WWII & the Holocaust UnitClass Novel: Night by Elie Wiesel

8th grade English

2

Germany

Is blamed

Loss of German nationalism/ trust in government

Puts Germany in economic despair

Forced to pay losses

3

World War II

•Nazi Party formed•“German Superiority” preached•1933 Hitler appointed dictator of Germany

4

World War II 1939-1945

Hitler’s Rise to Power:

• Hitler ignores WWI Peace Treaties

• Hitler ignores Great Britain’s threats

• Germany invades Poland

• Great Britain declares war Sept. 3, 1939

• “Blitzkrieg” sweeps Europe

5

How does the picture below relate Hitler’s level of power?

6

World War II 1939-1945

The Allies –vs.- The Axis Powers

1939

• Axis Powers: Germany, Italy, & Japan

• Allied Powers: Great Britain, France, & China

7

World War II 1939-1945

U.S. Enters WWII:

• 1941 Japan bombs Pearl Harbor

• U.S. joins WWII on side of Allies

8

What prompted Japan to bomb Pearl Harbor?What was the effect of this surprise attack?

9

World War II 1939-1945

Hitler Strikes out at Jews:

• Hitler & Nazis attempt genocide, targeting European Jews (Holocaust)

• Ghettos• Deportations to death camps• The “Final Solution”• The Holocaust claims the lives of over 6 million

Jews» Visit The Holocaust Museum

10

SELECTIONSELECTIONWhat happened to those who were

“selected” & those who were not?

11

Q: What happened to those who were “selected” and those who were not?

A: Those who were “selected” were chosen for death. Death meant being thrown into burning crematories, or being shot execution style, or being sent to “the showers,” which were actually gas chambers.

Those who were not chosen were kept on work camps as slave labor. Many died anyway of starvation & other diseases.

12

Hitlercommitssuicide

April 30, 1945

Germanysurrenders8 days later

Japanfightson!

U.S. dropsatomic bombson Japanese

cities Hiroshima& Nagasaki

Aug. 6 & 9, 1945

Japansurrenders

Sept. 2, 1945

Sequence of Events Leading to the end of WWII: