The Holocaust

Learn about the Holocaust: Hitler, Nazi Party, persecution, and resistance.

Hitler and the Nazi Party Hitler gains support in the Nazi Party by attacking the hated Treaty of VersaillesBlames Germany’s problems on Jews and foreign powersAppointed Chancellor of Germany in 1933Transforms the Weimar Republic into the Third Reich, a total dictatorship Germany under Nazi Rule Hitler wanted to create a “master race” where Aryan people would be considered a pure race and superior to other peopleAnti-Semitism or prejudice against Jews had been around for centuries Nazi Leaders Dr. Joseph Goebbelswas the head of the Nazi Propaganda Ministry and controlled all communicationsEncouraged book burning to eliminate other ideasHeinrich Himmler led the SS – the Nazi’s secret policeFormed death squads known as the EinsatzgruppenOne of the architects of the Holocaust and deathAdolf Eichmann helped to organize the HolocaustWas in charge of transporting Jews from ghettos to concentration camps The Nuremberg Laws Passed in 1935Said anyone with any Jewish blood would be considered a JewFurther restrictions were placed and persecution of the Jews increased Kristallnacht Kristallnacht -“Night of Broken Glass” took place November 1938.Jewish stores, houses, and synagogues were systematically destroyedMarks the beginning of widespread government-led violence against Jews Jews In Germany Jewish Registry created where all people with Jewish ancestry had to register with the governmentJews had to wear the Star of David badge everywhere the wentForced to live in isolated ghettos The Final Solution Plan developed in 1942 to eliminate all Jews from EuropeJewish people from across Europe were taken to concentration campsIn the camps they were used for hard labor or killed The Camps Many could better be classified as extermination camps - set up to kill a mass number of Jewish peopleDr. Josef Mengele carried out experiments on Jewish people at Auschwitz Rescue and Resistance Underground resistance movements were formed to assist Jews in escapingThe residents of Le Chambon-sur-Lignon - a village in the south of France helped thousands of Jews escape to freedomWarsawGhetto Uprising - April 19, 1943750 Jews were able to hold off German soldiers to avoid being taken to the concentration campsEventually lost the battle – 7,000 were killed and 56,000 were deported.The “White Rose” resistance group distributed anti-Nazi pamphletsLed by students Sophie and Hans SchollCaught by German authorities and killed in 1942 The Liberation of the Camps Allied forces reach camps starting in summer 1944Soviet forces liberate Auschwitz and camps in Poland and Eastern GermanyAmerican forces liberate Buchenwald and camps in the west The Nuremberg Trials As the war ended, many top Nazis committed suicide22 major Nazi criminals were tried for their crimes in NurembergMost claimed to be “just following orders”12 were sentenced to deathSome escaped to South America where they hid for years