encyclopedia, books,
magazines, etc.), and put as much of it in your own words as possible. Make a
bibliography to list your sources. Your report must be written in blue or black ink
or typed, using one side of the paper only. You must also use an appropriate
visual aide with your report.
5. If you are artistically inclined, you may wish to draw or paint a picture depicting
some aspect of the Holocaust on poster board or canvas.
6. Conduct an interview with a survivor of the Holocaust or with a liberator of a
concentration camp. Make an audio or video recording of the interview. Find out
as much as you can about his/her experiences. Share the recording with the class.
7. Make a large timeline on poster board which shows the major events of the
Holocaust and when they occurred.
8. Make a Holocaust scrapbook. Copy pictures which tell the story, and place them
in the proper sequence, with appropriate captions.
9. Create a mobile pictures and stories of people who helped the Jews in the
Holocaust.
10. Construct a display of World War II and/or Holocaust articles or souvenirs
borrowed from relatives or friends.
11. Make a photographic history of the Holocaust on a large poster board. Copy
pictures which would best tell the story.
You may have an idea of your own for a project. Talk to your teacher about it.
147
XVI.
SUGGESTIONS FOR CULMINATING ACTIVITIES
Sixth grade students at Carver middle school in Tulsa, Oklahoma, displayed their
Holocaust unit projects in a “museum” in the school’s media center. Projects included
models of concentration and death camps, ghettos, and the stage scene for The Diary of
Anne Frank; interviews with survivors of the Holocaust; piano performance of music
from the ghettos and camps; paintings and drawings relating to the Holocaust; research
reports with appropriate visuals; original poetry; Holocaust scrapbooks; student-created
displays of parts of the Holocaust; a special display to memorialize the victims of the
Holocaust; and memorabilia from World War II.
Invitations, designed by a student, were sent to parents, city officials, members of the
Jewish community, the other classes in the school, and school staff. The event was
scheduled for the week during the Days of Remembrance at the end of April.
The museum was open all day. Students were assigned to work as docents, hall guides,
and greeters. The other classes were scheduled at thirty-minute intervals, with no more
than 100 students in the media center at a time. Teachers accompanied their classes.
A Holocaust film, “To Bear Witness,” ran continuously in one corner of the room
throughout the day. Chairs were provided so that visitors could watch a portion of the
film if they chose to do so.
Murals, made of individual Holocaust drawings and then glued to yellow butcher paper,
covered the back wall. Another wall was covered with a mural of poetic and artistic
interpretations of “The Hangman” film.
Fire-prevention rules prohibited the use of lighted candles for the memorial display.
Battery-powered artificial candles were used instead.
Computer banners, with the quotations discussed in class printed on them, were hung
throughout the museum.
The students had participated in a tile project for the national Holocaust Museum being
built in Washington, D.C. The tiles were shipped to us by the National Holocaust
Memorial Council. On them, students painted an image of the Holocaust or a symbol of
peace and hope for the future. Underglazing paints were used, and the tiles were to be
glazed and fired. When completed, the tiles would be part of a Wall of Remembrance in
the new museum. Students from all parts of the United States were participating in this
project. The Carver tiles were displayed in the museum before being shipped to
Washington.
Local media had been notified of our activity, and reporters from a TV and radio station
interviewed some of the students in the museum. The interviews were aired that same
evening and the next day. A picture also appeared in the newspaper the next evening.
Parents and community visitors were welcomed throughout the day by the students.
148
In order to end the unit in a positive way, an Israeli Festival to celebrate the anniversary
of Israel’s independence was planned for the afternoon of the same day. Rain prevented
the festival being held in an outdoor classroom, so the location was changed to the school
gymnasium. Arrangements were made for the day’s physical education classes to be held
elsewhere in the school.
Much help for the festival came from parent volunteers and members of the Jewish
community. Several planning sessions had taken place before the event.
Stations (tables and chairs) had been arranged around the gym for the different activities.
The various stations included:
1. Israeli Passports - strips of paper, folded, with ample room for stamps from other
stations. (Stamps and inkpads were brought by students and included everything
from birds, flowers, etc., to snowflaked-whatever was brought by students)
2. Hebrew name tags - a teacher from the education department of the synagogue
wrote each students name in Hebrew on a name tag.
3. Middle Eastern Archeological Dig - plastic wading pool was filled with sand.
Items such as jewelry, candleholders, coins, shards of clay pots, and shells were
hidden in the sand. As several students “dug” through the sand and an item was
“found,” students working at that station had a prepared history of that item
(historical period, area, etc.). The fact that neither the items nor the histories were
authentic didn’t stop the fun.
4. Western Wall - a scenery flat was painted (by students) to resemble the ancient
temple wall in Jerusalem. As it is the custom to write a prayer or wish on a scrap
paper and place it between the stones in Jerusalem, students were urged to write
wishes on “post-it” notes and stick them to our Western Wall. No holes in the
scenery flat were permitted.
5. Israeli Folk dancing - A young Israeli volunteer (drafted from the Jewish
Federation) taught large groups of student (and teachers) at a time. A large circle
was formed each time, and the teacher was in the middle of the circle. Very
popular and successful.
6. Bedouin Market - Falafel and fruit punch were served to more than 600 people!
Volunteers had prepared the ingredients for the falafel beforehand, and an
assembly line was set up for serving by parent and students.
7. Souvenir Israeli Flags - near the exit, assigned students gave all students and
visitors small Israeli flags as a souvenir of the day. The flags had been ordered
from a company in New York.
Each station had sixth grade student workers assigned to stamp the passports and direct
the students and visitors. A work schedule had been made for both the museum and the
festival, so that things would run smoothly.
Classes had been scheduled at thirty-minute intervals for the festival as they had been for
the museum. Students in the visiting classes were dispersed to different stations so there
was not an unmanageable crowd at any one place.
Sixth-grade student volunteers stayed after school before the activity day to set up the
museum and festival, and many also volunteered to remain after school to clean the gym
149
and hall. The displays were left in the media center museum for several days and then
moved to the Tulsa Jewish Community Center for display the following week.
This activity required much pre-planning and volunteer help. However, the results were
so satisfying and rewarding that every minute was worth it!
Memorial Service: Plan a memorial service to the six million. Tell students that of the
six million Jews who perished, one and a half million were children. Judging from the
innumerable poems, songs, drawings, and diaries found after the Holocaust, the loss of
these and other creative talents was irreplaceable.
Prepare in advance yellow badges shaped like Stars of David. (The original ones were
five inches in diameter.) These can be made of felt or heavy construction paper. In the
center, print the word for Jew:
Jude, used in Germany and Poland and pronounced You-deh.
Juif, used in France and pronounced Jew-eff.
Jood, used in Holland and pronounced Yawd.
Label some stars in each of these languages. Also prepare white armbands with a Blue
star of David on them. Distribute a badge or armband for each student who wishes to
wear one. Have pins to fasten the badges or close the armbands.
Distribute to the students the list on the following pages of some of the children who
perished in the Holocaust.
In a dimmed room, light six memorial candles (or use the battery powered artificial
candles). Each student, in turn, will rise and read aloud the name, age, and country of
origin of a child who died in the Holocaust.
Students can then read original poetry or stories about the Holocaust, or they can read
writing of those who lived during the Holocaust, many of whom perished. Music from
the Holocaust can either be played softly, or a short program of musical performances
can take place.
Shadows of the Holocaust is an excellent resource for ideas for short plays, readings, and
programs. Written by Harriet Steinhorn, it can be ordered from Kar-ben copies,
Inc.,11216 Empire Lane, Rockville, Maryland 20852. There is a small fee for the book.
150
XVI.
SOME OF THE CHILDREN AND TEENAGERS WHO PERISHED IN THE
HOLOCAUST
Name
Sami Adelsheimer
Hans Ament
Nina Aronowicz
Max Balsam
Franta Bass
Jacob Benassayag
Richard Benguigui
Barouk Bentitou
Mayer Bulka
Wolf Finkelstein
Petr Fischl
Moses Flinker
Anne Frank
Lucienne Friedler
Egon Gamiel
Maurice Gerenstein
Joseph Goldberg
Georges Halpern
Eva Heyman
Hersz Kleczewski
Arnold Hirschl
Isidore Kargeman
Miroslav Kosek
Max Leiner
Fritz Lobmann
Paula Mermelstein
Eva Pickove
Theodor Reis
Yitzhak Rudashevshy
Gilles Sadowski
Martha Spiegel
Sigmund Springer
Shauk Sonenson
Sarah Szulklaper
Herman Tetelbaum
Golda Tusk
Charles Weltner
Otto Werheimer
Emile Zuckerberg
Age
5
10
11
12
14
8
7
12
13
13
15
13
15
5
9
13
12
8
13
15
17
10
12
8
15
10
12
16
14
8
10
8
9 mos.
11
10
17
9
12
5
Birthplace
Germany
Austria
Belgium
France
Czechoslovakia
Algeria
Algeria
Algeria
Poland
Poland
Czechoslovakia
Holland
Holland
Belgium
Germany
France
France
Austria
Hungary
Poland
Germany
France
Czechoslovakia
Austria
Germany
Belgium
Czechoslovakia
Germany
Lithuania
France
Austria
Austria
Lithuania
France
Belgium
Poland
France
Germany
Belgium
151
XVI.
THE PARTISAN’S SONG
Never say this is the final road for you,
Though leadened skies may cover your days of blue.
As the hour that we longed for is so near,
Our step beats out the message –we are here!
From the lands so green with palms to lands all white with snow,
We shall be coming with our anguish and our woe,
And where a spurt of blood fell on the Earth,
There our courage and our spirit have rebirth.
We’ll have the morning sun to set our day aglow,
And your yesterdays shall vanish with the foe.
And if the time is long before the sun disappears,
Then let this song go like a signal throughout the years.
This song was written with our blood and not with lead;
Its not a little tune that birds sing overhead.
This song a people sang amid collapsing walls,
With grenades in hands they heeded to the call.
Therefore never say the road now ends for you,
Though leaden skies may cover over days of blue.
As the hour that we longed for is so near,
Our step beats out the message – we are here!
Text by Hirsh Glick who set the words to a melody by the Russian composer Dmitri Porkass
152
XVI.
POEMS SELECTED FROM: “…I never saw another butterfly…” Written by
children imprisoned in the Terezin Concentration Camp from 1942-1944 (Schocken
Books, NY)
The Butterfly
The last, the very last,
So richly, brightly, dazzlingly yellow.
Perhaps if the sun's tears would sing
against a white stone. . . .
Such, such a yellow
Is carried lightly 'way up high.
It went away I'm sure because it wished to
kiss the world good-bye.
For seven weeks I've lived in here,
Penned up inside this ghetto.
But I have found my people here.
The dandelions call to me
And the white chestnut candles in the court.
Only I never saw another butterfly.
That butterfly was the last one.
Butterflies don't live in here,
in the ghetto.
Pavel Friedman 4.6.1942
At Terezin
When a new child comes
Everything seems strange to him
What, on the ground I have to lie?
Eat black potatoes? No! Not I!
I’ve got to stay? It’s dirty here!
The floor - why look, it’s dirt, I fear!
And I’m supposed to sleep on it?
I’ll get all dirty!
Here the sound of shouting, cries,
And oh, so many flies.
Everyone knows flies carry disease.
Oooh, something bit me! Wasn’t that a bedbug?
Here in Terezin, life is hell
And when I’ll go home again, I can’t yet tell.
“Teddy”
L410. 1943
153
Night in the Ghetto
Another day has gone for keeps
Into the bottomless pit of time.
Again it has wounded a man, held captive by his brethren.
After dusk, he longs for bandages,
For soft hands to shield his eyes From all the horrors that stare by day.
But in the ghetto, darkness too is kind
To weary eyes which all day long
Have had to watch.
Dawn crawls again along the ghetto streets
Embracing all who walk this way.
Only a car like a greeting from a long-gone world
Gobbles up the dark with fiery eyesThat sweet darkness that falls upon the soul
And heals those wounds illuminated by the day…
Along the streets some light and ranks of people
Like a long black ribbon, loomed with gold.
1943 Anonymous
The Garden
A little garden,
Fragrant and full of roses,
The path is narrow
And a little boy walks along it.
A little boy, a sweet boy,
Like that growing blossom.
When the blossom comes to bloom,
The little boy will be no more
Franta Bass
154
XVI.
HOLOCAUST BOOK REPORT FORM
Please answer all questions, following directions.
I.
Copy and complete the following outline.
A. Title
B. Author
C. Literary type
D. Main characters with a brief description of each
E. Setting – Time and Place
II.
Choose one of the following and answer in a thoughtful, well organized
paragraph.
A. Characters in a novel, like people in “real life,” must face and solve
many problems. These characters experience conflicts and must deal
with them. Choose 3 major problems or conflicts from the book you
read. Tell what the conflicts were, what characters were involved, and
how the conflicts were resolved.
B. Characters, in a novel, like people in real life, are greatly influenced by
their environment. In novels and plays, this environments is called the
setting – and includes time and place. Tell what the setting is in the
book you read and how the setting influences the lives of 3 major
characters.
III.
In a paragraph, tell how reading this book has added to your knowledge
and understanding of the Holocaust.
155
XVII.
LITIRATURE ON THE HOLOCAUST
Fiction
Adler, David A. The Number on My Grandfather’s Arm. Union of American
Hebrew Congregations, 1987.
A young girl notices numbers written on the arm of her grandfather, a
survivor of the Holocaust. The grandfather’s explanation of the origin of
these numbers provides an introduction to the events of the Holocaust,
which is clear and meaningful for the young reader. The torture and
killing of Jews by the Nazis is mentioned in a matter-of-fact context
suitable for use with primary grade children. Illustrations are highly
appropriate and acceptable for use with children in primary grades.
Graphic illustrations are avoided. Primary Grades.
Arnold, Elliot. A Kind of Secret Weapon. Scribner’s, 1969.
Denmark is occupied by the Nazis in 1940. Peter Andersen’s parents are
involved in printing an underground newspaper calling for resistance
against the Germans. Peter soon becomes involved in this activity and has
many adventures in his clandestine work. Ages 11-13.
Arrick, Fran. Chernowitz. Bradbury Press, 1981.
Bobby Cherno, a Jewish boy in the ninth grade in an American high
school, is tormented by an anti-Semitic peer. The bully gathers a group
around him, and the Jew-baiting extends to Bobby’s family. The ultimate
outcome is an assembly at school where films are shown of concentration
camps and their victims, causing many of the students to become ill. Still,
this does not change the anti-Semitic bully’s attitude. Ages 14 and up.
Benchley, Nathaniel. Bright Candles: A Novel of the Danish Resistance. Harper
& Row, 1974.
When actions were taken by the Nazis against Danish Jews, cooperation
with the Germans was no longer possible for the people of conscience.
This is the story of the Danish resistance against German oppression.
Ages 11-13.
Dank, Milton. The Dangerous Game. Lippincott, 1977.
Charles Marceau, son of a French father and an American mother, joins a
resistance group in Paris and has many close calls with the Nazis. Ages
11-13.
156
Demetz, Hanna. The House on Prague Street. St. Martin’s Press, 1980; Avon
pb., 1983
This is the story of Helene Richter and the house in which she lived in
Czechoslovakia with her grandfather, who was more Czech than Jewish.
The gradual deterioration of the family is shown as things in
Czechoslovakia become more desperate for the Jews. Hanna Demetz has
written a tender, sensitive book. Age 14 and up.
Green, Bette. Summer of My German Soldier, Dial, 1973. (Paperback by
Phantom)
An unlikely friendship between a Jewish girl, Patty, and a German soldier
leads to tragedy in a powerful story set in a small Arkansas town during
World War II. Grades 7 and up.
Green, Bette. Morning Is a Long Time Coming, Dial, 1978.
This is a sequel to Summer of My German Solder. Eighteen-year-old
Patty travels to Germany to find the parents of a dead soldier whose
friendship altered her life. This book is recommended for mature readers
only.
Horgan, Dorthy. The Edge of War. Oxford University Press, 1987.
This is a fictional account of the Nazi era from the perspective of children
in a German family critical of the National Socialist. The members of the
family were mistaken for being either Jews or Gypsies on account of their
dark complexion. There are important insights into how war and
genocidal policies disrupt family relations and daily activities among
children. Grades 5-9.
Kay, Mara. In the Face of Danger. Crown, 1977.
Ann Lindsay is caught in Nazi Germany when her uncle is injured in an
auto accident. Her discovery of two Jewish girls hidden in her house and
her attempts to save them are part of an exciting story. Ages 11-13.
Kerr, Judith. When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit, Coward, 1971. (Also paperback)
Papa’s anti- Nazi stance forces a loving Jewish family to flee Germany,
leaving their property behind, but Anne best remembers 1933 as the time
Hitler stole her pink rabbit. Grades 6-9.
Laird, Christa. Shadow of the Wall. Greenwillow Books, 1990.
Misha, a Jewish boy living with his mother and sisters in the Warsaw
157
Ghetto befriends Dr. Korczak, the director of an orphanage, and finds
purpose for his life in joining a resistance organization. Grades 6-9.
Levitan, Sonia. Journey to America. Atheneum, 1970.
Lisa’s papa goes to America to set up his business and living quarters for
his family, which remains behind in Germany. The book deals with the
heartbreak of leaving friends and belongings behind when the family
finally departs. It also deals with the poverty that they experience and the
trauma of beginning again. Ages 11-13.
Lowry, Lois. Number the Stars. Houghton Mifflin, 1989.
This is a fictional account of the Danish rescue of the Jews based on
information that the author received from a friend. Winner of the
Newbery Award as best children’s book of the year. Grades 5-8.
Matas, Carol. Lisa’s War. Scribner’s Sons, 1987.
During the Nazi occupation of Denmark, Lisa and other teenage Jews
become involved in an underground resistance movement and eventually
must flee to save their lives. Grades 7-9.
Mazer, Harry. The Last Mission, Delacorte, 1978.
Fifteen-year-old Jack Raab, deeply conscious of the suffering and death of
his Jewish relatives in Hitler’s Europe, uses his older brother’s birth
certificate and enlists in the Air Corps where he flies 25 missions before
his plane is shot down over Germany. Bulgar expressions are used in
context. This book is based on the author’s own World War II
experiences. Grades 7 and up.
Moskin Marietta. I Am Rosemarie. John Day, 1972.
This book is about a Jewish girl in Amsterdam caught in Hitler’s net in
1940. She goes from the transit camp at Westerbork to Bergen-Belsen and
from there to Biberach, another concentration camp. Ages 11-13.
Neshamit, Sara. Children of Mapu Street. Jewish Publication Society, 1970.
In 1941, Kovno, Lithuania, was invaded by the Nazis. This is the story of
the Jewish children who lived in a courtyard on Mapu Street during the
German invasion, along with the hatred of some of their non-Jewish
neighbors, and the courage of others. Shmuelik, the protagonist, who is
captured and who escapes from a train taking him to a concentration
camp, stands out in this tender and exciting novel. Age 14 and up.
Nolan, Han. If I Should Die Before I Wake. Harcourt Brace, 1996.
158
This unusual novel offers powerful insight into the realities of one young
woman’s survival through the Holocaust and another’s journey out of
hatred and self-loathing. Grades 7-12.
Orgel, Davis. The Devil in Vienna, Dial, 1978.
This book is based on the author’s own experiences and is written in diary
form. It is a novel about the friendship and families of two 13-year-old
girls, one Jewish, the other Catholic whose father becomes a high ranking
Nazi. The story tells of the devastating effect on their lives when Hitler
marches into Vienna in 1938. Grades 6-8.
Orlev, Uri. Island on Bird Street. Houghton Mifflin, 1983.
This is a story of a twelve-year-old boy who hides for five months in an
unnamed ghetto. The author himself spent two years in hiding in the
Warsaw Ghetto. (Originally appeared in Hebrew) Grades 6-8.
Richter, Hans. Friedrich.
This novel traces the relationship between two friends, one Jewish and one
non-Jewish, in Germany between 1925 and 1942 and shows how the antiSemitic legislation before and during the war erodes the friendship.
Grades 5-8.
Samuels, Gertrude. Mottele: A Partisan Odyssey. Harper, 1976.
Mottele returns from his music lesson to find the Germans have destroyed
his home and murdered his family. The twelve-year-old flees to the forest
and then takes revenge on the Germans in their officers’ club. This
fictionalized account of the Jewish partisan experiences is based on the
true episodes. Grades 6-8.
Yolen, Jane. The Devil’s Arithmetic. Viking Penguin, Inc., 1988. (Paper, Puffin)
In a time-warp novel, Hannah, living in the United States in the late
twentieth century, finds herself suddenly thrust into the unfamiliar
surroundings of a Polish shtetl in the 1940’s. She herself is living through
the horror of the Holocaust that her grandparents had described and she
recognizes the importance of keeping the memory of the Holocaust alive
forever. Grades 6-9.
159
NON-FICTION
Adler, David A. We Remember the Holocaust. H. Holt, 1989.
A series of testimonies by Holocaust survivors are connected by historical
background. The photographs of survivors accompany their testimonies.
Grades 7 and up.
Altshuler, David A. Hitler’s War Against the Jews. Behram House, 1978.
This is a young reader’s version of Lucy Dawidowicz’s War Against the
Jews. The rise of anti-Semitism in Germany and its role in the planning
and execution of the Final Solution are featured throughout the historical
narrative. Grades 5-8.
Atkinson, Linda. In Kindling Flame. Lothrop, 1985.
This biography of the Jewish resistance fighter Hannah Senesh is set
within the context of the history of the Holocaust. Hannah’s
determination to help others is emphasized throughout the book. Grades 7
and up.
Auerbach, Inge. I Am a Star: Child of the Holocaust. Prentice-Hall, 1986.
The author tells her own experience within the context of the Holocaust
and includes poetry she wrote as a child. Grades 6-8.
Baldwin, Margaret. The Boys Who Saved the Children. Julian Messner, 1981.
This is an account of one family’s fight to stay together during the difficult
times they faced in the Lodz Ghetto. This story of deportation and
separation provides a detailed illustration of human spirit and the will to
survive. It is illustrated with photographs. Grades 6-8.
Berenbaum, Michael, Ed. Witness to the Holocaust. Harper Collins, 1997.
Here are the actual legal documents, government memos, diplomatic
cables, army orders, and operations reports that took the brutality of the
Holocaust and dressed it up in the bland and reasonable language of
bureaucracy. Advanced students.
Berenbaum, Michael. The World Must Know: The History of the Holocaust as
Told in the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Little, Brown,
1993.
This book offers an extensively documented chronicle of the events
surrounding the Holocaust. Illustrated with hundreds of archival
photographs and images of artifacts gathered for the museum’s collection,
160
the text is filled with eyewitness accounts of the rise of Nazism, life in the
ghettos, the deportations, and concentration camps. Grades 9 and up.
Brecher, Elinor J. Schindler’s Legacy: True Stories of the List Survivors.
Plume, 1994.
Traveling throughout America, the author and a photographer found more
than 40 of the people whose collective experience was dramatized in the
film Schindler’s List. Grades 7 and up.
Chaikin, Miriam. A Nightmare in History: The Holocaust 1933-1945, Clarion
Books, 1987.
A well-known author presents a thorough study of the Holocaust. This
work incorporates excerpts from diaries and eyewitness accounts to
describe the massive horror. Grades 6-8.
Cretzmeyer, Stacy. Your Name id Renee: Ruth Kapp Hartz’s Story As a Hidden
child in Nazi-Occupied France. Oxford University Press, 1999 Edition.
This highly personal memoir describes the events in France during Nazi
occupation through the eyes of a German-Jewish child who is told “Your
name is Renee” to help her assume a French persona. Grades 7 and up.
Epstein, Helen. Children of the Holocaust. Conversations with sons and
daughters of survivors. G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1979.
Epstein reveals the diverse experiences of children of Holocaust survivors
as well as the different ways these heirs have responded to their
upbringing. Grades 6-12
Fisch, Robert O. Light From the Yellow Star: A Lesson of Love From the
Holocaust. Yellow Star foundation, 1995 paperback edition.
The author’s experiences of the Holocaust is told in brief, poignant
anecdotes while in full-color, facing-page illustrations, his simple but
powerful graphic designs evoke feelings of despair and horror - and a few
glimmers of hope. Grades 7 and up.
Frank, Anne. The Diary of a Young Girl. Doubleday, 1967.
A Dutch Jewish adolescent reveals the day-to-day activities of herself and
her family in hiding between 1942 and 1944. In addition to references of
the wartime situation, Anne discusses her emotional life during the
traumatic period of living with constant fear of being discovered by the
Gestapo. Grades 6 and up.
Frank, Anne. Anne Frank’s Tales from the Secret Annex. Doubleday, 1984.
161
In addition to the Diary, Anne kept a journal of essays ad short stories and
recollections. Anne’s optimism amid the traumatic situation of the
Holocaust appears in these writings. Grades 6 and up.
Friedlander, Saul. When Memory comes. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1979.
(Paper, Avon Books)
This autobiographical account by an adult recalling his youth in France
during the Holocaust highlights the pain a boy felt after separation from
his parents and the uncertainty of moving from one hiding place to
another. Grades 7 and up.
Friedman, Ina R. Escape or die: True Stories of Young People Who survives the
Holocaust. Yellow Star Foundation, 1995 paperback edition.
Twelve men and women recount how, as young people, they were able to
survive the Holocaust. The power of the human spirit to endure in horrific
circumstances is a common thread throughout these accounts. Grades 7
and up.
Friedman, Ina R. The Other victims: First-person stories of non-Jews persecuted
by the Nazis.. Houghton Mifflin, 1990.
This work includes interviews of the non-Jewish victims of Nazi
policies—Gypsies, Jehovah’s Witnesses, the handicapped, and others.
Historical background introduces the testimonies. Grades 7 and up.
Gehrts, Barbara. Don’t Say a Word. McElderry, 1986.
This autobiographical novel of a young German girl whose father is an
anti-Nazi Luftwaffe officer. Grades 7 and up.
Geier, Arnold. Heroes of the Holocaust. Berkley, 1998 paperback edition.
In 28 true-to-life narratives full of courage, ingenuity, and lucky breaks,
survivors tell about the almost miraculous twist of fate that let them
survive the Holocaust. Grades 6 and up.
Geis, Miep. Anne Frank Remembered. Simon and Schuster, 1987.
Miep Geis first met the Frank family in 1933, when she began to work for
Otto Frank shortly after moving to Amsterdam from Nazi Germany. No
one realized the significant role she would ultimately play in the life of the
entire Frank family. Many details of life under German rule are
mentioned as Miep relates how she helped the Frank family as they hid in
the underground. The finding of Anne’s diary is related as Miep Geis tells
162
the reader she did not read the famous work, out of respect for the privacy
of the writer until it was published. Grades 6-12.
Goldhagen, Daniel Jonah. Hitler’s Willing Executioners: Ordinary Germans and
the Holocaust. Knopf, 1996.
The author tries to show that the vast majority of the non-leadership
German perpetrators must have been willing participants deeply
committed to the idea that Jews were evil beings who deserved to be
eliminated. Advanced Students.
Gray, Ronald. Hitler and the Germans, Lerner publications and Cambridge
University Press, 1983.
This books explains the broad popularity of anti-Semitism and Nazism
during Hitler’s rule over Germany. The work seeks to answer the
question, “Could an event such as the Holocaust occur again?” The author
uses, maps, photographs, and a chronology of Hitler’s life to help examine
the Holocaust. An index is included. Grades 6-12.
Hallie, Philip. Lest Innocent Blood Be Shed: The Story of the Village of Le
Chambon and How Goodness Happened There. Harper Collins, 1980.
The author, who is a philosopher and ethicist, describes the remarkable
story of how the people of Le Chambon saved some 5,000 Jews during the
Holocaust, with a special focus on Pastor Trocme who helped organize the
rescue operation. Grades 7 and up.
Hart, Kitty. Return to Auschwitz. Antheneum, 1981.
Kitty, a Holocaust survivor, returns to Auschwitz with her own son. As
she visits the different locations of the former camp she recalls what daily
life was like for a young woman in Auschwitz. This serves as an excellent
introduction to Holocaust experience without the use of horrifying
graphics. A videotape of Kitty’s visit is available. Grades 6 and up.
Hautzig, Esther. The Endless Steppe, Cromwell, 1968 (Published in paperback
as A Girl in Exile by Scholastic.)
Simply and without bitterness, the author tells of five years spent in
Siberian concentration camps during World War II. Grades 6-8.
Hersh, Gizelle and Mann, Peggy. Gizelle, Save the Children! Everst House,
1980.
This is a story of children in an Hungarian Jewish family during the
Holocaust and their incredible efforts to remain together through the
events. Grades 6 and up.
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Hilberg, Raul. Perpetrators, Victims, and Bystanders: The Jewish Catastrophe
1933-1945. Harper Perennial, 1993. paperback edition.
The author gives names, faces, and identities to the agents, victims,
collaborators, and helpless or compromised witnesses of the Holocaust.
Advanced students.
Hoffman, Judy. Joseph and Me, Ktav, 1979.
Told in first person the author describes the events of the Holocaust that
led to her living in hiding with a Dutch family in Amsterdam. She and
her brother survived and met in Jerusalem after World War II.
Photographs and a glossary are included. Grades 5-8.
Hurwitz, Johanna. Anne Frank: Life in Hiding. Jewish Publication Society of
America, 1988.
This is a concise readable biography of Anne Frank for readers not able to
read Diary of a Young Girl. Included is a chronology of events of the war
and of the Frank family. Grades 5-7.
Hyams, Joseph. A Field of Buttercups. Prentice-Hall, 1968.
Janusz Korczak was a famous Polish-Jewish doctor and educator. He felt
children should largely govern themselves, and practices these theories in
the orphanage he established in Warsaw. This book tells of his
experiences from the time the orphanage transferred to the ghetto, during
the Nazi occupation of Poland, until the children were sent to Treblinka
death camp. When they disposed of their Yellow stars at the
Umschlagplatz (transfer point of deportation), it looked like “a field of
buttercups.” The good doctor would not abandon his small charges and,
although he was offered his freedom, went with them to his death. Age 14
and up.
Isaacman, Clara and Grossman, Joan A. Clara’s Story. Jewish Publication
Society of America, 1984.
Incorporating historical background, Clara tells how she and her family
hid out in Antwerp, Belgium for two-and-a-half years during the
Holocaust. Grades 7 and up.
Isaacman, Clara. Pathways through the Holocaust: An Oral History of EyeWitnesses. KTAV Publishing House, Inc., 1993.
This is historical account of the Holocaust written in a style suitable for
young readers. Each chapter is followed by discussion questions. Grades
6-8.
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Jackson, Livia E. Bitton. Elli: Coming of Age in the Holocaust. Times books,
1983.
The author relates her own story of survival in Auschwitz. Because Dr.
Mengele was impressed by her blond braids and blue eyes, he advised her
on how to escape death by telling a lie about her age. Ages 14 and up.
Joffo, Joseph. A Bag of Marbles. Translated from French by Martin Sokolensky.
Houghton Mifflin, 1974.
A true story by the author, who was ten years old in 1941 and who, with
his twelve-year-old brother, Maurice, was sent away by their barber father
to escape from the Nazis. The story begins when Jo trades his yellow star
for a bag of marbles. Age 14 and up.
Keely, Jennifer. Life in the Hitler Youth. Lucent, 2000.
This chilling book profiles the growing power and prestige of the Hitler
Youth members during the Nazi regime. Grades 6-12.
Koehn, Ilse. Mischling, Second Degree. Green willow Books, 1977; Bantam pb.
The author is a child of a Jewish father and a non-Jewish mother, with one
Jewish grandparent, which made her a Mischling, second degree,
according to the Nazis. Her experience in Hitler Youth Camps is
recounted in a very straightforward way. Ages 11-13.
Kuper, Jack. Child of the Holocaust. New York: Doubleday, 1968.
Nine-year-old Jankel returns to his hometown in Poland to find that his
family has been captured by the Nazis. He pretends he is not a Jew and,
during the next four years, passes as a Gentile, almost coming to believe
he is one. Ages 14 and up.
Leitner, Isabella. Fragments of Isabella: A Memoir of Auschwitz. Thomas Y.
Crowell, 1978.
Like Isaacson’s Seed of Sarah, Leitner’s Fragments offers insights into the
experience of the Holocaust from the perspective of a young woman.
Powerful memories of separation from family, violence of kapos and
dehumanization help the reader begin to understand the reality of the
world of concentration camps. Grades 7 and up.
Leitner, Isabella with Irving A. Leitner. The Big Lie: A True Story. Scholastic,
Inc., 1992.
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True story of author’s survival of Auschwitz, with her sister, after they
watched their mother and younger sister go to the gas chamber. Grades 7
and up.
Lipstadt, Deborah. Denying the Holocaust: The growing Assault on Truth and
Memory. Free Press, 1993.
This book presents an eye-opening account of the now well-funded
international movement to obfuscate facts and testimony in an attempt to
convince future generations that the Holocaust was a historical hoax or
greatly exaggerated. Advanced students.
Little, Richard B. Nazi Hunting, Franklin Watts, 1982.
This book contains seven different accounts of searches for Nazis who
managed to escape justice after the war. The author examines manhunts
all over the world. The efforts of the famous Nazi-hunter, Simon
Wiesenthal, are discussed. The book follows the search for infamous
Nazis as Josef Mengele, Adolf Eichmann, and Herbert Cukurus. An index
is included. Grades 8 and up.
Meed, Vladka. On Both Sides of the Wall. Shocken Books, Inc., 1979.
This book tells the story of Vladka Meed’s transformation from a 17-yearols Warsaw Jew to an active underground member. Working on the
Aryan side, she became an underground courier who smuggled arms,
helped Jews in hiding, and aided in the rescue of Jewish children. Grades
6 and up.
Meltzer, Milton. Never to Forget: Jews of the Holocaust. Harper Collins,1976.
(paper, Dell)
This is a brief, well-documented history of the Holocaust, focusing on
stories of individuals who did not, or could not, flee the Nazis. Also
included are the stories of Jewish resistance. Grades 7 and up.
Meltzer, Milton. Rescue: The Story of How Gentiles Saved Jews in the
Holocaust. Harper Collins, 1988.
Using primary sources, the author documents efforts of rescue by
individuals from different backgrounds in several European countries.
Grades 6-12.
Michel, Ernest W. Promises to Keep. Barricade Books, 1993.
Autobiographical account of 15-year-old German Jew who spent two
years in Auschwitz, as well as four additional years of forced labor. Ages
15 and up.
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Noble, Iris. Simon Wiesenthal, Nazi Hunter. Messner, 1979.
This is a gripping biography of an exceptional man. It documents
Wiesenthal’s relentless efforts to track down those Nazis who perpetrated
Holocaust atrocities and escaped unpunished from Germany and Austria
after the war. It is a blunt recital, but well done. Grades 6-8.
Nussbaum, Eve and Schulz. Daily Life During the Holocaust. Greenwood, 1998.
This chronological account looks first at each new development in Hitler’s
scheme of persecution, and then looks at the personal experiences of
affected individuals as recorded in letters, diaries, and memoirs. Grades 7
and up.
Oberski, Jona. Childhood. Doubleday, 1983.
This is a sensitive memoir of a Dutch child during the Holocaust. It offers
a male perspective to issues discussed in Anne Frank’s Diary and explores
the psychological impact of a child’s separation from his parents. Grades
8 and up.
Opdyke, Irene Gut. In My Hand: Memories of a Holocaust Rescuer. Knopf,
1999.
The clear, honest voice of teen-aged Irene Gut recounts the story of a
Catholic girl who risked her life daily to defy the evil she saw around her
in Nazi-occupied Poland. Grades 6-12.
Perl, Lila and Lazan, Marion Blumenthal. Four Perfect Pebbles: A Holocaust
Story. Greenwillow, 1996.
Five-year-old Marion believes if only she can find four pebbles of the
same size that her family will remain whole, even though the Nazis seem
determined to destroy them all. Grades 5-9.
Prager, Arthur. World War II Resistance Stories, Watts, 1979.
This book includes dramatic stories of six civilian men and women who
became members of the secret resistance movements during World War II
throughout Eastern Europe and the Pacific. Three of the incidents relate to
the German invasion; one story takes place inside the Auschwitz
concentration camp. Grades 6-8.
Provost, Gary. David and Max. Jewish Publication Society of America, 1988.
While spending the summer with his grandfather Max and helping his
search for a friend believed to have perished in the Holocaust, twelve-
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year-old David discovers many things about Max’s terrible years during
World War II and subsequent family relationships. Grades 6 and up.
Reiss, Johanna. The Upstairs Room. Crowell, 1972; Bantam pb, 1973.
The author describes her experiences as a Jewish child in Holland after
Hitler’s invasion. Ages 11-13.
Reiss, Johanna. The Journey Back. New York: Crowell, 1982.
When peace is declared, the author and her sister journey back home to
begin life once more as a family. They must adjust to many things,
including a stepmother who has replaced a mother murdered in the
Holocaust, and a sister who has converted to Christianity. This is a
moving sequel to The Upstairs Room. Ages 11-13.
Rogasky, Barbara. Smoke and Ashes: The Story of the Holocaust. Holiday
House, 1988.
Many aspects of the Holocaust are presented in clearly written style that
gives a meaningful understanding of the cause and tragic events of the
Holocaust. It includes a chapter in which other tragic world events are
briefly described to show the “unique” nature of the Holocaust.
Photographs are appropriate for illustrating the text without being overly
graphic. Maps and a list of sources for further reading are included. The
book is well indexed. It is highly recommended for young adult
Holocaust collections. Grades 6-8
Roseman, Kenneth. Escape from the Holocaust. Union of American Hebrew
Congregations, 1985.
Based on the facts of the Holocaust, this book is structured in a way that
enables the reader to make choices similar to those which people made in
Nazi-occupied Europe. The reader does not read this work in the exact
page order but is instructed to turn specific pages which reflect choices
they have made or the circumstance encountered. Grades 7 and up.
Scholi, Inge. The White Rose. Wesleyan Press.
This story of integrity and courage describes the deaths of a small circle
of German students which printed and distributed leaflets opposing the
Nazi regime. Grades 8 and up.
Schur, Maximine. Hannah Senesh: A Song of Light, The Jewish Publication
Society, 1986.
Executed as a “spy and traitor” at age 23, Hannah Senesh left a legacy of
significant contributions in the short years she lived. This biographical
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work emphasizes her writing and her efforts to save Jews from the death
chambers of Europe. Grades 6 and up.
Sender, Ruth Minsky. The Cage. MacMillan, 1986.
The author tells the story of her life in a Polish ghetto at age 16 and her
eventual deportation to Auschwitz. Separated from her family, she
remembers her mother’s words, “As long as there is life, there is hope,”
and she writes poetry to keep her own hope alive. Grades 8-12
Sender, Ruth Minsky. To Life. MacMillan, 1988.
Sequel to The Cage, Sender continues her story after the war ends. She
recounts her liberation, the search for surviving family members, her
marriage, and her struggles to emigrate to America. Grades 8-12.
Siegle, Aranka. Upon the Head of a Goat. Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1981.
Nine-year-old Piri, visiting her grandmother in the Ukraine, is at first not
able to return home to Hungary when the war breaks out. Finally, she
does return to yellow badges, rations, avoidance by old friends, and a
forced move into ghetto. Through her mother’s determination, her family
is held together for a long time before being deported to Auschwitz, where
they are separated and meet different fates. Ages 11-13.
Stadtler, Bea. The Holocaust: A History of Courage and Resistance. Behrman
House, 1975.
These twenty-two short chapters include the time from World War I to the
Nuremberg trials; they cover spiritual and physical resistance and
highlight the dilemmas Jews and Jewish leaders encountered. Excerpts
from documents and the questions at the end of each chapter make this a
particularly thoughtful book. Ages 11-13.
Steenmeijer, Anneke (in collaboration with Otto Frank). A Tribute to Anne
Frank. Doubleday, 1971.
This is a collection of letters and tributes received by Otto Frank after the
publication of The Diary of a Young Girl. The volume has beautiful
photographs and many moving entries. Age 14 and up.
Stein, R. Conrad. Warsaw Ghetto. (World at War Series) Children’s Press, 1985.
This book is a study of life in the Warsaw ghetto during the Holocaust
years and the uprising that destroyed the famous Jewish quarter of
Warsaw. It can be read and understood by younger children and includes
many photographs. Grade 6 and up.
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Tec, Nechama. Dry Tears. Oxford University Press, 1982. (paper, Oxford)
The author, a Polish Jew, tells the story of how she and her family
“passed’ as Christians living with a Polish family during the war. Tec
offers insights into the difficulty children experienced in hiding when they
had to take on a new identity and constantly live as actors among their
Polish hosts. Grades 8 and up.
Ten Boom, Corrie. The Hiding Place. Barbour and Company, 1987.
Ten Boom recounts her own experiences in Holland as her non-Jewish
family hides Jews in their home. She describes how she and her sister are
sent to a concentration camp when the Nazis discover that the Ten Booms
are sheltering Jews. Grades 6 and Up.
Toll, Nelly S. Behind the Secret Window: A Memoir of A Hidden Childhood
during World War II. Penguin USA, 1993. Grades 6-8
Vos, Ida. Anna is Still Here. Puffin, 1995 paperback edition.
The effects of the Holocaust on the life of a young girl are portrayed in
this poetic novel. Anna eventually finds the spirit that has been silenced
for so long. Grades 4-8.
Werstein, Irving. That Denmark Might Live. Philadelphia: Marcus Smith, 1967.
This book deals with the Danish resistance against the Nazis and the
protection of the country’s Jews. “Although Denmark did not fight on the
Allied side, she contributed much to the defeat of Germany,” according to
Field Marshall Montgomery, who added, “The Danish resistance was
worth ten divisions.” Ages 11-13.
Westein, Irving. The Uprising of the Warsaw Ghetto. Norton, 1968.
The author uses interviews, trial records, and survivor journals to tell the
story of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, which lasted longer than the battle
of the whole Polish army against the invasions of Germany. Here is an
authentic, historical account. Age 14 an up.
Wiesel, Elie. Night. New York: Hill and Wang, 1960; Avon pb., 1969; Bantam
pb.
Wiesl’s memoir was one of the first books by a survivor about his
experiences during the Holocaust years. It is a slim volume but
undoubtedly one of the best ever written. Elie Wiesel struggles to
maintain his belief in a good and merciful God, in the face of the Jewish
experience during the Hitler years. Ages 14 and up.
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Wiesenthal, Simon. The Sunflower. Schocken Books, 1976.
The author presents a narrative in which a dying German soldier confesses
to participating in the killing of Jews during the Holocaust and begs a Jew,
recently taken from a concentration camp to a temporary army hospital, to
absolve him of his actions. Age 14 and up.
Encyclopedia of the Holocaust. New York: Macmillam Publishing Co., 1989.
Grades 6 and up.
The Holocaust Chronicle: A History in Words and Pictures. Lincolnwood, IL:
Publications International, Inc., 2000. Grades 6 and up.
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XVIII.
WEBOGRAPHY
USHMM
http://www.ushmm.org
Yad VaShem
http://www.yadvashem.org.il
Holocaust Cybrary
http://www.remember.org
Holocaust Links
http://www.remember.org/cylinks.html
The Nizkor Project
http://www.nizkor.org
Anti-Defamation League
http://www.adl.org
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