The Holocaust The Holocaust The word Holocaust refers

The Holocaust

The Holocaust The word Holocaust refers to Hitler’s orders to murder 11 million people throughout Europe, mostly Jews. Hitler’s hate of Jews was nothing new though. For centuries Jews were blamed for many things and Anti- Semitism became part of Europe. In 1935 Hitler stripped Jews of all their rights. This is when they were also forced to wear the Star of David on their clothes in order to identify themselves.

The Holocaust On Nov. 9 and 10, 1938 the Nazis attacked thousands of Jews in which homes and businesses were burned, people arrested and even killed. The Jews themselves were then blamed for the chaos. This event became known as Kristallnacht- Night of Broken Glass. The 566, 000 Jews started to flee Germany by the thousands, but other countries would not take most of them.

The Holocaust One of the most famous Jews that fled Germany to the U. S. was Albert Einstein. The U. S. did not always help Jews that were fleeing. In 1939 a cruise ship named the St. Louis sailed to Miami with 943 passengers from Germany. However the Coast Guard turned the ship away. About half the people on board were killed in the Holocaust. In 1939 only 250, 000 Jews remained in Germany but Hitler wanted to rid Europe of all of them.

The Holocaust Hitler came up with a plan called the Final Solution, to create genocide on the Jews. Genocide is the Systematic killing of an entire population. Other people that Hitler wanted to eliminate were gypsies, Jehovah’s Witnesses, homosexuals, mentally ill and the disabled. The first place the Final Solution was used was in Poland where the SS or death squads, rounded up Jewish men, women and babies and shot them.

The Holocaust Hitler then created ghettos for the Jews. These were places where they were forced to live and surrounded by barbed wire and walls. Jews were then forced to work in factories producing goods for the German people and military. Finally Jews were then sent to concentration camps. These were labor camps for the Jews that were later turned into death camps. Most Jews were separated from their families and forced to work long hours until they were executed.

The Holocaust

The Holocaust German doctors would also perform medical experiments on the Jews. The death of Jews came from starvation, disease, being shot and eventually gassed and the bodies burned. Toward the end of the war killing Jews became the priority of the Nazis. In camps like Auschwitz 12, 000 Jews a day were killed. 6 - 9 million Jews died in the camps and in some cases as few as two people survived in particular camps.

Nazi Medical Experiments The first category was aimed at keep Axis leaders alive The second category was for testing medicine and medical treatment on injuries or diseases. The third category was for the advancement of racial features and attributes. Additionally there were experiments done to test mass sterilization.