The Holocaust The Final Solution The Final Solution

The Holocaust: The Final Solution

The Final Solution v. Adolf Hitler made several promises to the German people as his power grew: v. He would return Germany to its former glory. v. He would get rid of the “Jewish Problem”. v. And this would give people jobs. v. In the late 1930 s to early 1940 s, the Nazis had rounded up and killed over 1 million Jews, but “The Final Solution”, the plan to exterminate all Jews from Europe, was not decided upon until 1942.

Stages of Genocide v. Nazi Propaganda against the Jews v. Propaganda is information, ideas, or rumors deliberately widely spread to help or harm a person, group, movement, institution, nation, etc. v. Joseph Goebbels was the head of Nazi propaganda and he was a close associate of Hitler. v. The Nazis blamed the Jews for Germany’s problems during the Depression. v. Jews were made to look like deviants and even rapists. v. Anti-Semitism was not only common, but it was growing – Hitler was loved.

Nazi Propaganda

The Nuremberg Laws v Laws were passed in Germany called the Nuremberg Laws, which allowed for legal discrimination and terrorism against Jews. v Examples: v. Jews were stripped of German citizenship. v. Marriage between Jews and Germans was forbidden. v. Jews were excluded from public office, practicing law, medicine, and teaching. v. Jews had curfews, and had to wear a yellow Star of David for public identification.

Kristallnacht v. The Night of Broken Glass – Anti-Semitic riots in Germany and Austria. v 30, 000 Jews were rounded up and taken to concentration camps. v. Homes, businesses, and synagogues were destroyed.

Separation into Ghettos v. The Nazis wanted to create more “lebensraum” or living space. v. Jews were rounded up and sent to walled off sections of cities called ghettos. v. Multiple families occupied small, cramped, dirty apartments. v. Jews were allowed to leave the ghettos for work but had strict curfews. v. The Nazis took most of the property left by the Jews for their own profit.

Ghettos

Concentration Camps v. Thousands of Jews were transported to work camps around Poland, Austria, and Germany to work as slave labor for the Nazis. v. Railroad boxcars were filled with people and they did not have any food or water during the transport. v. Thousands starved, were worked to death, or were killed in these camps. v. Plaszow camp in Poland is the main camp in the film Schindler’s List.

Death Camps (The Final Solution) v Once the Final Solution was decided upon, many camps became extermination camps aimed solely at killing Jews. v Heinrich Himmler and Adolf Eichmann were the chief engineers and overseers of the Final Solution. v At first, bodies were buried in shallow graves – the stench could be smelled for miles. v. Neighboring Germans were either ignorant or ignored the atrocity. v The Nazis forced Jews to transport dead bodies, exhume bodies, and even kill others.

Death Camps (The Final Solution) v. Gas chambers became the main mode of death. v. Thousands could be killed in mere minutes. v. Zyklon B gas pellets were dropped in. v. Bodies were moved to crematoriums where bodies were quickly burned. v. Often times, Sonderkommandos were used – Jews were forced to put dead Jews into crematoriums.

Crematorium at Auschwitz

Gas Chamber and Crematorium

Auschwitz

Prisoner Barracks

The Final Solution v Auschwitz was the worst of the death camps. v It was located in Poland. v 1, 100, 000 people were killed at Auschwitz, including 200, 000 children. v Joseph Megele did medical experiments on Jews and children.

The Final Solution, contd. v Mauthausen in Austria (John Sagan story) v Others targeted in the Final Solution: v. Gypsies v. Communists v. Political Prisoners (John Sagan) v. Homosexuals v. Jehovah’s Witnesses v. Soviet Prisoners of War v. Mentally Handicapped

Result v. The Nazis were organized, systematic, and merciless. Most of the death camps were in Poland over 11 million people were killed, 6 million of which were Jews. Most of the world had no idea and those who did know, were powerless to stop Hitler and the Nazis.