Victims There were 11-12 million victims of the Holocaust, including Jews, Gypsies, political...
If you can't read please download the document
Victims There were 11-12 million victims of the Holocaust, including Jews, Gypsies, political prisoners, Jehovah Witnesses, and homosexuals. “Not every
Victims There were 11-12 million victims of the Holocaust,
including Jews, Gypsies, political prisoners, Jehovah Witnesses,
and homosexuals. Not every victim was Jewish, but every Jew was a
victim. Elie Wiesel
Slide 3
Anti-Jewish attitudes deeply rooted in European Christian
culture and society. Jews historically charged with the crime of
deicide (murder of God). All measures taken by the Nazis against
the Jews had precursors in European history (badges, ghettos,
restrictive laws, etc).
Slide 4
Only a modern state could carry out murder on such a scale
bureaucratic organization, mass communication/propaganda, and
modern technology (e.g. railroads, mass communications) To carry
out the transport and murder of millions took significant
organization and involved many government agencies and tens of
thousands of workers
Slide 5
The Nazis came to power in January 1933. The systematic murder
of Jews didnt begin until 1941. The Holocaust was preceded by
government policies designed to isolate the Jews and condition the
population to accept anti- Jewish policies.
Slide 6
Anti-Jewish Legislation (1933-1935) (a) Boycott of Jewish
businesses in Germany (April 1, 1933) (b) Nuremberg Laws (1935)
stripped Jews of rights of citizenship and barred Jews from
education, professions, and public spaces (parks, pools, theatres,
etc). Jews disappeared from German public life.
Slide 7
Persecution (1938-39) *Kristallnacht (November 1938) Anti-
Jewish pogrom orchestrated by Nazis *Expulsion: Germany attempted
to expel many Jews from the Reich. Few nations would accept Jewish
refugees. Think of the St. Louis and Canadas dismal record
Slide 8
Slide 9
Ghettoization The German invasion of Poland in September 1939
brought millions of Jews under German control in an area called the
General Government. Jewish ghettos, reminiscent of the Middle Ages,
were established. Jews were segregated in ghettos were they were
systematically starved and exploited as slave labour.
Slide 10
Slide 11
Slide 12
The Final Solution began with the invasion of Russia in June
1941 Nearly 2 million Jews murdered by Einsatzgruppen (special
action units) Method of killing (mass shooting) deemed too slow and
difficult for killers
Slide 13
Wannsee Conference (Jan 1942) SS leaders (under Heydrich and
Eichmann) met in Berlin to confirm plans for final solution to the
Jewish question. Extermination camps (1941-1944) Millions of Jews
killed at Auschwitz, Belzec, Chelmno, Majdanek, Sobibor and
Treblinka.
Slide 14
During Passover 1943, the surviving Jews in the Warsaw Ghetto
revolted. They held off the Nazis for nearly three weeks before
they were subdued.
Slide 15
Slide 16
How come the Jews didnt resist? Warsaw Ghetto Uprising (1943)
Revolt of the Sonderkommando at Auschwitz (1944) Sobibor Uprising
(1943)
Slide 17
There was little support in the larger community. Jews were
deceived about their fate. Nazi retaliation threatened the entire
community. Family members protected each other. Dehumanization of
victims diminished capacity to resist.
Slide 18
The Jewish experience with persecution conditioned Jews to
accept their fate. The concept of the total annihilation of the
Jewish communities of Europe was inconceivable to the victims.
Slide 19
How was it possible for the world to stand by without stopping
this destruction?
Slide 20
From 1935 until the outbreak of war, many Jews tried to leave
the Reich (Germany and Austria), but found few nations willing to
take them. Why? Economies suffering by depression had little
capacity to absorb refugees. Anti-Jewish attitudes pervasive among
world leaders and among larger populations
Slide 21
Of all the nations of the western world, Canadas response was
the most dismal. Between 1933 and 1946, Canada admitted only 5,000
Jewish refugees, fewer than Cuba, Paraguay and the Dominican
Republic.
Slide 22
Perpetrators Where they monsters or ordinary people? The sad
truth is that few individuals resisted orders to kill Jews. Stanley
Milgrim Obedience Bystanders By far the largest group in Europe
were bystanders. To varying degrees they knew what was taking
place, but did nothing. Rescuers Despite grave risk to themselves
and their families, some individuals and communities rescued
Jews.