Overview of the Holocaust

In July of 1933 there was the burning of Jewish, Communist, Liberal, and foreignen books. In 1935, the Nuremberg Laws were created. These laws state that, anyone with 3 or 4 Jewish grandparents were considered to be a Jew. If a person had 2 Jewish grandparents. they were known to be Mischlinge. The chart demonstrates the Nuremberg Laws which were enforced among all Jews. These laws forced Jews to be seen as a target. Eventually this triggered “Kristallnacht”, meaning the "Night of Broken Glass". It took place in 1938 where German synagogues were burned, Jewish stores and windows were smashed. 

World War Two (WWII) began in 1939. In WWII, these Jews lived in ghettos. Within these ghettos, diseases were passed around, due to the fact that there was poor hygiene and little to no medical attention. Ghettos were formed to segregate Jewish communities from the rest. Large amounts of people were forced into small areas and terrible conditions. The image to the right shows the living conditions that an ordinary Jew would have to live in. Often times several families were shoved in one house. Many Jews lost their jobs and had no choice but to engage in a black market to exchange positions for everyday needs. Some Jews were ordered for forced labour by the Nazis. In 1941 Jews and European Gypsies were sent to the Polish ghettos.

The army in which Hitler created took over Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg and France in the 1940s. In September of 1941, each person who was a Jew in a German territory was marked with a yellow star, (as shown in the photo) showing them as a target. Jews were often looked down upon and singled out due to the fact that they had this yellow star on their arm.  

In the concentration camps, Jews were separated into 2 lines based. They were shaved, tattooed, disinfected and forced to shower. The Jews would live in small,overcrowded barracks. In 1939, Nazi officials made Germans who were institutionalized for mental dissabilities or illness to be gassed to death. Once there were religious protests, Hitler ended these programs in 1941. The killings still occurred in secrecy. Mass killing was often used at the concentration camps to get rid of the Jews in large amounts. 

Germans began to move from the ghettos in Poland to concentration camps. Those who were old, sick and weak were the ones that the Nazis decided to kill first. The first mass gassing was on March 17, 1942.  The heaviest deportations took place from the Warsaw Ghetto. Eventually, this ghetto rose up in an armed revolt ending in the death of 7,000 Jews. All of this activity was kept secret but many eyewitnesses and outside sources began to notice the scale of killing.  Responses were brought to the Allies who were majorly criticized by not responding to these horrid actions. 

The Britains were well aware of the occurrences, but there was little protest. This time period was a time of economic recession and unemployment in Britain.  German protestants who broke away became known as the "confessing church". The "confessing church" contained members who opposed the Nazis. When the killing became more severe, many German protestants changed their mind. Those who opposed the Nazi rule worked to help free the Jews. When the Nazis came to power, there was an agreement with the Cathloic Church which was signed, stating that the Vatican would accept the Nazi government if the Nazis would not interfere with the Cathloic Church. 

Hitler killed himself on April 20th, 1945. Germany then surrendered WWII a week later, on May 8, 1945. At the end, the total death toll was around 6 million, 2 million of the deaths coming from Auschwitz. Survivors had and still do have a difficult time returning home and adapting, since they had lost all civilization.