Transcript The World War II Holocaust, Europe, 1942

The Holocaust
Background Information
Respond…
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Civilized people cannot imagine,
much less predict, the action of evil
people.
-Unknown
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After World War I, Germany was devastated. Unemployment
was high, many people were living in poverty, and there was a
lot of damage to the cities. The government was unable to
turn things around and German citizens were desperate for
help.
Adolf Hitler took advantage of this situation. He was a brilliant
speaker and he used manipulation and propaganda
(information that is spread for the purpose of promoting some
cause) in order to rise to power.
Once in power, Hitler played on many of the German’s
prejudices (an attitude toward a person/group of people
without adequate information) and used Jewish people as a
scapegoat (an innocent person blamed for the problems of
others). He blamed them for all of Germany’s problems.
Hitler used this as an excuse to “exterminate” Jews, and many
non-Jewish Germans allowed it to happen because they wanted
to believe that Hitler was the “hero” that would save them from
their desperate situations.
The Holocaust, Europe, 1939-45
The Holocaust was the systematic, bureaucratic, state-sponsored
persecution and murder of approximately six million Jews by the Nazi
regime and its collaborators;
“Holocaust” is a word of Greek
origin meaning “sacrifice by fire”;
The Nazis, who came to power in
Germany in January 1933, believed
that Germans were “racially superior”
and that the Jews, deemed “inferior”,
were an alien threat to the so-called
German racial community…
[Topic 03: Genocide & Global Inaction]
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Holocaust video clips
Respond…
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Without a dictionary, develop your own
definition of evil:
Respond…
Using your definition of evil, rank the following actions.
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1= the most evil
8 = the least
not standing up for someone who is being harmed
killing someone during a heated crime of passion
breaking the law
spreading lies to damage someone’s character
jealousy
killing someone on accident
ridiculing someone because he/she is different
killing someone because of hatred
Here’s what’s scary…the Holocaust
isn’t the only genocide in history…
Gen•o•cide
The systematic and planned extermination of an entire
national, racial, political, or ethnic group.
Infamous Genocides
The Herero Genocide, Namibia, 1904-05
Death toll: 60,000 (3/4 of the population)
The East Timor Genocide, E. Timor, 1975- 1999
Death toll: 120,000 (20% of the population)
The Armenian Genocide, Ottoman Emp., 1915-23
Death toll: Up to 1.5 million
The Mayan Genocide, Guatemala, 1981-83
Death toll: Tens of thousands
The Ukrainian Famine, 1932-1933
Death toll: 7 million
Iraq, 1988
Death toll: 50,000-100,000
The Nanking Massacre, 1937-1938
Death toll: 300,000 (50% of the pop)
The Bosnian Genocide, Bosnia, 1991-1995
Death toll: 8,000
The World War II Holocaust, Europe, 1942-45
Death toll: 6 million Jews, and millions of others
The Rwandan Genocide, Rwanda, 1994
Death toll: 800,000
The Cambodian Genocide, 1975-79
Death toll: 2 million
The Darfur Genocide, Sudan , 2003-present
Death toll: Debated. 500,000?
Stages of genocide
1.
Classification
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2.
Symbolization
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3.
Required wearing of yellow star
Dehumanization
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4.
Distinguish by nationality, ethnicity, race, or religion
Hate propaganda in speeches, print and on hate radio vilify the
victim group
Dehumanization justifies murder by calling it “ethnic cleansing,”
or “purification”, such euphemisms hide the horror of mass
murder
Organization
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Plans are made by elites for a “final solution” of genocidal killings
Stages of genocide
5.
Polarization
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6.
Preparation
1.
2.
3.
7.
Victims are separated because of their ethnic or religious identity…
Weapons for killing are stock-piled
Extermination camps are built
Extermination
1.
8.
Laws are passed that forbid intermarriage or social interaction
Political moderates are silenced, threatened and intimidated, and
killed…
Attacks are staged and blamed on targeted groups
Extermination begins, and becomes the mass killing legally called
“genocide”
Denial
1.
Destroy the evidence
Respond…
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In situations of conflict, people can be
classified as perpetrators, rescuers,
bystanders and victims. It is estimated
that the category of “bystanders” contains
far more than all the other categories
combined. Why do you believe the
bystander category so large? On the
contrary, the “rescuer” category contains
the fewest percent. Why do you believe so
few people act as rescuers?
First They Came for the Jews
By Pastor Martin Niemöller
First they came for the Jews
and I did not speak out — because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for the communists
and I did not speak out — because I was not a communist.
Then they came for the trade unionists
and I did not speak out — because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for me —
and by then there was no one left to speak out for me.
Respond…
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It is estimated that during the Holocaust, some
85 percent of non-Jewish Europeans were
bystanders, 10 percent perpetrators and a small
percentage rescuers. What do you think would
have happened during the Holocaust if all of the
bystanders stopped standing by, and actually did
something to stop what was going on around
them—became rescuers? Would it have made a
difference? Would it have stopped 5.75 million
people from being killed? Explain what you
mean.
Respond…
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The potential for evil exists in every
person.
Do you agree or disagree with this
statement? Support your claims.