The Holocaust and the U.N.

Another Reason to Fight a War

The Holocaust

• Hitler had to blame someone for Germany’s problems

• He found it in the Jewish people. Why? He felt they were responsible for all of Germany’s problems since WWI.

• There was a feeling of Anti-Semitism: feeling of hatred towards Jewish people

The Beginning of the Holocaust

• Hitler begins a program to separate Jews from the rest of society even before the war starts.

• In the 1930’s, the Nazis began to build concentration camps for Jews and other groups of “undesirables”

• The more famous ones being Auschwitz and Dachau

“Kristallnacht”, Night of Broken Glass

• Nov. 8, 1938, Nazis set fire to Jewish synagogues.

• They broke into Jewish homes, terrorized Jewish people, and destroyed Jewish businesses.

• Many Jews were killed or arrested. This was the beginning of the terror that Jews faced.

The Final Plan

• 1942, After isolating the Jews into camps, Hitler sets a goal of total extermination, or genocide, of them.

• Known as the “Final Solution”. Nazis planned to murder every Jew.

• Men, women, and children were killed. • Nearly 6 million were killed.

Did anyone know?

• Yes, there were those that knew and were against it. If you were German you did not speak out against the leader.

• The U.S. did not know about the camps until near the end of the war. We then freed these people as we got into Germany.

• Since it happened once, how do we stop it from happening again??

The United Nations

• Created to help nations of the world find peaceful solutions to conflicts and prevent another world war from starting.

• Located in New York City• Very successful in peacekeeping• Plays an important role in foreign policy