Transcript 7.4

* 7.4
*Summarize the economic, humanitarian, and diplomatic
effects of WWII, including the end of the Great Depression,
the Holocaust, the war crimes trials, and the creation of
Israel.
*Introduction to the Holocaust
****German action against the Jews was part of the Nazi
propaganda machine and was based on both Social
Darwinism and longstanding prejudice against the Jews.
****Anti-Semitism- became the official policy of the
German government in the early 1930’s with the
Nuremburg Laws, which restricted the rights of Jews in
Germany and culminated in the Holocaust.
****Hitler made an effort to rid Europe of its entire Jewish
population.
****The program of genocide carried out by the German
government resulted in the deaths of 6 million Jews and
5.5 million others. (handicapped, mentally ill, etc.)
* Nuremburg Laws-
***At first, the Nazis just wanted all Jews to leave
Germany
***As their conquered more of Europe,
they ran into the same Jews
* The Final Solution-
The result was the Holocaust
Death Camps were built all over Europe (mostly in the
east) to exterminate Jews, gays, Jehovah Witnesses,
opponents, etc.
The physically and mentally ill were also killed
*The Allied Response
*Before the end of the war, the response of the
United States and its allies was severely limited.
*Although passage of the Nuremburg laws and
organized attacks on Jews such as Kristalnacht were
widely reported, little action was taken by the world
community to stop the Nazi’s.
*Immigration laws were not eased to grant asylum to
the Jews seeking to leave Germany.
*No military action was taken to stop the shipment of
Jews to the death camps.
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****As the war ended the death camps of Final Solution
horrified the soldiers who liberated these death camps and
the public.
****The allies responded to the war crimes committed by
Hitler and the German Nazi’s by identifying war criminals
and putting them on public trial.
****Nuremburg War Crime Trials- 24 Nazi officers and
civilians were charged with crimes against humanity.
*Although many pleaded that they were “just following
orders,” the conviction and death sentences of 12 Nazis
demonstrated that individuals are responsible for their
own actions.
*The Nuremburg Trials established a precedent for future
trials on war crimes.
*The trials have not brought an end to genocide.
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*The Establishment of the state of Israel
after the war, the prompt recognition
by the United States of Israel and the
U.S.’s continuing support of Israel in
the Middle East are a result of the
impact of German war crimes on the
conscience of the world and the United
States.