The Holocaust

Adolf Hitler

b. April 20, 1889 d. April 30, 1945 Braunau, Austria Parents: Alois and

Klara

Adolf Hitler

Close with his mom, didn’t get along with his dad

Trouble at school, expelled for constant skipping, only liked art

Wanted to be an artist, his dad wanted him to be a civil servant

Vienna Academy of Art Interview, portfolio

Adolf Hitler

Adolf Hitler

Interview = Portfolio = Great landscapes and technical drawings,

but lacked the ability to draw the human figure well.

Hitler is encouraged to apply for architecture school, but rejected from the academy.

Hitler

Probably already anti-Semitic, but this may have been a turning point (majority of people on committee were Jews)

Flop house, street painter Mother gets sick, dies from cancer before

he can get home (mother’s dr was a Jew)

Hitler

WWI breaks out; joins German army Hitler was a runner; very dangerous Wounded in a poison gas attack Hospitalized; shocked to find out

Germany has lostBlamed Communists for Germany’s

defeat --- Karl Marx – a German Jew

Hitler as a dispatch runner in WWI

Hitler’s Rise to Power

1919 – Hitler joins and becomes leader of the NAZI party – National Socialist German Workers

1923- Hitler announces the NAZIs will take over the government, arrested for treasonSentenced to 7 years, but only serves 9

monthsWrites Mein Kampf – My Struggle

Hitler named Chancellor

President Hindenberg names Hitler Chancellor in 1933 – pressured by NAZIsHindenberg dies in 1934

The Reichstag (Congress) turns over legislative power to Hitler.

Once in power, Hitler now creates a totalitarian state. Germany - dictatorship

The Third Reich Hitler – popular, promised economic

recovery and delivered. Massive public works program gave people jobs.1920: $1=40 German marks1922: $1 = 18,000 marks1923: $1 = 4.2 trillion marks

SS – Schutzstaffel- elite black-uniformed troops

Gestapo – secret police

The Holocaust Begins… 1933

23 March – Dachau opens – first concentration camp (and the largest) {Image shows Dachau being liberated by US troops.}

193314 July – Law to Prevent Offspring with

Hereditary Defects (T-2 Program) Mental/physical handicaps Milder cases – sterilized More severe – euthanized Propaganda – “life without existence” Protests by mothers/women caused Hitler

to mostly stop this programAll political parties outlawed except Nazi party

Nuremberg Laws - 1935

Jews are declared non-Germans; prohibited from:

Marrying/procreating with Germans Attending/teaching at German schools Holding govt. jobs Practicing law or medicine Publishing books Many Jews fled (Albert Einstein)

Physical Traits of Aryans v. Jews

Ideal Aryan traits Blue eyes, blond hair, light complexion, tall and

athletic, angular features Blue eyes were most important

Jewish traits Brown eyes, dark hair, large forehead, rounded

face, dark complexion

1936Jehovah’s Witnesses were rounded up (wouldn’t

swear allegiance to Hitler)

19387 Nov – Grynszpan kills von Rath in Paris

Herschel Grynszpan (17 yrs old); in school in FranceGerman Jew – found out that his family was being

deported to Poland. Shoots the German ambassador to France – von Rath.

This event triggers worst violence yet back in Germany.

19389-10 Nov – Kristallnacht – “night of broken glass”

Reaction to the killing of von RathNazis attacked Jewish homes, businesses,

and synagogues in GermanyJewish business owners had to pay for

repairs; police looked the other wayResistant Jews were sent to DachauEmigration increased, but most countries

denied Jewish refugees.

19391 Sept – WWII begins when Germany invades

Poland

194027 April – Auschwitz opened

Highest # of deaths Selection process; healthiest were chosen

for work; the weak were gassed

1941Germany invades the Soviet Union (USSR)Einsatzgruppen

Mobile killing unitsBabi Yar – natural ravine

Lined victims up, shot them, and let them fall in

Probably killed over 30,000 here

Josef Mengele

Josef Mengele, German physician and SS captain. In 1943, he was named SS garrison physician (Standortartz) of Auschwitz. In that capacity, he was responsible for the differentiation and selection of those fit to work and those destined for gassing. Mengele also carried out human experiments on camp inmates,

especially twins.