America and the Holocaust.docx

Holocaust

The systematic, state-sponsored persecution and murder of six million Jews by the Nazi regime.

Kristallnacht

The Night of Broken Glass, a pogrom against Jews throughout Nazi Germany on November 9-10, 1938.

Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR)

The 32nd President of the United States, who served from 1933 to 1945 and was known for his strong opposition to Hitler.

Riegner telegram

A telegram sent by Gerhart Riegner that reported on the Nazi plan for the extermination of the Jews.

Final Solution

The Nazi plan for the extermination of the Jews during World War II.

St. Louis

A German ocean liner that famously carried Jewish refugees to Cuba in 1939, but was turned away.

Einsatzgruppen

Nazi mobile killing units responsible for mass shootings of Jews and others behind the front lines in Eastern Europe.

Evian Conference

A 1938 meeting's outcome, which failed to provide solutions for Jewish refugees fleeing Nazi Germany.

Nuremberg Laws

Anti-Semitic laws in Nazi Germany that stripped Jews of their citizenship and civil rights.

Anti-Semitism

Prejudice against, hatred of, or discrimination against Jews.

Raoul Wallenberg

A Swedish diplomat known for saving thousands of Jews in Hungary during the Holocaust.

Concentration Camps

Facilities established by the Nazis to detain and kill Jews and other persecuted groups.

Zionism

A nationalist movement among the Jewish people to establish a homeland in the land of Israel.

War Refugee Board

A U.S. agency established in 1944 to assist in the rescue of Jews and other victims of the Nazis.

Ardennes Counteroffensive

A major German offensive campaign launched through the Ardennes region in December 1944.

Assimilation

The process by which individuals or groups adopt the culture of another group, often losing their original identity.

Isolationism

A national policy of abstaining from political or economic relations with other countries.

Refugees

People who are forced to leave their country in order to escape war, persecution, or natural disaster.

Propaganda

Information, especially biased or misleading, used to promote a political cause or point of view.

Notorious

Widely and unfavorably known.

Mass Murder

The killing of a large number of individuals in a systematic manner.