Introduction to the Holocaust (Deck 1)

What was the Holocaust?

The systematic, state-sponsored murder of approximately six million European Jews by Nazi Germany and its collaborators between 1933 and 1945.

What was antisemitism?

Prejudice, hostility or discrimination directed against Jewish people.

How did the Nazis use antisemitism?

They blamed Jews for Germany's defeat in World War I and its economic problems.

How did Jewish persecution initially begin?

Through exclusion from employment, education and public life before escalating to mass murder.

When did Hitler become Chancellor of Germany?

1933.

What were the Nuremberg Laws?

Laws introduced in 1935 that stripped Jews of citizenship rights and restricted their rights.

What was Kristallnacht?

A Nazi-organised pogrom against Jewish people and their property on 9–10 November 1938.

How many synagogues were burned during Kristallnacht, according to the notes?

More than 1,400.

How many Jewish men were arrested during Kristallnacht, according to the notes?

Approximately 26,000.

What financial penalty was imposed on German Jews after Kristallnacht?

A collective 'atonement payment' of one billion Reichsmarks.

What were ghettos?

Enclosed urban areas where Jews were forcibly concentrated in overcrowded and disease-ridden conditions.

Approximately how many Jews were murdered through mass shootings and gas vans?

About two million; this is an estimate.

What were the five major Nazi killing centres listed in the notes?

Chełmno, Bełżec, Sobibór, Treblinka and Auschwitz-Birkenau.

Approximately how many people were murdered at the five major killing centres listed in the notes?

About 2.7 million.

Which other groups were persecuted or targeted by the Nazis?

Roma, disabled people, political opponents, Jehovah's Witnesses, Soviet POWs, Polish civilians and gay men.

What does state-sponsored persecution mean?

Persecution organised, supported or carried out by a government.

What was the overall consequence of the Holocaust for European Jewry?

Approximately six million Jewish people were murdered.