Holocaust - Core Information

Judaism

The religious faith of people who call themselves Jewish, intertwined with cultural values, nationhood, and ethnicity.

Judaism as a religion

A monotheistic religion, one of the oldest in the world, with beliefs found in the Old Testament.

Torah

The main book of scripture for Jewish people.

Shabbat/Sabbath

The Jewish day of rest when believers are not supposed to do any work.

Gentiles

Non-Jews who can convert to Judaism.

Secular Jews

Jewish people who follow customs and traditions without feeling the need for faith.

Nazi Racial Theory

Pseudo-science that falsely claimed races have special skills or deficits and that some races were naturally better than others.

Nazi view of Jewishness

The Nazi belief that Jewishness was an inferior and dangerous race that corrupted German purity.

Anti Semitism

Prejudice against, or hatred of Jews.

Diaspora

Leaving Israel because of invaders and the spreading throughout the world

Pogroms

Organised massacre of particular ethnic group, in particular that of Jewish people

How were Jews affected by these debates?

Anti semitism grew in Europe, eventually leading to the attempt to exterminate all of the Jews in Europe as Nazis would answer the phrase of “The Final Solution to the Jewish Question”

What global event in 1929 contributed to the rise of Nazism?

The Great Depression

What was the failed 1923 attempt by Hitler to seize power called?

The Munich Putsch.

What book did Hitler write while in prison?

Mein Kampf (“My Struggle”)

How did Hitler plan to gain power after his release from prison?

By gaining votes to get himself and the Nazi Party into power.

How were the Nazis viewed during the 1920s?

As a small, extremist fringe party with anti-communist and anti-Semitic views

What caused many Germans to turn to Hitler and the Nazis during the Great Depression?

Mass unemployment, poverty, and a desire for strong leadership during the Great Depression

Who did Hitler blame for Germany’s problems?

Jewish people

How did Hitler spread his message across Germany?

By flying across Germany and using the radio.

When did Hitler write Mein Kampf and why was he in prison?

He wrote it during his 9-month prison sentence in 1923–1924 for an attempted violent takeover of the government.

What topics did Hitler cover in Mein Kampf?

Germany’s problems, other countries, war, nationalism, and race.

How was Mein Kampf received initially?

It sold poorly at first and was not taken seriously.

What was Hitler’s belief about race?

He believed the Aryan race was superior and called it the “Master Race.”

How did Hitler describe Jews?

As “untermenschen,” meaning subhuman.

How did Hitler’s view of Jews as subhuman contribute to historical events?

It laid the ideological groundwork for the Holocaust and the genocide of Jews.

What was “lebensraum” and how did it influence Hitler’s actions?

Lebensraum means “living space”; Hitler believed Germany should expand eastward to take land from “inferior” races.

When did the Nazis come to power in Germany?

1933

What happened to Jews after the Nazis took power in 1933?

They were stripped of their rights and citizenship, and violence against them increased.

What actions did the SA take against Jewish businesses in 1933?

They encouraged boycotts and painted anti-Semitic slogans on store windows.

What was Kristallnacht and when did it happen?

A violent night in November 1938 when synagogues were burned, Jewish shops were vandalized, and nearly 100 Jews were killed; also called the Night of Broken Glass.

What was the “Law for the Protection of German Blood and German Honour”?

A 1935 law that defined Jews by ancestry and forbade marriage or sexual relations between Jews and Aryans.

How was a Jew defined under Nazi racial laws?

As a person with three or four Jewish grandparents.

What professions were Jews banned from between 1935 and 1940?

Army, veterinarians, tax advisors, government school workers, auctioneers, doctors for Aryans, university students and lecturers.

What changes were forced on Jewish identity and documents?

They had to add “Israel” or “Sara” to their names, and have a large ‘J’ on their passports.

What personal restrictions were placed on Jews under Nazi rule?

They were banned from owning weapons, moving freely, having pigeons, owning cars or licenses, having phones or radios, visiting spas, and buying lottery tickets.

Why were Jews banned from owning weapons, radios, and other personal freedoms in Nazi Germany?

To isolate, control, and dehumanise them, making it harder for them to resist, communicate, or be seen as part of normal German society. These restrictions aimed to remove Jews from public life and prepare the population to accept their persecution.

What is Auschwitz most commonly associated with?

Gas chambers and mass extermination of Jews during the Holocaust.

What other purpose did Auschwitz and similar camps serve besides extermination?

They were also forced labor camps (Arbeitslager) for the Nazi war effort.

What types of work were prisoners forced to do in labor camps?

Clothes making, armaments production, and industrial labor in forests, mines, and caves.

What was the meaning of the sign “Arbeit macht frei” at some camp entrances?

“Work will make you free”, a phrase intended as propaganda

What does “extermination through labour” mean?

Prisoners were worked to death through starvation, beatings, and exhaustion.

What role did slave labor play in the Holocaust?

It was one of the methods used to exterminate Jews, contributing to the six million deaths.

What percentage of the German workforce was made up of Jewish slave laborers during the war?

Up to 1/5 (20%).

How many companies are estimated to have profited from slave labor during the Holocaust?

Over 2,000 companies, including Volkswagen, Philips, and the Ford Motor Company.

What major event occurred after Hitler took over Poland in 1939?

He launched an invasion of Western Europe in 1940, conquering most of it.

What was Hitler’s goal after conquering Western Europe?

To pursue lebensraum, “living space”, by expanding eastward for German colonisation.

Which country did the Nazis invade in 1941?

The Soviet Union (USSR)

What were Hitler’s plans for the people in the USSR and other Slavic nations?

To forcibly starve millions and replace them with German settlers.

What happened during the early part of the Nazi invasion of the USSR in 1941?

Hitler’s armies captured large areas of Soviet territory.

Was Hitler ultimately successful in defeating the Soviet Union?

No, he failed to defeat the USSR

What groups suffered the most under Nazi occupation in the East?

Jews and Roma (Gypsies), due to Nazi racial ideology.

Which countries had large Jewish populations that were devastated by the Nazi invasion?

Poland, Ukraine, Russia, and Hungary.

What was the impact of the Nazi invasion on centuries-old Jewish communities in Eastern Europe?

Most were destroyed and never recovered.

What were the Einsatzgruppen?

Paramilitary Nazi killing squads tasked with following the army into Eastern Europe to murder groups deemed undesirable.

Who were initially targeted by the Einsatzgruppen?

Communists, Polish intellectuals, and male Jews.

What did the Einsatzgruppen later become responsible for?

The complete extermination of Jewish populations, including women and children.

What does the term “Judenfrei” mean?

“Free of Jews”, used to describe areas cleared of Jewish people.

What does “Judenrein” mean?

“Clean of Jews” – a term used by Nazis to describe areas that had been ethnically cleansed.

How were early killings by the Einsatzgruppen carried out?

Through mass shootings over pits or in secluded areas.

Why did the Nazis begin using gas vans instead of mass shootings?

Shooting unarmed women and children was seen as too psychologically stressful for the executioners.

How did the gas vans work?

Victims were locked inside and suffocated by poisonous exhaust pumped into the van.

Why were gas vans unpopular with German officers?

It took up to 20 minutes for victims to die, and their screams could be heard by the drivers.

How many Jews were killed by the Einsatzgruppen?

Approximately 1.3 million, about one quarter of all Jewish Holocaust victims.

What is the Holocaust more commonly remembered for, despite the Einsatzgruppen’s role?

Concentration camps like Auschwitz and extermination sites like Treblinka.

What does “SS” stand for, and when was it created?

SS stands for Schutzstaffel (Protection Squad), and it was created by Hitler in 1925.

How large did the SS grow by World War II?

From about 300 members to over a million men.

From about 300 members to over a million men.

Security, military operations, executions, and running concentration/extermination camps.

Who was the leader of the SS?

Heinrich Himmler, a fanatical Nazi and former chicken farmer.

What beliefs did Heinrich Himmler hold about race?

He truly believed in Nazi racial theory and the need for racial purity of the German (Aryan) race.

What special practices did Himmler promote within the SS to enforce racial purity?

He encouraged SS men to breed with “pure” Aryan women and created SS rituals and mythology around blood and race.

What was the name given to the extermination camps controlled by Himmler?

Aktion Reinhard camps

What disturbing event caused Himmler to change the method of killing Jews?

He witnessed the shooting of 100 Jews in Minsk and was horrified when blood and brain matter splattered on his uniform.

Why did Himmler seek a “more humane” method of killing?

He was concerned about the psychological toll on the killers, not the victims.

What method of mass killing did Himmler implement after Minsk?

Use of gas chambers with Zyklon B at Auschwitz to kill thousands of Jews per day.

What were the “benefits” of gas chambers from the Nazis’ perspective?

Gas chambers allowed for the mass killing of victims with greater speed, efficiency, and less emotional impact on the executioners. They also concealed the brutality of the murders better than shootings.