World War II The Diary of Anne Frank

World War II The Diary of Anne Frank

n The world was just getting over the Great War. . . World War I. n In 1929 the Great Depression hit. The stock marked crashed in October (Black Friday) and affected the whole world. Germany had been defeated in WW I, and their economy was already crippled from paying war reparations according to the Treaty of Versailles. Their economy was devastated when the stock market crashed. The country was looking for a political party to make things better.

n The Nazi political party slowly came into power in Germany. (National Socialist German Worker’s Party). It promised the German people that it would rebuild Germany’s economy and return Germany to the power it had attained before the WW I defeat. The party’s symbol was a swastika.

n The Nazi party eventually was led by a man named Adolf Hitler. He was born in Austria, not Germany. He had wanted to be an artist but did not have enough talent. (The picture below, left, is a watercolor painted by Hitler. ) As the power of the Nazi party grew, so did the power of Hitler. On January 30, 1933, he was named as the dictator of Germany.

n Adolf Hitler was a powerful speaker. He would practice specific arm movements to coincide with his words while yelling at the top of his voice. He practiced in front of mirrors and sometimes even had someone film him while practicing. Many Germans were enthralled with him. The picture on the left shows the German people spelling out (in German) We belong to you.

n Hitler created different plans to get the German people back to work and boost the economy. One of his plans was for Germany to manufacture an automobile. The car that was created was the Volkswagen Beetle.

n The Nazi political party began to blame various groups for Germany’s economic problems. All opponents of the Nazis were killed, imprisoned, or persecuted in some manner. n The four main groups that the Nazis concentrated on for extermination were: Gypsies n Slavs n Jews n Handicapped The Nazi-led government began to shut down borders and toughen immigration laws, making it extremely difficult for people from these groups to escape Germany. n

n Hitler’s plan was to establish a master Aryan race made up of Germans. He wanted all good Germans to have blonde hair and blue eyes. To show off his master race, he offered to have Germany host the 1936 Olympics. He was furious when an African-American, Jesse Owens, continually bested his Germans in track-and-field events. Hitler refused to salute Jesse Owens and walked out of the medal ceremony.

n Italy was upset because they did not receive any land after World War I ended. The Italian dictator, Benito Mussolini, decided to team up with the power-hungry Hitler. In 1936, these countries formed the Axis powers. n n n Germany Italy Japan

n The Axis powers, particularly Germany, began to branch out and take control of more and more land. Many countries were tired of war and the loss of lives after WW I, so they handed over their governments and land with little or no fight. When Germany invaded Poland in 1939, Great Britain and France declared war. They knew they had to stop Hitler and the Nazis before he took over all of Europe. n On the map, red is Allied or Allied-controlled countries, blue is Axis or Axis-controlled countries, and green is the Soviet Union. White countries are neutral. Image: Second world war europe animation small. gif - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

n Germany conquered: Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, part of Egypt, Greece, France, Austria, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, Romania, Poland, Latvia, Estonia, Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, Lithuania, and part of Russia. The picture on the left shows Nazi soldiers tearing down a Polish checkpoint. It was a staged picture, taken several days after the Polish invasion.

n The United States remained neutral. The American people were tired of war. The U. S. was pulled in when Japan bombed Pearl Harbor in Hawaii on December 7, 1941.

n The Allied powers included: n Great Britain n Egypt n The Soviet Union n Saudi Arabia n The United States

WW II Leaders n Germany Adolf Hitler

n United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt

n United States Vice-President Harry S. Truman

n Italy Benito Mussolini

n Spain Francisco Franco

n Soviet Union Joseph Stalin

n Great Britain Prime Minister Winston Churchill

n France Charles de Gaulle

n Hitler and the Nazis conquered a great deal of Europe. Great Britain and France had almost waited until it was too late to declare war on Germany. It looked like Hitler might actually win, but then he made a huge mistake. Against the advice of his military commanders, he ordered his troops to invade the Soviet Union.

n The tide began to turn. Italy realized that the Axis powers were going to lose the war. Mussolini made a secret pact with the Allies.

n General Dwight D. Eisenhower, commander of the Allied Forces, planned D-Day, a major military offensive against the Axis powers in Europe, on June 6, 1944. The Allied forces slowly pushed their way to the capital of Germany, Berlin.

n Hitler saw that all hope was lost and committed suicide along with his wife, Eva Braun, in a German bunker. With their leader gone, the Germans surrendered to the Allies on May 7, 1945 (VE Day).

n The Allied forces had to continue fighting the Japanese in the Pacific. President Harry S. Truman finally decided to allow the atom bomb to be used on Japan. The first atom bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, but Japan refused to surrender. A second bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, and the Japanese finally surrendered on August 15, 1945 (VJ Day).

n As a result of WW II: n 55 million people died n 6 million of those people were Jews n 1 ½ million of those Jews were children under the age of 13

Holocaust n holocaust – a fire that causes destruction n genocide – the planned extermination of a group of people n Hitler chose the Jews to be his scapegoats. n Propaganda is spread about the Jews. The picture is a photo of a child’s book telling German children not to trust Jews.

n Harassment of the Jews begins. n n n All Jews had to register as being Jewish. All Jews had to wear the star of David on their clothing. All Jews had to register their possessions, businesses, and property.

n Many restrictions were implemented against the Jews. n Jews had to turn in their radios and bikes. n Jewish children could only attend Jewish schools. n Public restrooms, restaurants, and water fountains were off-limits to Jews. n Jews must abide by a strict curfew. n Jews couldn’t walk their dogs at the same time as other dogs were walked. n Jews were spit on, beaten, and forced to do things, like lick the streets or lick the shoes/boots of non-Jews.

n Kristallnacht – night of the broken glass – All Jewish store windows and synagogue windows were broken throughout Nazi-controlled countries; many synagogues were burned or vandalized.

n Finally, Jews were concentrated into ghettos, where living conditions were horrible. One of Hitler’s officers, Joseph Goebbels, called ghettos death boxes.

Concentration Camps n Now that Jews were concentrated into ghettos, they were easily located and hustled to the train stations. They were told to bring all of their possessions that they could carry. They were placed on cattle cars. They were sometimes in here for days or weeks. There were no windows, fresh air, or restrooms. They were not provided with food or water. Some cars were packed so tightly with people that no one could sit down or lay down. Many victims died while standing up, and the bodies were not removed until the train arrived at the concentration camp. Lice and disease spread rapidly in these cars. The trains ran day and night.

n Upon arrival at the concentration camps, men and women were separated. Families were separated. Camp doctors looked over each person, determining who was strong enough to work and who wasn’t. A thumbs up or thumbs down determined their fates. Children were almost always immediately killed. All clothing and possessions were taken away. Jewelry and gold/silver teeth were taken. Sometimes their hair was shaved, and this hair was used to make slippers for the German people or as insulation for packing in torpedo tubes. The left picture shows bales of human hair awaiting shipment from Auschwitz; the right, shoes and clothes taken from prisoners. The middle picture shows the selection of who will live to work and who will die.

n Many prisoners were tattooed with a number on their arm, hand, or forehead so that the Nazis could keep track of them. Those who were considered to be strong enough were sent to do hard labor.

n Those victims that did not pass selection were sent to their deaths. n Crematoriums n Machine guns n Mass graves n Gas chambers n Surgeries n Disease n Starvation n Exposure to the weather

n Bodies were buried in mass graves or burned in the crematoriums. Sometimes the bodies were used for fertilizer or glue. At camps where crematoriums were used, the ash filled the air. n Hitler did not want any living witnesses to his Final Solution. As the Nazis realized they were going to lose the war, the sped up the killings. Many photographs and documents of their deeds were destroyed. At Auschwitz, a Polish concentration camp, 12, 000 people were dying or being killed per day. The picture below shows the gates to Auschwitz that read Work will set you free.

Anne Frank n Anneliese (Anne) Marie Frank was born on June 12, 1929 in Frankfurt, Germany. Her father knew that he did not want his family living under Nazi rule. In 1933 her family moved to Amsterdam, Holland, which is in The Netherlands.

n In 1940, Holland was invaded by Hitler and the Nazis. n Anne and her family were forced to register as Jews, register their belongings, change to a Jewish school, turn in bikes and radios, and wear the star of David on their clothing. n On her 13 th birthday, Anne received a diary from her parents. She decided to call her diary Kitty, so that she could feel as if she were writing a dear friend.

n Mr. Frank realized that he was going to have to take his family into hiding to save their lives. He began to prepare some small rooms attached to his place of business. The staircase to these secret rooms was concealed by a bookcase. The Frank family, Van Daan family, and Mr. Dussel were in hiding in the Secret Annex (as Anne called it) for 25 months. Several of Mr. Frank’s work associates helped to protect and feed the hidden Jews.

n Anne’s last entry in the diary was written on August 1, 1944. n On August 4, 1944 the Jews were arrested and taken away, along with Mr. Kraler. n After being jailed for three days, they were sent to a concentration camp in Holland called Westerbork, pictured below. They were kept there until September 3, 1944. The last train leaving Westerbork held the Franks, Van Daans, and Dussel. They arrived at Auschwitz on cattle cars on September 6, 1944. All eight of them had their heads shaved. The males were separated from the females, never to see each other again. Anne, Margot & Mrs. Vaan Daan were later shipped to Bergen-Belsen

What happen to them? Otto Frank n Mr. Frank was the only survivor. He lived to be 90 years old.

Edith Frank n Mrs. Frank died at Auschwitz from disease, starvation, and a broken heart.

Margot Frank n Margot Betti Frank was transferred from Auschwitz to Bergen-Belsen. She died of typhus.

Anne Frank n Annaliese Marie Frank was transferred from Auschwitz to Bergen- Belsen. She died of typhus. ***It was always thought she died in March, right before liberation, but recently (2015)new research concluded she must have died in February. Researchers cite that most Typhus victims died 12 days after symptoms first appear. **

The Frank Family n This is the only known picture of the Frank family all together.

Mr. Jan Dussel n Mr. Dussel died in the gas chambers at Neuengamme.

Mr. and Mrs. Van Daan n Mr. Van Daan died in the gas chambers at Auschwitz. n Mrs. Van Daan died of typhus at Buchenwald.

Peter Van Daan n Peter Van Daan died after a forced death march from Auschwitz to Mauthhausen. The camp was liberated that day.

Mr. Kraler n Mr. Kraler was arrested and sent to a work camp for 7 months, where he later escaped.

Miep Gies n Miep Gies died on January 11, 2010. She was 100 years old. She saved the diary.

n You can travel to Amsterdam, Holland today and see the Secret Annex. It has been turned into a museum. Anne’s movie star pictures and photos are still on the wall.

n After the war, it was discovered that the informer who turned in these hiding Jews was paid $1. 40 per Jew.