Persecution of minorities

Which race did the Nazis believe was superior?

A

The Aryan race (blonde, blue eyed)

2

Q

Why did Nazis believe homosexuals were inferior?

A

They were a threat to Nazi ideals about family life (e.g. could not have children)

3

Q

Why were the mentally handicapped persecuted by the Nazis?

A

They threatened the Nazis’ ideas of creating a perfect race

4

Q

What was enforced in families with hereditary illnesses (i.e. an illness that is passed on genetically)?

A

Sterilisation (meant they could not have children)

5

Q

How many men and women were sterilised because they had a hereditary illness?

A

300,000 between 1934 and 1945

6

Q

What was begun in 1939 to deal with severely mentally handicapped children or babies?

A

A euthanasia programme (i.e. they would be killed)

7

Q

How would the euthanasia programme kill children/babies?

A

Either through a lethal injection or by starvation

8

Q

How many severely mentally handicapped children or babies were killed between 1939 and 1941?

A

Approximately 5,000

9

Q

What happened to mentally ill patients between 1939 and 1941?

A

They were gassed

10

Q

How many mentally ill patients were killed between 1939 and 1941?

A

72,000

11

Q

Why did the extermination of mentally ill patients stop in 1941?

A

There was a public outcry

12

Q

How many gypsies were killed under the Nazis?

A

5 in every 6 (or over 80%)

13

Q

What were ‘asocials’?

A

People who did not fit into society. For example:

• alcoholics

• homosexuals

• the homeless

• prostitutes

• beggars