Holocaust Vocab

Antisemitism

Hostility, prejudice, or discrimination against Jewish people. Antisemitism has existed for centuries and played a central role in Nazi ideology, leading to the Holocaust.

The Protocols of the Elders of Zion

A fabricated antisemitic text that falsely claimed Jewish leaders were conspiring to dominate the world. The Nazis and other antisemitic groups used it as propaganda to justify discrimination and violence against Jews.

Nuremberg Laws (1935)

A series of racist laws passed in Nazi Germany that stripped Jews of citizenship, banned marriage and sexual relations between Jews and non-Jews, and severely restricted Jewish rights. These laws were a major step in the Nazis' systematic persecution of Jewish people.

Kristallnacht ("Night of Broken Glass") (November 9-10, 1938)

A violent pogrom against Jews across Germany and Austria, during which synagogues, businesses, and homes were destroyed. Thousands of Jewish people were arrested and sent to concentration camps, marking an escalation of Nazi persecution.

Lebensraum ("Living Space")

A Nazi ideological concept that justified German territorial expansion, particularly into Eastern Europe. Hitler used this idea to justify the invasion of Poland and the Soviet Union, leading to mass displacement and genocide.

Pogrom

A violent, organized attack on a Jewish community. Pogroms occurred throughout European history, including during the Holocaust, when Nazis and collaborators carried out mass killings and destruction of Jewish property.

Dachau

The first Nazi concentration camp, established in 1933. Initially used for political prisoners, it later became a site for forced labor, medical experiments, and mass executions. It became a model for other concentration camps.

Joseph Goebbels

The Nazi Minister of Propaganda, responsible for spreading antisemitic rhetoric and Nazi ideology through newspapers, films, speeches, and rallies. He played a key role in shaping public perception and encouraging hatred toward Jews.

Gestapo ("Geheime Staatspolizei")

The Nazi secret police, known for brutal tactics and the suppression of political opposition. The Gestapo helped enforce Nazi racial laws, track down Jews, and facilitate deportations to concentration camps.

Heinrich Himmler and the Schutzstaffel (SS)

Himmler was the leader of the SS (Schutzstaffel), the Nazi paramilitary organization responsible for implementing the Holocaust. The SS ran concentration and extermination camps, orchestrated mass shootings, and carried out the Final Solution.

Evian Conference (1938)

An international meeting held in France to discuss the growing refugee crisis of Jews fleeing Nazi persecution. Most countries, including the U.S. and Britain, refused to accept significant numbers of Jewish refugees, leaving them trapped in Nazi-controlled Europe.

T4 Program ("Aktion T4")

A Nazi program that systematically murdered people with disabilities, mental illnesses, and other conditions deemed "unworthy of life." This program served as a precursor to the mass killings of Jews in extermination camps.

Einsatzgruppen

Mobile SS killing squads that followed the German army into Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union, conducting mass shootings of Jews, Romani people, and other groups. They played a major role in early Holocaust killings before the establishment of extermination camps.

Lodz Ghetto

One of the largest Jewish ghettos in Nazi-occupied Poland. It was a forced-labor camp where Jews lived in horrific conditions before being deported to extermination camps, primarily Auschwitz and Chelmno.

Auschwitz-Birkenau

The largest Nazi concentration and extermination camp, where over one million people, mostly Jews, were murdered. Victims were killed in gas chambers, subjected to forced labor, and endured inhumane medical experiments.

Final Solution

The Nazi plan for the complete extermination of the Jewish people. Formally decided at the Wannsee Conference in 1942, this policy led to the mass deportation of Jews to extermination camps like Auschwitz, Treblinka, and Sobibor.

Night and Fog Order ("Nacht und Nebel")

A secret Nazi directive issued in 1941 that authorized the abduction and disappearance of political opponents and resistance fighters in occupied territories. Many victims were sent to concentration camps or executed.

Chelmno

The first Nazi extermination camp, established in 1941 in occupied Poland. Victims, mostly Jews and Romani people, were murdered in gas vans using carbon monoxide. Chelmno served as a model for later extermination camps.

Wannsee Conference (1942)

A secret meeting of high-ranking Nazi officials in Berlin, where they formally coordinated the implementation of the Final Solution—the systematic genocide of European Jews.

Hitler Youth ("Hitlerjugend")

A Nazi youth organization that indoctrinated German children with Nazi ideology, militarism, and antisemitism. Boys were trained for future service in the military and SS, while girls were prepared for roles as mothers and homemakers in Hitler's vision of a racially "pure" Germany.