Transcript The Holocaust, 1939 – 1945

Genocide = the elimination of an
entire population, based upon their
common identity (i.e. race, ethnicity,
religion)
The “Final Solution” = Hitler's plan to
specifically exterminate all Jews from
Europe.
Holocaust victims:
Approximately 6 million Jews (out of a European
population of 9 million Jews)
AND
Another 5 million+ persons from assorted other groups:
- Communists, socialists, political opponents
- Slavs (Poles, Russians, other eastern Europeans)
- Gypsies (Roma)
- Jehovah's Witnesses
- homosexuals
- mentally & physically disabled (including German
citizens)
Over 11 million civilians systematically murdered
The Holocaust, 1939 – 1945
Poland is divided into East & West
by the Molotov-Ribbentrop line
(Non-Aggression Pact).
WESTERN POLAND:
• 1939-1941: Jews are rounded up
into urban ghettos, many starve or
die of disease.
• Jan, 1942: Wannsee Conference
results in decision for more rapid
extermination using death camps.
• 1942-1945: Jews are “relocated” to
labor & death camps.
EASTERN POLAND & USSR:
• 1941-1944: Small towns & villages
are emptied of Jewish population,
marched outside of town, stripped
naked, and die in mass shootings
into mass graves. Ghettos later
established in larger cities, w/
eventual deportations.
Upon arrival at concentration camps... the “selection”:
Those well enough to work were assigned to be slave
laborers, and were slowly worked & starved to death.
The old, young (under 15), and sick were immediately
sent to gas chambers to be murdered.
Genocide: the systematic elimination of a particular group of people
(usually of a specific ethnic identity).
Examples of genocide in the 20th and 21st Centuries
1915 – 1918
Armenian Genocide (Turkey)
1932 – 1933
deaths
Ukrainian forced famine
1938 – 1945 Holocaust
million deaths
est. 1 million deaths
est. 7 million
est. 11
1975 – 1979
Cambodian “Killing Fields”
est. 2 million deaths
1994
Rwanda
est. 800,000 deaths
1992 – 1995
Bosnia
est. 200,000 deaths
2003 – 2010
Darfur (western Sudan)
est. 330,000
If you lived in Nazi-occupied Europe in the early
1940’s, which of the following would you have been:
bystander, collaborator, or dissenter? Why?
Guilt,
Morality,
Reward
Punishment
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
COLLABORATOR
BYSTANDER
DISSENTER
Contributing Factors of the Holocaust:
Demagoguery: an inspirational, charismatic speaker
that plays on the fears and prejudices of the public
(i.e. economic depression, humiliation of Treaty of
Versailles)
→ appeals to emotion & prejudices, not intellect.
→ offers overly simple answers to complicated problems
→ offers hope and a sense of security in exchange for
loyalty
→ effective use of PROPAGANDA
Jingoism:
ultra-nationalistic pride, blind loyalty; provides
cover for dominant ethnic group to marginalize
minority groups (“you're not like us”)
Concentrated Power (Autocracy!):
too much control in the hands of too few
(dictatorship); no separation of powers or
checks & balances
Fear & Coercion:
dissenters are threatened by lost rights,
imprisonment, death (SS, Gestapo)
Ethnocentrism & Racism:
Marginalizing subgroups; different = “inferior”; exclude from
any political or economic power & targeted for abuse
Economic Desperation:
Too much competition for scarce resources or employment
opportunities, results in majority excluding minority groups.
Scapegoating:
Falsely assign blame for problems to a minority group (Jews)
Dehumanize Others:
Justify abuse of scapegoated group by denying them their
humanity; treat people as animals.
Incremental approach:
Discriminate → Segregate → Exterminate:
treatment of scapegoated group gets
gradually worse over time, small changes
get less notice than big changes.
Denial + Apathy:
act as if atrocities against scapegoated
group are not as bad as they are, or are not
happening at all. Internationally: “not my
problem”. “Not aware or don’t care”.
Review:
→ Demagoguery
→ Economic desperation & competition
→ Ethnocentrism & Racism
→ Scapegoating
→ Dehumanize others
→ Jingoism
→ Autocracy
→ Fear & Coercion
→ Incremental approach
→ Denial, Apathy
Pride
Ignorance
Greed
HOW TO PREVENT FASCISM… AND GENOCIDE:
CREATE AND PROTECT A STRONG, DEMOCRATIC CONSTITUTION:
- CHECKS AND BALANCES & SEPARATION OF POWERS (NO AUTOCRACY!)
- FREE SPEECH, ASSOCIATION, PETITIONING
(BASIC RIGHTS OF 1ST AMENDMENT)
- EQUAL PROTECTION UNDER THE LAW FOR ALL CITIZENS (14TH)
EMBRACE & SUPPORT LIFELONG EDUCATION
- READ! A LOT! (multiple, independent sources)
- THINK CRITICALLY, ASK CHALLENGING QUESTIONS
- RECOGNIZE PROPAGANDA AND DEMAGOGUERY
CIVIC ENGAGEMENT & ACTIVISM: SPEAK, WRITE, COMMUNICATE, VOTE,
AGITATE, DEMONSTRATE… HOLD ELECTED OFFICIALS ACCOUNTABLE
DEMAND ECONOMIC LAWS AND REGULATIONS THAT STRIVE FOR A
BALANCED & SUSTAINABLE ECONOMY!
How can YOU stop genocide that is already occurring?
Seek out and share AWARENESS & INFORMATION
(you can’t care unless you’re aware)
Pressure political leaders with letters, phone calls, petitions
VOTE… MINDFULLY
Participate in a public demonstration
Donate to a charitable organization whose mission is to stop or
prevent genocide
Kick those responsible in the wallet:
- Boycott nations and businesses that are associated (directly or
indirectly) with genocide
- DIVEST your money from nations and businesses associated
(directly or indirectly) with genocide
First they came for the communists, and I did not
speak out - because I was not a communist;
Then they came for the socialists, and I did not
speak out - because I was not a socialist;
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not
speak out - because I was not a trade unionist;
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out
- because I was not a Jew;
Then they came for me - and there was no one left to
speak out for me.
- Martin Niemöller (1892-1984)
(German Lutheran pastor, pacifist)