the holocaust. “those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it…”
TRANSCRIPT
What was The Holocaust? The Holocaust refers to a specific event in 20th century
history where six million Jews were killed by the Nazi regime and their collaborators as a central act of state during World War II. As well, five million Romani, Sinti, African-Germans, homosexuals, mentally challenged, and others were murdered by the Nazis.
How it started Adolf Hitler and the
Nazi party came to power
1933 – 9 million Jews lived in 21 European countries that would become occupied by Germany during WWII
By 1945 2 out of 3 Jews would be dead
Who was Adolf Hitler? Served in German army
during WWI in the front lines (decorated for bravery)
Became involved in politics and tried to seize power by force (crushed by police 1923)
Served time for high treason and then rose to power legitimately
Hatred of Jews Worked to rid Germany of
Versailles Treaty Started WWII invaded Poland
Other figures in Nazi Regime
Henrich Himmler – SS leader/Chief of German police – responsible for implementing the Final Solution
Josef Mengele – ruthless/cruel doctor that conducted medical experiments on Jews
Julius Streicher – Earliest/loyal supporter of Hitler, propaganda publisher “The Stormer”
Under the Nazis… 12, 000, 000 people, half of them Jews were murdered by
the Germans because of hatred and the belief they were inferior
These people were killed by: shooting, starvation, disease, gas, torture, and medical experiments
Who was targeted? Jews People with
mental/physical disabilities
Gypsies Political/religious
(Catholics/Jehovah Witnesses) dissidents, Socialists, Trade Unionists, Homosexuals, Communists
The Holocaust had two main phases
Phase I 1933-1939 Saw Jews, Gypsies,
People with handicaps as serious threat to purity of German “master race”
Hatemongering propaganda – blaming Jews for Germany’s economic depression and defeat in WWI
New Laws enacted against Jews
Forced to quit civil service jobs, boycott Jewish businesses
Stripped of citizenship (Nuremburg Laws)
Segregated – no public school, cinemas, vacation resorts, or even walking in certain German cities
Took over Jewish businesses
Band intermarriages
Kristallnacht 1938“The night of broken glass”
Organized riot of physical destruction of Jewish synagogues, arrest of Jews, destroying of Jewish homes and murders
First Organized Round up… Began after
Kristallnacht of German/Austrian Jews
30, 000 Jewish men were sent to Dachau and other concentration camps with several 100 Jewish women sent to prison
Phase I – Possibility of fleeing dims During phase I approx. 1, 500, 000 Jews rounded up and shot Emphasis changing to extermination camps (murdered in gas
chambers), concentration camps (where prisoners worked to death as slave labour)
Jews attempting to flee to other areas (Palestine, Latin America, other European countries)
Others hindered by lack of money, unable to obtain visas/sponsors, or unwilling to uproot selves
Phase II 1939 - 1945 September 1, 1939
Germany invades Poland – the beginning of WWII
Hitler orders mass executions – creation of mobile killing sites – Most famous: Babi Yar where 33, 000 people killed, mostly Jews
Creation of Ghettos – confined spaces for Jews, & labour camps in addition to concentration camps “Night and Fog Decree”
Executions Jewish men dig own
graves before being executed as SS and German labour service look on
Last Jew on edge of grave before execution
Star of David September 1, 1941 – Jews
ordered to wear the yellow star
6 point star created from two interlocking triangles – each point represents trust in God, his rule over the universe and all six directions (N, S, E, W, & up/down)
All Jews over 10 years of age had to wear the star – it served as a marker, isolation, failing to wear the star meant certain death
The Final Solution 1942-1944 – Elimination of ghettos as residents deported to
concentration/extermination camps January 1942 – Decision to implement The Final Solution – a
formal German state policy to exterminate the Jews Final Solution was carried out by the SS and the Gestapo
Killing Sites 1. Belzec 2. Sobibor 3. Treblinka 4. Chelmo 5. Majdanek 6. Auschwitz -
Birkenau Sites chosen because
close to rail line and rural
Statistics – Killing Sites Belzec – 600, 000 gassed (May 1942) Sobibor – 200, 000 (May ’42-Oct.’43) Treblinka – 750, 000 (July ’42-Nov. ’43) Auschwitz-Bikenau – mass murder daily routine – 1.25 million
killed (9/10 Jews)
“The road to Auschwitz was built by hate, but paved by
indifference.” Main camp gate to
Auschwitz Motto: “Arbeit
Macht Frei” meaning “Work Makes us Free”
The Barrack City
Murder Methods Arrived by rail from
across Europe Men & women
separated Forced to undress and
pass over valuables Sent to gas chambers
disguised as shower rooms
Small minority selected for labour (exposed to malnutrition, hard labour, disease, & medical experiments)
Boys imprisoned in Auschwitz look out beyond barbed wire
Approx. 40, 000 Polish children kidnapped and imprisoned for slave labour
Gas Chambers(Last gas chamber used in Auschwitz – October30,
1944)
Zyklon B pellets (Hydrocyanic acid) – vaporizes when exposed to air, intended as insecticide/disinfectant
Found could kill humans through experimentation
Disguised shower rooms as gas chambers (air tight) pellets dropped through air shaft
Bitter almond smell, deprived body of oxygen
Left blue residue still inside intact gas chambers
Clothing from children gassed at Auschwitz
By February ’43 800 boxcars of confiscated goods left Auschwitz
Crematorium ovens in Buchenwald concentration camp
Soldiers view pile of cremated remains outside crematorium in Buchenwald
Famous Photo – Tsvi Nussbaum
Famous Diary – Anne Frank Captures essence of the
horrors of the Holocaust Warsaw 1943, a little
Jewish boy raises his arms in surrender with lowered eyes as a Nazi soldier trains his machine gun on him
What happened to him? Anne Frank – hid from
Germans, betrayed and died in concentration camp – father published her diary
Resistance Pockets of resistance
existed White Rose – group of
university students opposed to Nazis, leaflets on views, leaders executed
Oskar Schindler – set up business employing Jews, prevented their departure to camps, protection through bribery of Nazis
The end of the war in view…
1944 War turning in favour of Allies
Germans attempt to cover actions
“Death Marches” bringing Jews into camps within Germany to prevent liberation
1945 Nazi Germany collapsed
What happened to the Jews after the Holocaust?
Hundreds of thousands homeless seeking a new life Many wished to return to Palestine (only 10, 000
allowed) Sought remnants of families/fate of family and friends Many started new lives in Britain, U.S., France, Israel, etc.
Canada and The Holocaust Canada’s record of accepting Jewish refugees one of the
poorest 1939 – 1945 – only 5, 000 Jewish immigrants allowed into
Canada, compared to the U.S. – 200, 000 or Britain – 195, 000
Requests previously often denied
Famous QuoteMartin Niemoller 1892 - 1984
“First they came for the Communists, but I was not a Communist, so I did not speak out; they came for the Socialists and the Trade Unionists, but I was not one of them, so I did not speak out; Then they came for the Jews, but I was not Jewish, so I did not speak out. And when they came for me, there was no one left to speak out for me.”