The Holocaust was a genocide carried out by Nazi Germany against European Jews between 1933-1945. An estimated 6 million Jews were murdered, along with 5 million others including Roma, Slavs, homosexuals and political opponents. Jews were systematically persecuted through legislation and violence, culminating in extermination camps where most were gassed. While resistance occurred, most victims were unable to escape the well-organized Nazi killing machine before Allied liberation in 1945.

1. The Nazi Holocaust1933-1945

2. Jewish genocideGenocide- systematic killing over peoples of a certain identity.Estimated 6 million of 9 million European Jews were murdered during the Hitler regime. Atlanta Metro Area (2009) 5.5 Million residence. The Holocaust also targeted: Gypsies, Homosexuals, Russian POW’s, Polish and Soviet citizens, and political and religious opponents.Estimated death toll to be between 11-17 million in all.

3. OriginsThere has always been anti-Semitism around the world dating back for thousands of years. Nazi Ideology of the “Aryan” helped to spread anti-Semitism around Germany and Europe. Aryan- “superior race” always locked in conflict with the Jewish race.Hitler had been open about plans for the Jewish questions since 1925 in Mein Kampf

4. LegislationLaw for the Prevention of Hereditary Diseased Offspring (1933). Called for the sterilization of people deemed not to be Aryan. Estimated 400,000 people were forced to undergo. Nuremberg Laws (1935)- Anti-Semitic laws- Revoked German citizenship for Jews. Also made it illegal for Germans and Jews to marry. 1933- Zionist Federation of Germany began the movement of Jews from Germany to Palestine.

5. Kristallnacht1938 a German Diplomat was assassinated by in Paris. Gave Nazi Germany an excuse to use wide spread repression of JewsResulted in mass vandalism of Jewish property and synagogues.91 Jews were “reported” to be killedStarted the Mass transportation of Jews to Concentration Camps.

6. GhettosFirst used in Poland when Nazi’s invaded in 1939Areas where Jews were forced to live in certain cities. Comparable to prisonsEveryone was put to work for the NazisLargest was Warsaw (380,000)Many people died from the labor, conditions, and disease.

7. Concentration CampsFirst Camp was Dachau (1933)Originally used to torture political opponents Became slave labor campsEach prisoner was tattooed a numberWorked 12-14 hour shiftsWorkers would be worked to deathFamous Camps: Dachau and AuschwitzOver 15,000 Camps

10. Death SquadsOpen, public killings of JewsMainly occurred once Germany invaded the USSR. Coordinated between SS (German Secret Police) and the local populationsEstimated at least 2.2 million people were killed this way

11. Wannsee Conference1942 in Berlin 15 men decide the fate of the Final Solution. (Operation Reinhard)Plans were made for the killings of all Jews in Europe.Creation of Extermination or Death CampsOnly workers were excluded from the Death Camps in the beginning.

12. Extermination CampsCreated after Wannsee Conference.Main Camps: Auschwitz, Belzec, Treblinka, Sobibor, and 4 others.Camps were run by the SSUsed to being the Final Solution in exterminating the Jewish racePrisoners would arrive by train from Ghettos or Concentration campsFirst use of Gas chambers as a method of killing. Possessions would be seized and the people would be herded to “showers” which were the gas chambers.

13. Jewish ResistanceWarsaw Ghetto Uprising: 1943Jewish population fought off the SS for 4 weeks until the army arrived. 13,000 Jews were killed and almost 60,000 were sent to the gas chambers.1943- Treblinka uprising 200 inmates overpowered the Guards and escaped.Thousands of Jewish partisans used guerrilla warfare against the Germans

14. Anne FrankGerman born Jewish girl in 1929. Lost citizenship under the Nuremburg laws.Lived in the Netherlands where she also hid out fromNazi Germany with her family. The family hid out in secret rooms of the father’s office. Eventually the family was discovered. Anne and her sister were both sent to Belsen concentration camp.Died March 1945 at the age of 15. Belsen was liberated in April. Remembered for her diary, “Dairy of a Young Girl”Out of 107,000 Jews transported from the Netherlands, 5,000 survived the war

15. Schindler’s ListBiographical movie about Oskar Schindler who operated a ammunition factory during WWIIHe “employed” 1,000 Jewish peoples in the factoryOriginally made profit from occupied Poland during the Nazi occupation.Eventually started shielding his own workers from the NazisTowards the end of the war, the ammunition being made was never produced. Credited with saving over 1,200 people from the Holocaust. “Oskar Schindler's exceptional deeds stemmed from just that elementary sense of decency and humanity that our sophisticated age seldom sincerely believes in. A repentant opportunist saw the light and rebelled against the sadism and vile criminality all around him. The inference may be disappointingly simple, especially for all amateur psychoanalysts who would prefer the deeper and more mysterious motive that may, it is true, still lie unproved and unappreciated. But an hour with Oskar Schindler encourages belief in the simple answer” Herbert Steinhouse

16. Towards the EndThe war was beginning to turn against German favor in 1943Caused the Exterminations to speed up1943 Warsaw Ghetto was dismantled and the Jewish population was sent to camps1944 Auschwitz was killing 8,000 people every dayDeath Marches were conducted to move Jews from Camp to Camp before the Russians could get to the campsMany camps were destroyed and evidence was hidden once the camp was no longer used.

17. LiberationMany camps were destroyed before the allies were able to liberate themSoviets liberated Auschwitz and MajdanekAmericans- Buchenwald and DachauBritish- Belsen

18. The tollMany liberated prisoners would still die in the weeks after liberation due to their conditions.Estimated- 6 million Jews2-3 Million Soviet POW’s2 Million Ethnic Poles 200,000-1.5 Million Gypsies