Persecution of minorities

Which race did the Nazis believe was superior?

The Aryan race (blonde, blue-eyed).

Why did Nazis believe homosexuals were inferior?

They were a threat to Nazi ideals about family life (e.g. could not have children).

Why were the mentally handicapped persecuted by the Nazis?

They threatened the Nazis’ ideas of creating a perfect race.

What was enforced in families with hereditary illnesses?

Sterilisation (meant they could not have children).

How many men and women were sterilised because they had a hereditary illness?

300,000 between 1934 and 1945.

What was begun in 1939 to deal with severely mentally handicapped children or babies?

A euthanasia programme (i.e. they would be killed).

How would the euthanasia programme kill children/babies?

Either through a lethal injection or by starvation.

How many severely mentally handicapped children or babies were killed between 1939 and 1941?

Approximately 5,000.

What happened to mentally ill patients between 1939 and 1941?

They were gassed.

How many mentally ill patients were killed between 1939 and 1941?

72,000.

Why did the extermination of mentally ill patients stop in 1941?

There was a public outcry.

How many gypsies were killed under the Nazis?

5 in every 6 (or over 80%).

What were ‘asocials’?

People who did not fit into society. For example: alcoholics, homosexuals, the homeless, prostitutes, beggars.