WHY STUDY THE HOLOCAUST AND GENOCIDE? -...
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World War II THE HOLOCAUST
Transcript of WHY STUDY THE HOLOCAUST AND GENOCIDE? -...
World War II
THE HOLOCAUST
NAZI GERMANY EXPANSION
GenocideThe deliberate mass murder or physical extermination of a particular racial, political, or cultural group.
NAZIS AND JEWSNuremberg Laws (1935)
Defined who was a Jew, stripped Jews of civil rights, forbade marriages of Germans and Jews
Survivor Testimony – Edward Adler – Dating
Identified by Star of David armbands and identification cards
VIDEO – Schindler’s List 1
“Undesirables”Gypsies, disabled, homosexuals, minority religious groups
KRISTALLNACHT (1938)
“Night of Broken Glass”Destructive rampage
Nazis burned synagogues and over 7,000 Jewish businesses
At least 30,000 Jewish males arrested and sent to labor camps
Johanna Gerechter Neumann - Kristallnacht
Continued Restriction of Jewish LifeBarred from public transportation
Barred from public places such as schools and hospitals
Prohibited from owning, managing, working in any retail store
Johanna Gerechter Neumann - Name Change
EMIGRATION AND THE U.S.
Leave the Country!SS encouraged emigration
Those who left were lucky…
Why would most stay?
Other Countries’ Response?Worried about flood of immigrants
Indifference to the Jewish plight
“…the road to Auschwitz was built by hate, but paved with indifference.”
Ian Kershaw, Popular Opinion and Political Dissent in the Third Reich
THE ESCALATION OF TREATMENT
Moved to the GhettosPart of a city where members of a
minority group live
Living conditions were terrible
VIDEO – Schindler’s List 2
Leo Schneiderman - Ghetto Conditions
Moved to Concentration/Labor CampsLiquidation of the ghettos
Lucine Horn
VIDEO – Schindler’s List 3
Murray Pantirer - Oskar Schindler
Death Squads
CONCENTRATION CAMPS
ArrivalEdward Adler - Arrival at the CampShaved, cleaned, clothed, and tattooed
Work LoadEdward Adler - Labor
Living ConditionsMalnutritionAbuseLabor itself…
WANNSEE CONFERENCE AND THE FINAL SOLUTION
Process Taking Too LongOnly killed 1 million Jews
Containment no longer an option
The Wannsee ConferenceCalled by Reinhard Heydrich
“The Final Solution”The mass murder and extermination of the Jews and all undesirables
AUSCHWITZ (AUSCHWITZ-BIRKENAU)
NAZIS and MEDICINE
Medical ProceduresJosef Mengele – “The Angel of Death”Twin experiments, transplants, genetic mutationFurther the “perfect” Aryan genetics
NAZIS AND MEDICINE
Medical ProceduresFurther the “perfect” Aryan genetics
Josef Mengele“The Angel of Death” – Main “doctor” at Auschwitz-BirkenauTwin experiments, transplants, genetic mutationTwin Testimony
KILLING METHODS“Euphemisms of Death”
Carbon Monoxide GasDeath Vans
Gas ChambersSam Itzkowitz - The Gas ChambersZyklon B Gas
Shootings/Hangings
DECEPTION
"On behalf of the camp administration I bid you welcome. This is not a holiday resort but a labor camp. Just as our soldiers risk their lives at the front to gain victory for the Third Reich, you will have to work here for the welfare of a new Europe. How you tackle this task is entirely up to you. The chance is there for every one of you. We shall look after your health, and we shall also offer you well-paid work. After the war we shall assess everyone according to his merits and treat him accordingly."
"Now, would you please all get undressed. Hang your clothes on the hooks we have provided and please remember your number [of the hook]. When you've had your bath there will be a bowl of soup and coffee or tea for all. Oh yes, before I forget, after your bath, please have ready your certificates, diplomas, school reports and any other documents so that we can employ everybody according to his or her training and ability."
"Would diabetics who are not allowed sugar report to staff on duty after their baths".
Speech given by Obersturmführer Franz Hössler to a group of Greek Jews in the undressing room shortly before the group was led into the gas chamber to be killed
GAS CHAMBERS AND OVENS
RESISTANCE
Results:
Approximately 6 million Jews killed
90% of the Jewish populations in the were killed
Responsible for the death of nearly 2 out of every 3 European Jew
Non-Jewish Peoples - 9 to 10 million
The Shoah – “total destruction”
SOME SAID THE HOLOCAUST NEVER HAPPENED…
During World War IAllies greatly exaggerated German atrocities
Exaggeration perhaps?
IndifferenceWorried about ending the war instead
Did not care about the Jewish hardships
