y9 history

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UNIT 3: THE HOLOCAUST

3.1: Introduction to the Holocaust

Definition of the Holocaust:

The Holocaust was s systematic, state-engineered genocide of Jewish people by Nazi Germany and their supporters, resulting in the murder of approximately six million Jewish people, including one and a half million children.

Pre-war life:

Before the war, the Jewish people lived normally. They don’t all look the same, and most of them came from Poland, which had a population of approximately three million Jews.

3.1.1: Judaism and Shabbat

Judaism:

The central principle of this monotheistic faith is that there is only one God, the all-knowing, all-powerful and ever-present.

• Community is a really big belief when it comes to Judaism, because the Jewish prayer book (Torah) uses ‘we’ and ‘our’

• It involves a lot of home and family gatherings, like Shabbat.

• The respect for parents and grandparents is also very important.

• Prayer traditionally happens thrice a day.

• Prayers must come from the heart

• A place of worship is called a Synagogue

• Judaism is diverse, because some people don’t practice these customs, and still consider themselves Jewish.

Shabbat:

• Shabbat is an important part of Jewish culture

• It happens every week from sunset on Friday to sunset on Saturday

• It’s a day for rest and spiritual enrichment

• Lighting candles symbolises the beginning, wine symbolises joy, and challah (braided bread) is eaten.

3.2: The Nazi Party

Evolution of the Nazi Party:

• The Nazi Party, originally called the German Workers’ Party, was first founded in January 1919 by Anton Drexler, shortly after WWI.

• The party members met weekly in a beer hall in Munich, and advocated a range of extremist ideas.

• One of these ideas was antisemitism (hate towards Jewish people)

• On 24th February 1920, they changed their name to the National Socialist German Workers’ Party (NSDAP), also known as the Nazi Party.

Hitler’s first appearance in the Nazi Party:

• Hitler first joined the Nazi Party in 1919, after attending one of their meetings.

• He was a charismatic speaker, and was soon invited to join the party committee.

• He soon was responsible for recruitment and propaganda.

• He also organised large rallies, where he gave speeches.

• He pushed to make the party a dictatorship, instead of the democratic party it was. The proposal was rejected

• On 11 July 1920, After disagreement about merging with a smaller party, Hitler left the Nazi Party.

• Hitler only said that he would return if he was made chairman of the Nazi Party, with dictatorial rules.

• Realising that they were losing a powerful speaker, Anton Drexler eventually agreed, and made Hitler the chairman.

3.3.1: Dehumanisation and discrimination:

Nazi in power: The Nazi Party and Adolf Hitler gained power in 1933, doing so by promising to revolutionise and restore the best qualities of Germany. By 1934, Germany became a one-party state under Nazi control. Hitler declared himself as not just the chancellor of Germany, but also its Fuhrer.

Nazi beliefs about Jews: They believed that the Germans were part of the Aryan races, which was naturally ‘superior’ in their opinion. Jews were among the groups that Nazis referred to as ‘inferior’. They were determined to create ‘Volksgemeinschaft’, a people’s community.

In his book, ‘Mein Kampf’, Hitler showed the foundation he wanted for the community, based on false myths about race:

“Everything we admire on this earth today—science and art, technology and inventions—is only the creative product of a few peoples and originally perhaps one race [the “Aryans”]. On them depends the existence of this whole culture. If they perish, the beauty of this earth will sink into the grave with them.”

Compared to other ‘inferior’ races, the Nazi considered Jews as an enemy of Germany and Europe. They believed that Jews were the cause of every problem in Germany, and that they were part of an international Jewish conspiracy, which has plans to do something bad to Germany.

Isolating Germany’s Jews: As soon as the Nazis came to power in Germany, antisemitic prosecution began. From 1933-1937, Nazis didn’t use violence, instead isolating Jews from the rest of German society.

Propaganda: Propaganda was used for shaping the beliefs and attitudes of the German public. They did this via many forms, and involved things such as:

• half-truths, or lies

• omitting information selectively

• simplifying complex issues or ideas 

• emotions and advertising a cause 

• attacking opponents 

• targeting desired audiences

COMA framework:

C - Content - what do you see?

O - Origin - where did it come from?

M - Motive - why was this source made?

A - Analysis - what does it tell us about history?

SOURCE ANALYSIS TASK:

C - I see a family of five, with an eagle in the background and German text.

O - This came from the Nazi Party in Germany, in the mid 1930s.

M - They created this to show that the Nazi Party will protect families.

A - The eagle symbolises the Nazi Party, and in the poster, it shows the eagle watching over the family. This shows that one of the target audiences of the Nazi Party’s propaganda is families.

3.3.2: Dehumanisation and discrimination:

Nazi’s belief: The Nazis believed that the Aryan race was the most superior, and that Jews were their “mortal enemies”.

Embodiment: Anti-Jewish Legislation: In the first six years of Adolf Hitler’s dictatorship, Jews gradually felt the restrictions on their everyday lives. The restrictions were gradual, but systematic, and eventually lead to German Jews going from German citizens to residents of Germany.

• 1933-1934: limited participation in public life [public policies]

• 1935: racial theory became law [Nuremberg Laws]

• 1936-1938: increased segregation

Reducing rights: Margaret Lambert

• What rights were taken from Margaret? What was she forced to give up?

  She couldn’t go to public places, she was ignored by her friends, and she couldn’t join sports clubs.

• What did you notice about Margaret’s emotional response when she described the antisemitism she faced? 

  She was upset that her non-Jewish friends couldn’t talk to her, or they would get punished.

• What does Margaret say motivated people to shun Jews after 1933?

  She says that the motivation to shun Jews was from the fact that her friends shouldn’t get into trouble.

Nuremberg Laws:

The Reich Citizenship Law: This defined that a German citizen was someone with “pure German blood”, which means that Jews were considered a separate race, and they had no political power.

The Law for Protection of German Blood and German Honor: This banned “mixed-race” marriages, between Jews and “Pure-blood Germans”, to avoid racial mixes.

Who are Jews? According to Jews and Nazis:

Jews believe that they are born Jews if they had a Jewish mother, or formally converted. They are no longer considered a Jew if they converted to another religion.

For Nazis, however, Jews are always considered Jews, even if they convert to another religion.

Mischling: A part-Jew. Two Jewish grandparents made you a first-degree Mischling, while one Jewish grandparent made you a second-degree Mischling. Due to this, many people who considered themselves ethnically German, and didn’t practice Judaism, were considered ad an inferior race.

Nuremberg Laws activity:

• What is the purpose of this law?

  The purpose of this law is to segregate Jews from “pure-blood” Germans, and further reduce their rights.

• Who benefits from it and who is harmed by it?

  “Pure-blood Germans” are benefited, while Jews and people who are not ethnically German are harmed from it.

• What does the law suggest about who is
  included in Germany’s “national community”?

Identification: Jewish ID cards had a red J stamped on by the government, and people with not so Jewish first names had to change their middle name to Israel for boys, and Sara for girls.

Kristallnacht: This was a violent event, when Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels ordered violence against Jews. Due to this, more than 1600 synagogues and numerous Jewish business throughout Germany were ransacked, and some burnt to the ground. More than 91 Jews were killed, and more than 30,000 Jews were deported to German concentration camps.

Events in chronological order:

• Nazis gaining power in Germany (1933)

• Boycott of Jewish businesses by the Nazis (before 1935)

• Nuremberg laws (1935)

• Jews forced to change middle name (1938)

• Kristallnacht (1938)

• 60% of Jewish population emigrated (1939)

Response: World: Transported thousands of Jewish children secretly into Great Britain from 1938 to 1940. British authorities allowed an unspecified number of Jewish children under 17 years old.

Americans disapproved of what the Nazis were doing to Jews, but they didn’t want more Jewish immigrants.

3.4.1. Murder and Resistance:

Escalation after 1939: In 1939, World War II started in Europe. The beginning was triggered by the aggression of Nazi Germany. The war allowed Nazis to expand their power significantly.

1n 1938 and 1939, Nazi rule was extended over Austria and Czechoslovakia. By late 1939, the Nazis gained control over Western Poland. In 1940, most of Western Europe fell over Nazi rule.

Further victories in 1941 lead to Germany controlling a large section of southeastern Europe, and Eastern Europe, including parts of the Soviet Union.

“Jewish Question”: The “Jewish Question” for Nazis is the belief that the existence of Jews threatened Germany, and must be resolved.

The Nazis pressured Jewish people into emigrating, but with the expansion of the Nazi Party, more Jews were under their control. Poland alone brought 2 million Jews into Nazi rule.

Answer to the “Jewish Question”: After 1939, the Nazis focused on deportation, and the creation of ghettos, and then the Nazis’ commitment to kill all Jews.

Ghettoisation: After the start of WW2, the Nazis used ghettos as a part of resolving the ‘Jewish Question’. Ghettosisation (the creation of ghettos by Nazis and their collaborators) became more common as the war progressed.

3.4.2. Murder and Resistance:

Timeline and phases of the Holocaust: The Holocaust was split into four stages, explained by historian Doris Bergen

Stage 1: The first stage is called the German phase.

• Hitler came to power in 1933, and Germany wasn’t in war until 1939. A lot of effort was taken into segregating Jews, and eventually lead to murder of Jews. A lot of preparations were taken to kill Jews.

KEY EVENTS:
• German Jews and other so-called inferior races and people are isolated from the rest of the population.

• Germany rebuilds military in violation of Treaty of Versailles.

• German government attacks Jewish property and lives on Kristallnacht

• Nazi government prepares German public for war.

Stage 2: The second stage took place from September 1939 to June 1941.

• Consisted of Germany expanding Nazi rule to other European countries. There was lots of killing happening at this time, in lots of parts of Europe. There were ghettos in Poland since 1939.

KEY EVENTS:
• World War II begins with German invasion of Poland.

• Nazi violence expands into Poland and across Europe.

• Nazis establish ghettos and new concentration camps to imprison millions of Jews.

• Einsatzgruppen (mobile killing units) murder millions of Jews and other targeted groups in mass shootings in eastern Europe.

• Germany invades Soviet Union.

Stage 3: The third stage consisted of Jews being sent to concentration camps and put in gas chambers.

• The Jews were sent to concentration camps such as Auschwitz and Treblinka to be killed, and the Nazis became determined to kill Jews.

KEY EVENTS:

• Decision is made by Hitler and his advisors to annihilate all of the Jews in Europe.

• Six killing centers are established, where millions of Jews, Sinti and Roma, and other targeted groups are murdered in gas chambers. The most infamous killing center is Auschwitz.

Stage 4: The final stage consisted of the Death Marches.

• The Soviets helped the concentration camps to be liberated and closed, and the prisoners were forced to march from Eastern Europe to Germany.

KEY EVENTS:

• As Germany is losing the war, and the Soviets are pushing the German military west, killing centers and camps are closed or liberated.

• Nazis force prisoners from camps to march from eastern Europe toward Germany. Hundreds of thousands die along the way.

The “Final Solution”: This was believed to be the solution to the “Jewish Question”

They made torture methods for Jews, such as gas vehicles that can kill Jews after a bit of driving them around, the Zyklon B gas for gas chambers, massive shootings and murder happened, and they had very little space for Jews.

The mindset that the Nazis had to kill the problem to get rid of it implies that their mindsets are very extreme, and at an all-or-nothing level.

3.4.3. Murder and Resistance:

Death marches:

The last phase, or the last few days of the Holocaust, was also known as the Death Marches. The Nazis took efforts into evacuating the Jews to Germany, from concentration camps in Poland and other European countries.

Reasons why the Jews were evacuated:

• To prevent prisoners from serving as witnesses

• Continue exploited the slave labor

• To maintain control and order

• To continue the process of extermination

• To use prisoners as hostages (a less rational belief)

Victims:

Approximately 6 million Jewish people were murdered by the Nazis and their collaborators. They came from a wide range of backgrounds, including nationality, age and personal identity.

Violent resistance:

The Jewish people did make efforts to resist against the Nazis, such as guerilla warfare, and partisans, who are Jews that didn’t get caught by Nazis. They also tried assassination attempts on Hitler and other high-ranking Nazis. Non-violent resistance was also more common, by simple survival.

Smuggling:

Ghetto residents usually smuggled things such as food, medicine, weapons or intelligence, which helped the Jews survive.

Case study: Warsaw ghetto and Lodz ghetto:

Warsaw ghetto:

What triggered the decision to resist in the Warsaw ghetto?