Transcript The Holocaust

Between 1933 and 1945 10-11 million people
(Jews and others) were persecuted and
murdered as a result of the events leading
up to World War ll.
2/3 of all the Jews in Europe
and eastern Russia had been
eliminated.
What was The Holocaust?
 “Holocaust” actually means:
 “a sacrifice consumed by fire”
 But nowadays it refers to -
 the mass slaughter of European
civilians, especially Jews, by the Nazis
during World War II
How could something like this
happen?
World War 1
-
1914-1919
• Germany was defeated in World
War 1.
The German people were forced to pay for
the damage they had caused and to take
the blame for World War 1.
*The country fell into a
depression.
*There was a lot of
unemployment.
*The German money was
worthless. The people were poor
and desperate for change.
A young man in the German army
worked his way up in leadership.
His name was Adolf Hitler.
• Hitler was a powerful speaker!
He was very dramatic and
theatrical in his speeches.
• Over a few years Hitler gained
a lot of support for his party
from the German people.
• In 1933 Adolf Hitler became
Chancellor of Germany.
(president)
• Hitler and the Nazis army used
bullying and fear to gain
control of both the government
and the German people.
*
In 1933 the first concentration
camp opened. Anyone who opposed
Hitler or the Nazis were arrested and
taken to concentration camps. There
they were worked to death, were
beaten, or killed.
* Hitler was a racist. He
believed there should be a
“master” race of physically fit,
“racially pure” people.
*In order to make room for
superior white people those who
were “inferior” had to be
removed.
Who were sent to
concentration camps?
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
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Jews
Homosexuals
Gypsies
The Disabled
Slavic Peoples
Jehovah’s Witnesses
* Hitler and other Nazi leaders
considered the Jewish people particular
danger to the Germans.
* He said it was the Jews who were
responsible for all the problems that
existed in their society.
Hitler
“Once I really am in
power, my first and
foremost task will be the
annihilation of the
Jews…until all Germany
has been completely
cleansed of Jews.”
-Adolf Hitler, 1922
As time went by Jews were
arrested…
…forbidden to own businesses….
.. couldn’t own property…
and weren’t allowed to do their
jobs.
Jews were not allowed to ride
buses, trains, or taxis.
They were forced to wear the
Star of David to identify
themselves.
Jews were forced to leave their homes and
as time went by they were sent to
concentration or death camps.
Concentration Camps
At the camps…
 Prisoners were
forced to do hard
labor
 Prisoners were
starved
 Forced to obey the Nazi’s,
and were murdered if they
disobeyed
 Prisoners had no control of their own lives
 Many prisoners died as a result of incarceration
and maltreatment
How did the prisoners die?
 Gas chambers
 Cremation
 Starvation
 Malnutrition
 Torture
 Death Marches
The Final Numbers  10-11 million prisoners were murdered
 6 million victims were Jews
 Percentages:
 Polish Jews killed: 91%
 German Jews killed: 36%
 Total Jews killed in Europe during World War II: 63%
Video
A video summary of the Holocaust…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9VGU9gMoNSA