Untitled Flashcards Set

🌍 Nazi Ideology & Anti-Semitism

Q: What was Hitler's ultimate goal for Nazi Germany?
A: To create a "New Order" with more living space ("Lebensraum") for Aryan Germans, dominate Europe, and eliminate "inferior" races.

Q: What did Hitler believe about races?
A: He believed in a racial hierarchy with Aryan Germans at the top; Jews were seen as a parasitic race, not just a religion.

Q: How did Hitler misuse Darwin’s theory?
A: He twisted “survival of the fittest” to justify eliminating races he saw as weak or inferior.

Q: Why were Jews targeted by the Nazis?
A: They were blamed for Germany’s loss in WW1, and accused of controlling both capitalism and communism.

🚀 Nazi Rise to Power

Q: When did Hitler become Chancellor of Germany?
A: 1933.

Q: What did the Enabling Act do?
A: Gave Hitler total power, essentially turning Germany into a dictatorship.

Q: What helped the Nazis rise to power?
A: - Treaty of Versailles (humiliation)

• Weimar Republic instability

• Hyperinflation & Great Depression

• Fear of communism

• Use of propaganda, fear, and violence

📜 Nuremberg Laws & Kristallnacht

Q: What were the Nuremberg Laws?
A: 1935 laws that stripped Jews of citizenship and banned them from voting, marrying non-Jews, working in civil service, and more.

Q: Why were the Nuremberg Laws significant?
A: They legally excluded Jews and laid the foundation for later genocide.

Q: What was Kristallnacht and when did it happen?
A: A violent, state-organised pogrom on Jewish homes, synagogues, and businesses on 9–10 Nov 1938.

Q: What triggered Kristallnacht?
A: The assassination of a German diplomat by a Jewish teenager in Paris (used as an excuse by Nazis).

🏚 Ghettoisation (1939–1940)

Q: Why were ghettos created?
A: As a temporary solution to isolate Jews, control them, steal assets, and let them die slowly from poor conditions.

Q: What were living conditions like in the ghettos?
A: Overcrowded, unsanitary, with starvation, disease, and no education allowed.

Q: What was the largest ghetto?
A: The Warsaw Ghetto (400,000 people in 1.3 square miles).

Q: How did children survive in the ghettos?
A: Some smuggled food from outside, risking death if caught.

🔫 Einsatzgruppen Period (1940–41)

Q: What were the Einsatzgruppen?
A: Nazi mobile killing units that followed the army to kill Jews and other “undesirables.”

Q: Who were their main targets?
A: Jews, Romani, communists, priests, politicians, and intellectuals.

Q: Why were Einsatzgruppen used?
A: They didn’t need gas chambers, were mobile, fast, and could kill efficiently.

Q: What was their process?
A: Round up victims → Dig graves or use existing pits → Strip them → Shoot them at the edge of the pit.

Q: What was the scale of death from the Einsatzgruppen?
A: Around 1.5–2 million Jews were killed by shooting in Eastern Europe.

Q: What happened in Lithuania after the Einsatzgruppen?
A: Of 250k Jews pre-invasion, only 40k remained by Nov 1941.