Honors Holocaust and Genocide MP 2

Holocaust

• The systematic murder of the Jews, disabled, Jehova’s witnesses, Gypsies, and other undesirables, by the nazis from 1933 to 1945, killing about 11-20 million people through high and low tech means. This genocide aimed not only to exterminate these groups but also to instill fear and assert the Nazi ideology of racial superiority.

SHOAH

• Hebrew word for the destruction and is used to describe the Jewish experience during the Holocaust.

Treaty of Versailles

• Punished Germany extremely heavily. This treaty is often cited as a contributing factor to the rise of extremist ideologies in Germany, leading to the conditions that facilitated the Holocaust.

• The US did help create the treaty, but did not sign

• Reduction of military

• Lost territory

• African colonies taken

• Pay 33 billion dollars in reperations

• Reduction in armaments

Weimar Republic

• The leader of Germany flees when realizing Germany is losing the war, resulting in the German citizens deciding the outcome.

• This republic was Germany’s first democratic government

NSDAP

• National Socialist German Workers Party.

• The Germany Party was worried about it so they sent hitler as a spy

• Impressed by the German Nationalism and anti-semitism, Hitler finds himself a member and eventually becomes the Minister of Propaganda, before raising to head of the group.

Adolf Hitler

• Leader of the NSDAP, rose to power through his impressive oratory skills, embracing German nationalism and anti-Semitism; eventually became Chancellor and ruled with totalitarian methods.

• Hitler was a spellbinding speaker, who attracted Germans who wanted change.

• In 1932, the Nazis were able to secure 33% of the vote. 2 Million less than July 1932.

• Jan 30, 1933, President Paul Von Hindenburg appoints Hitler Chancellor of Germany.

Beer Hall Putsch

• Plotted to seize control of Bavaria, in effort to lead a revolution against The Wimar Republic.

• He storms a beer hall and took over.

• Hitler left to deal with other issues, which ultimately led to the failure of the coup and his arrest shortly thereafter.

• 2500-3000 followers stormed the city the next day. Blocked by police, 4 officers were killed and 16 Nazis were killed.

Mein Kampf

• German for “My struggle”

• Hitler wrote the book while in jail for treason where he lays out his plans for Germany and beyond.

• The book outlines his ideology, including ideas about race, anti-Semitism, and the need for Lebensraum (living space) which became central to Nazi policy.

Third Reich

• The Third Reich refers to the period of Nazi rule in Germany from 1933 to 1945 under Adolf Hitler.

• It was characterized by totalitarianism, strict censorship, and oppressive state controls over all aspects of life.

• Hitler aimed to expand Germany's territory, asserting notions of racial superiority, and establishing a totalitarian regime.

Reichstag Fire

• On Feb 27, 1933 the German Parliament buliding burns down due to Arson.

• Hitler and the NSDAP blame it on the Communists in an effort to overthrow the government.

• Decree for the Protection of the German People (Feb 4). Hitler restricted the press and authorized the police to ban political meetings and marches. Meant to be temporary.

• The Nazis use the fire to push for more extreme measures and convince President von Hindenburg they are necessary.

Reichstag Fire Decree

• Suspended individual rights and due process of law.

• Permitted the regime to arrest and incarcerate political opponents without specific charge, dissole political organizations, and suppress publications.

• Gave the central government the authority to overrule state and local laws and overthrow state and local governments.

• Key step in the establishment of the Nazi Dictatorship.

• Germany became a police state in which citizens enjoyed no garanteed basic rights and the SS. The elite guard of the Nazi state, weilded increasing authority through its control over the police.

Enabling Act

• AKA Law to Remedy the Distress of the People and Reich, March 24, 1933.

• Became the cornerstone of Hitler’s dictatorship by allowing him to enact laws, including ones that violated the Weimar Constitution,w tihout approval of either parliament or Reich President von Hindenburg.

• Needed 2/3rds majority bote. Prevented all communists and 26 of 120 social democrats from achieving office.

• Posted SS and SA officers in chambers to intimidating the remaining representatives.

• Only Social Democrats voted against it.

• Supreme Court did nothing to challenge legitimacy.

Eugenics

• The science of improving human population by controlled breeding to increase the occurence of desirable heritable characteristics.

• Created by Francis Galtin, 1883

• Utilized in the early 20th century to justify forced sterilizations and discriminatory laws against marginalized groups.

Nuremberg Laws

• Aimed to create a "master race," these laws laid the groundwork for systematic persecution and genocide during World War II.

• Defined who was a Jew, and who was not.

Mischlinge

• Individuals of mixed Jewish and non-Jewish ancestry, often facing discrimination and legal restrictions under the Nuremberg Laws.

Evian Conference

• Meeting of world leaders (29 countries) from July 6 to 15, 1938.

• What do we do about the Jewish Refugee problem?

• U.S. Said quotas could not be discussed; Britain said Palestine could not be discussed

• Dominical Republic takes the most.

• Other countries take about 100,000.

Kristallnacht

• Night of Broken Glass.

• Nov 9 to 10, 1938, used to commemorate anniversary of the Beer Hall Putsch.

• Pogrom where Germans vandalized and destroyed Jewsih businesses, synagogues, schools, and homes.

• Enacted by Nazi Party Officials, SA, and Hitler Youth.

• 100 Jews died, thousands were sent to camps/arrested.

Hitler Youth

• Was a paramilitary organization for German youth aged 10 to 18, established in 1922 under the control of the Nazi Party.

• Aimed to indoctrinate young people with Nazi ideology, promoting loyalty to Hitler, military training, and anti-Semitism.

• Activities included outdoor activities, rallies, and community service, all designed to prepare youth for future roles in the German military and society aligned with Nazi principles.

Propaganda

• Ideas, information, and other material made to win people over to a doctrine.

• The Nazis used films, posters, pictures speeches, pamphlets, post cards, political cartoons, and other information as propaganda to get people to support their party.

T4 Program

• A government-sanctioned initiative that aimed to systematically exterminate individuals deemed "unworthy of life," including the disabled and mentally ill, under the guise of public health.

Homosexuals

• Also targeted by the Nazis, as they were considered a threat to the Aryan ideal and the traditional family structure, leading to their persecution and imprisonment in concentration camps.

• Berlin: The original LBGT sanctuary, known for their clubs and magazines

• After the Great Depression and Hitler’s rise to power, Berlin’s LBGT golden era ends.

Paragraph 175

• A provision in German law that criminalized male homosexual acts, leading to the persecution of gay men in Nazi Germany.

• After the Nazis came to power, enforcement of Paragraph 175 intensified, resulting in thousands of arrests, imprisonment, and deportation to concentration camps.

Jehovah’s Witnesses

• Subjected to intense persecution under the Nazis

• Nazis targeted Jehovah’s Witnesses because they were unwilling to accept the authority of the state, because of their international connections.

• Purple triangles were used to mark Jehovah’s Witnesses.

• Hitler attempted to create a new religion with Hitler as the divine being.

Poles and Slavs

• Considered racially inferior by the Nazis, leading to widespread persecution during the Holocaust.

• Millions of people were killed or deported to concentration camps, and the cultural and societal structures of Polish communities were systematically dismantled.

• The massacres carried out by Einsatzgruppen (mobile killing units) targeted not only Jewish populations but also Polish citizens, aiming to create a racially pure society in Nazi-occupied territories.

Communists

• Persecuted by the Nazis along with Jews and other marginalized groups, particularly after the Reichstag Fire in February 1933, which the Nazis blamed on them.

• The Reichstag Fire Decree allowed for the arrest of Communists without specific charges and effectively dissolved their political organizations.

• The Enabling Act of March 1933 further marginalized Communists, preventing their participation in government.

• Many were imprisoned, sent to concentration camps, or executed, which contributed to establishing the Nazi totalitarian state.

Gypsies

• Gypsies, also known as Romani people, were considered racially inferior by the Nazis and faced widespread persecution during the Holocaust.

• An estimated 220,000 to 1.5 million Gypsies were killed as part of this systematic genocide, often subjected to deportation to concentration camps and harsh living conditions.

Blacks

• Blacks were among the marginalized groups targeted by the Nazi regime, suffering from racial discrimination and persecution.

• The Nazis defined racial purity in ways that included their ideology against those who were not of 'Nordic' descent, which led to the oppression of Black Germans and other Black individuals in occupied territories.

• Some Black individuals were subjected to forced sterilizations and were imprisoned in concentration camps under Nazi racial policies.

Soviet POWs

• Soviet POWs faced extreme persecution during the Holocaust, with many subjected to inhumane living conditions, forced labor, and executions by Nazi forces.

• An estimated 3 million Soviet POWs died due to starvation, disease, and execution as part of the Nazis' broader genocidal policies against perceived enemies of the Reich.

Jewish Victims

• Jewish people were systematically targeted and murdered by the Nazis during the Holocaust, with an estimated 6 million Jews killed in the genocide.

• During the Holocaust, Jews were subjected to brutal conditions in ghettos, concentration camps, and extermination camps, where they faced starvation, forced labor, and mass executions.

• The Holocaust aimed not only to exterminate the Jewish population but also to instill fear and assert Nazi ideology of racial superiority.

Shtetl

• Jewish communities in the outskirts of towns where everything a Jew needed, was there. They were niches, carved out for Jewish people due to discrimination and oppression.

• These shtetls served as a semblance of cultural identity and community, providing a supportive environment amidst widespread anti-Semitism.

Collaborators

• Other countries and people who helped carry out the Holocaust.

• Italy, Austria, Norway, Police officers, etc.

Perpetrators

• Ones who carried out the Holocaust.

• SS, SA, Soldiers.

Bystanders

• Those who watch what the Nazis did and did not speak out/do nothing.

• Ex: Ordinary German citizens.

Rescuers

• Those that risk their lives to save Jews.

• Ex: Miep Gies, Danish fishermen, Schindler, etc.

Liberators

• Those that freed the Jews/Countries from the Nazis.

• Ex: Allied powers.

Resistors

• Those who fought back against the Nazis.

• Ex: French, Dutch underground, White rose movement.

Heinrich Himmler

• One of the leading figures in the Nazi Party and served as the head of the SS, which was responsible for many of the regime's atrocities during the Holocaust.

• He played a key role in the implementation of the Holocaust, overseeing the concentration and extermination camps where millions of Jews and other targeted groups were.

Josef Goebbels

• Minister of Propaganda in Nazi Germany, responsible for controlling and disseminating information that promoted Nazi ideaology.

• He utilized various media forms, including newspapers, films, and radio broadcasts, to manipulate public opinion and create anti-Semetic sentiments.

Hermann Goering

• A leading member of the Nazi Party and one of Hitler's closest associates, he played a significant role in the establishment of the Gestapo and oversaw the Luftwaffe, the German air force.

Ernst Rohm

• A prominent figure in the Nazi Parrty and the leader of the SA, the party’s paramilitary wing.

• He played an important role in the early years of the Nazi regime, advocating for radical and social reforms, and supported Hitler’s rise to power.

• Rohm’s increasing power and influence led to conflict with other leaders in the Nazi Party, particularly with Heinrich Himmler and the SS, culminating in his execution during the Night of the Long Knives in 1934.

Reinhard Heydrich

• One of the main architects of the Holocaust, he was a high-ranking official in the SS and played a key role in organizing the logistics of the mass extermination of Jews and other targeted groups.

• Heydrich was instrumental in the implementation of the Final Solution and chaired the Wannsee Conference in 1942, where plans for the genocide were formalized.

Josef Mengele

• Infamous for his inhumane medical experiments on concentration camp inmates, particularly at Auschwitz, Mengele's actions exemplified the brutal disregard for human life that characterized the Nazi regime.

Degenerate Art

• Refers to artwork that the Nazi regime deemed "unacceptable" or "undesirable" as it did not conform to Nazi ideals of beauty and Aryanism.

• The Nazi Party organized the Degenerate Art Exhibition in 1937 to showcase and ridicule modern art styles, including Expressionism, Dada, and Surrealism, labeling them as corrupt or Jewish influences.

• Artists such as Pablo Picasso, Vincent van Gogh, and Paul Klee were condemned; many works were confiscated or destroyed, and artists faced persecution.

Pure Art

• Artwork that conformed to their ideals of beauty, promoting Aryanism and traditional values.

• The regime celebrated classical themes, realism, and works that depicted heroic, idealized figures, often emphasizing themes of nationalism and racial superiority.

Ghetto

• Temporary stopping points where the Nazis dehumanized Jews before killing them.

• Never meant to be permanent.

Judenrat

• Jewish councils established by the Nazi regime in occupied territories, tasked with administering Nazi orders within Jewish communities.

• Functioned to enforce Nazi policies, including the registration of Jews and the organization of deportations to concentration camps, often facing moral conflicts and dire consequences for non-compliance.

Concentration Camp

• Facilities used by the Nazi regime to detain and persecute political opponents, Jews, and other marginalized groups.

• These camps were characterized by overcrowding, inhumane living conditions, forced labor, and high mortality rates due to starvation, disease, and executions.

• Example: Auschwitz-Birkenau was one of the largest and most infamous concentration and extermination camps, where over a million Jews were murdered during the Holocaust.

Extermination Camp

• Facilities specifically designed for the systematic murder of Jews and other targeted groups as part of the Holocaust.

• They operated under the guise of labor camps but were primarily focused on mass killings through gas chambers and other brutal methods.

• One of the most infamous examples of an extermination camp is Auschwitz-Birkenau, where over a million Jews were murdered.

Dachau

• Initially established as a concentration camp, it later became a model for other camps and was notorious for its inhumane conditions and forced labor.