Hitler and the Holocaust I Adolf Hitler A

Hitler and the Holocaust

I. Adolf Hitler A. Adolf Hitler was born: April 20, 1889 in Austria.

I. Adolf Hitler B. Hitler’s Father – Alois Hitler married his niece Klara Polzl. C. They were first refused marriage by the Church, but after a second plea they were given permission to marry

II. Hitler’s Childhood Hitler’s mother having lost 3 children under the age of 2 in the 5 years prior to Hitler’s birth smothered her young son for fear of losing him. B. Hitler’s father was very strict and physically abusive of both Hitler and his mother. A.

II. Hitler’s Childhood C. As a deeply religious youth Hitler often thought of becoming a monk. D. This dream soon faded and Hitler set his sights on becoming an artist. E. His father was angered by this decision and their relationship soured because of this. F. His father died that same year when Hitler was just 13.

II. Hitler’s Childhood G. At the age of 15 – Hitler dropped out of school after being told he would have to repeat his sophomore year. H. At the age of 18 – Hitler received an inheritance from his father and moved to Vienna to become an artist I. Both art schools he applied for in Vienna turned him down.

II. Hitler’s Childhood J. Devastated at these rejections Hitler refused to tell his mother and instead spent the next several years living in Vienna pretending to be an artist. K. 1907 – Hitler’s mother dies of cancer that same year. Her death would affect him greatly.

III. Hitler & WWI 1909 – Hitler refuse to register for military service in Austria. B. A warrant was issued for his arrest. A. INVESTIGATION SHEET Name: Adolf Hietler (sic). Lot Number 163. Year of Birth: 20. 4. 1889. Parents: Alois and Klara Pölzl. Parish of Domicile: III-298 Linz. Other Particulars: Aunt Joanna Pölzl, , independent, Urfahr, Blutengsse 9. Steps taken to apprehend the deserter: None as yet.

III. Hitler & WWI C. When finally found by the Austro. Hungarian Army in 1914 Hitler is rejected because he is found to be too weak, unable to bear arms, and unfit for combat. D. When WWI breaks out later that year Hitler joins the German Army and this time he is accepted.

III. Hitler & WWI E. Hitler is employed as a front line runner during WWI and receives 5 medals including the prestigious Iron Cross.

IV. After the War After the war the German Army used Hitler to spy on the German Workers Party which the government suspected of advocating Communism. B. The group was actually a German Nationalistic group with very anti-Semitic teachings. C. Hitler quickly joined and was named minister in charge of propaganda. A.

IV. After the War D. It is at these meetings that Hitler perfected his public speaking style.

IV. After the War E. The German Workers Party would become the National Socialists German Workers Party. F. The party would eventually be known by shortening the first two words National Socialists into Nazis. G. 1921 – Just two years after joining the Nazi Party Hitler takes over.

V. The Nazis A. November 8, 1923 – The Beer Hall Putsch – Hitler and the Nazi Party attempt to take over the German government. B. The coup fails and Hitler is arrested for treason and sentenced to 5 years in prison.

VI. Mein Kampf A. B. C. D. It is while in prison that Hitler writes his book Mein Kampf, or My Struggle. Dictated to cell-mate Rudolph Hess Hitler lays out his future plans for Germany. Including his ideas on Lebensraum (living space) and the superiority of the German race. It is in this book were he first documents his hatred for the Jews.

VII. der Fuehrer Immediately after his release from prison Hitler rejoined the Nazi Party and quickly gained a political foothold in the German government. B. 1933 – Hitler is named Chancellor of Germany, he quickly makes himself Fuehrer (Dictator) (literally translates as ‘leader’) A.

VII. der Fuehrer C. Hitler quickly begins his plans for a new Germany. D. First step – Lebensraum (living space) he mobilizes his army and takes the Rhineland. E. Step Two – Get rid of the inferior races Hitler felt that there was a struggle for survival between the Germans and inferior races. In order for the Germans to thrive the inferior races must be eliminated.

F. Among the people the Nazis considered inferior were Jews, Polish, Blacks, Gypsies, Communist, and the Handicapped.

G. WHAT DID THE GERMAN LEADERS THINK OF THEMSELVES? They thought they were a superior species and the notion of mixing German blood with Jewish blood was treasonous. They felt it was robbing them of world domination.

H. The Nazis Goal: CREATE A “MASTER RACE” OF PURE ARYANS 1. BLONDE 2. BLUE EYED 3. TALL

The Architects of this plan? Adolf Hitler with Joseph Goebbels

I. Steps to Creating a Master Race The T-4 Program – The Law for the Prevention of Hereditarily Diseased Offspring. 1. Sterilization for mentally and physically disabled women. b. Castration for violent criminals as well as mentally and physically disabled men. a.

Steps to Creating a Master Race 3. Outlaw: Marriages between Jews & Non-Jews 4. Euthanasia: kill handicapped people by injection.

VIII. The Holocaust What was the Holocaust? A. The Holocaust – the systematic killing of Jews and other people groups by the Nazis. It was a two step process. B. Step One – round up the Jews and separate them from the German population. C. Step Two – Total extinction of the Jews

VIII. The Holocaust D. Who was a Jew? If you had one grandparent who was Jewish then you were Jewish.

VIII. The Holocaust E. 1935 - The Nuremberg Laws – stripped the Jews of their citizenship and all civil rights. F. Jews were forced to register with the Government and wear the star of David

IX. Kristallnacht Novemeber 9, 1938 – Kristallnacht “The Night of Broken Glass” B. The Nazis destroy Jewish business, homes, and synagogues. A.

IX. Kristallnacht C. In all 7500 Jewish business and over 400 synagogues were burnt down. 91 Jews were killed and 2100 were arrested and sent to the concentration camps.

X. The Ghettos A. The Nazis begin to round up the Jews an place them in walled off sections of the city known as Ghettos.

X. The Ghettos B. Conditions in these Ghettos were horrendous C. The three biggest problems in the Ghettos = Starvation, Over-crowding, and Disease.

XI. Total Extinction A. Plan A – Mass executions = take the Jews outside of the city limits, have them dig their own graves, and then shoot them.

XI. Total Extinction B. Problems with Plan A – It was too slow because there were so many bodies, lots of suicides by the executioners, and heavy drinking among the executioners made it too expensive.

XI. Total Extinction C. Plan B – Build the Concentration Camps D. Two types of camps – Labor camps and death camps E. Labor camps – use the Jews and other political prisoners as forced labor F. Death camps – quickly get rid of the old, very young, and the sick.

XII. The Death Camps A. Six death camps – all located in Poland

XII. The Death Camps 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Auschwitz - 1. 6 million killed Treblinka – 900, 000 killed Belzec – 500, 000 killed Majdanek – 400, 000 killed Sobibor – 250, 000 killed Chelmno – 150, 000 killed

B. The Gas Chambers 1. Chambers were built to look like actual showers 2. Prisoner’s heads were shaved prior to entering the chambers. 3. Prisoners were forced to undress and were told they were going to the “Showers”

XII. The Death Camps C. They used Zyklon B – A commercialgrade insecticide, in the some of the Gas Chambers. In others they used exhaust from an engine, poisoning people with Carbon Monoxide.

D. Body Disposal 1. Prisoners were forced to remove the bodies from the gas chamber 2. Then they were forced to dig mass graves to bury the bodies 3. The Nazis needed a faster way to dispose of the bodies

XII. The Death Camps E. The Crematoriums were built in order to dispose of the bodies more efficiently F. In some camps smoke was said to pour from the chimneys day and night non-stop.

XIII. Results of the Holocaust A. Total Jews killed by the Nazis = 6 million B. Total people killed by the Nazis = 11 million Jewish memorial for victims of Camp in Austria

XIII. Results of the Holocaust C. The Jewish population in Europe is almost eliminated. D. Poland’s Jewish population Pre-War = 3, 000 Current = 30, 000 Chelmno Shooting Pits

XIII. Results of the Holocaust E. Ultimate Result of the Holocaust: It created a desire for the Jewish people to have their own nation once again.