DISCRIMINATION AND GENOCIDE

LEARNING GOALS

  • Content Aims:

    1. I can identify and describe the four stages of genocide:

      • Discrimination

      • Isolation

      • Dislocation

      • Elimination

    2. I can explain the historical roots of antisemitism and analyze how the Nazis used the concepts of Volksgemeinschaft and the Nuremberg Racial Laws of 1935 to dehumanize and isolate the Jewish community.

    3. I can explain how the state-sponsored violence of Kristallnacht acted as a final warning for Jewish people to flee Germany and describe the physical and legal barriers that left them trapped.

  • Language Aims:

    • I can define and correctly use key historical terms in English such as:

      • Genocide: The intent to systematically eliminate a racial, ethnic, religious, cultural, or national group.

      • Dehumanization

      • Scapegoat

      • Antisemitism

GENOCIDE

  • Definition of genocide: The intent to systematically eliminate a racial, ethnic, religious, cultural, or national group.

Four Stages of Genocide

  • Discrimination: Visual distinction between 'us' and 'them.'

  • Isolation: Enlarges the difference between 'us' and 'them.'

    • Involves dehumanization and the breaking of all social ties.

  • Dislocation: Involves physical displacement (e.g., raids, ghettos, deportations).

  • Elimination: Systematic and intentional extermination of unwanted minorities.

LEBENSBORN PROGRAM

  • Overview:

    • The Lebensborn program was initiated by the SS in late 1935.

    • Objective: To promote the growth of Germany’s “healthy” Aryan population.

  • Methods:

    • Select individuals with Aryan characteristics to reproduce.

    • Focus on eugenics.

    • Abduct children with Aryan characteristics from Eastern Europe.

    • Implement euthanasia programs.

ANTISEMITISM

  • Quote from Hitler's Mein Kampf (1924):

    • “There are peoples who understand the art of penetrating other peoples… These peoples do not have their own habitat… This applies especially to the people who, especially today, are so parasitic that the whole of honest humanity suffers from it: Judaism.”

ISOLATION OF JEWS

Timeline of Events

  • April 1933: Jews working for the government and in education were dismissed.

  • 1935: Nuremberg Laws enacted.

    • German Jews lost their rights as citizens.

    • Jews prohibited from voting and intermarriage.

  • 1938: Jews banned from most public facilities.

  • November 1938: Kristallnacht—mass destruction of Jewish homes, synagogues, and shops.

  • 1941: All Jews in the Reich ages six and up had to wear a yellow Star of David marked with the word 'Jude.'

  • 1939 Onwards: Formation of Jewish ghettos.

DEHUMANIZATION

  • Visual Reference: The Eternal Jew (1940) - Film available on YouTube.

NUREMBERG LAWS

Classification System

  • Components of the Nuremberg Laws: Defined various classifications of ‘blood’ and their rights to marry and citizenship.

    1. Deutschblütiger: German-blooded, marriage allowed.

    2. Mischling ersten Grades: First degree mixed-race (1/2 Jewish), marriage restricted and allowed only with approval.

    3. Mischling zweiten Grades: Second degree mixed-race, marriage forbidden.

    4. Jude: A person belonging to the Jewish race, not permitted Reich citizenship.

  • Key Dates:

    • 15 September 1935: Reich Citizenship Law implemented.

    • 11 November 1935: First decree on its execution.

    • Additional decrees regarding Jewish ancestry and their classification.

KRISTALLNACHT

  • Definition: Pogroms: Organized violent gatherings or attacks against one ethnic or religious group, particularly Jews.

  • Outcome: Widespread destruction blamed on the Jewish community.

HOLOCAUST

  • Description: Systematic, state-sponsored persecution and murder of six million European Jews by the Nazi regime and its collaborators from 1933 to 1945.

  • Foundation of Antisemitism: Hatred and prejudice against Jews was integral to Nazi ideology and widespread across Europe.

Key Facts

  1. Nazi persecution of Jews evolved from 1933 to 1945, culminating in the mass murder of six million Jews.

  2. During WWII, around two-thirds of European Jews were killed through various methods:

    • Brutal living conditions

    • Mass shootings

    • Gassings in extermination camps

GHETTOS

Types of Ghettos

  1. Closed Ghettos: Situations primarily in German-occupied Poland and the Soviet Union; enclosed by walls or barbed wire fences.

  2. Open Ghettos: No physical barriers but restricted access.

  3. Destruction Ghettos: Tightly sealed off, lasting for 2-6 weeks before mass deportation or extermination of the Jewish populations concentrated in them.

NAZI HUMAN EXPERIMENTATION

  • Joseph Mengele: Known as ‘The Angel of Death,’ conducted experiments on concentration camp prisoners involving:

    • Mass sterilization

    • Testing of drugs and weaponry

    • Known for his experiments on twins.

WANSEE CONFERENCE

  • Date: 20 January 1942.

  • Purpose: Establishing lines for practical implementation of the 'Final Solution' to the 'Jewish question.'

POST WW2

Human Rights Focus

  • Post-war era concerned with human rights and independence during the Cold War.

  • Importance of addressing human rights for minorities and refugees.

  • (In)dependence challenges faced by countries in the Third World such as Cuba and Vietnam.

NUREMBERG TRIALS

Significance

  • Established international justice post WWII: critical for holding war criminals accountable.

  • Charged with war crimes, genocide, and crimes against humanity.

Major Charges

  1. Crimes against peace.

  2. War crimes.

  3. Crimes against humanity.

Notable Sentences

  • Goering: Death by hanging.

  • Ribbentrop: Death by hanging.

  • Others received life sentences or were acquitted.

THE UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS (UDHR)

  • Adopted in 1948, asserting the inherent dignity and rights of all individuals.

Key Articles

  1. Article I: All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.

  2. Article II: Everyone is entitled to rights and freedoms without distinctions of any kind.

  3. Article III: Right to life, liberty, and security of person.

CONCLUSION

  • Eleanor Roosevelt played a significant role in drafting the UDHR, emphasizing rights and freedoms crucial for peace.

  • Advocated for the protection of human rights post-WWII to prevent future atrocities.