Transcript The Holocaust

The Holocaust
Some people & information to know
Why were Germans so upset?

The Treaty of Versailles, which ended
WWI, was harsh to Germany
– War Guilt Clause: accept total blame for the war
– Pay reparations to Allied governments for all damages
to the countries & people
– Reduce the German Army to 100,000 men
– Reduce the Navy & eliminate the Air Force
– Territories of Alsace & Lorraine were returned to
France
Why were Germans so upset?
In the early 1920’s inflation ran wild as the
German gov’t continued to print money to
pay workers salaries
 In 1924, with the help of the Dawes Plan,
the U.S. gave Germany a $200 million loan
 From 1924-1929 the situation improved as
the U.S. heavily invested in Europe

Inflation Run Wild!
The Great Depression
What began as a U.S. problem quickly
became a worldwide problem
 American investment was fueling the
rebuilding economies of Europe
 When our depression began, the problem
spread across the Atlantic
 In Germany 4.38 million people were
unemployed in 1930

Adolf Hitler
Developed his ideas of
anti-Semitism & German
nationalism in Austria
 Served 4 years in the
German Army in WWI
 Jailed in 1923 for staging
an uprising against the
gov’t
 Became the leader of the
Nazi party in the
Reichstag after his
release from prision

Why did people follow?

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Germany’s economic
woes
Promised to create a New
Germany
Appealed to Germans:
– National Pride
– National Honor
– Traditional militarism

Elected Chancellor of
Germany on March 23,
1933
Meet the Evil Men Behind Hitler

Joseph Goebbels
– Propaganda minister
– Known as one of the
Nazi’s most devout
anti-Semites
– Viciously attacked
Jews at every
opportunity
– Also in charge of
German civilian morale
during the war
Nazi Propaganda
Meet the Evil Men Behind Hitler

Heinrich Himmler
– One of the most
powerful men in Nazi
Germany
– Bears a great burden
of responsibility for the
Holocaust
– In charge of the SS,
concentration &
extermination camps,
and the death squads
The SS & Einsatzgruppen
Meet the Evil Men Behind Hitler

Reinhard Heydrich
– Chaired the Wannsee
Conference where the
“Final Solution” was
developed
– Organized Kristallnacht
– Known as “The man
with the iron heart”
– One of the most
powerful Nazis
The Final Solution
The “Final solution to the Jewish problem”
was agreed upon at the Wannsee
Convention in 1942.
 The “Solution” was to deport and
exterminate all Jews in German controlled
territory.
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Map of the Camps