17.1.12

The Holocaust

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The Persecution of the Jews - The Holocaust

The Jews were persecuted (treated unfairly) the most out of all ethnic minorities in Germany. The Holocaust describes the murder of around 6 million Jews in Nazi Germany.

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Kristallnacht (the Night of the Broken Glass), 1938 AD

  • On 9th November 1938 AD, the Nazis staged Kristallnacht in response to a Jew assassinating a German ambassador in Paris.
  • In Kristallnacht, the SS organised a series of attacks on Jewish communities. They destroyed Jewish homes, businesses, and synagogues.
    • Kristallnacht means 'night of broken glass' in German because of everything that was smashed.
  • Kristallnacht was a turning point for Jews. This was the first time they had been physically harmed by the Nazis.
    • Afterwards, it was clear that Jews needed to flee Germany.
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The ghettos

  • In the Second World War, the persecution (unfair treatment) of the Jews escalated.
  • From 1939 AD, Jews began to be placed in ghettos. A ghetto was an area of a city solely occupied by Jews, separate from the rest of the city’s population.
    • People could not enter and leave freely, and living conditions were appalling. It was a bit like a slum.
    • The first ghettos were built in Poland and eventually over 1,000 were built in Poland and the Soviet Union. Many people died from starvation and disease in the ghettoes.
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Murder

  • After the Germans invaded the Soviet Union, all Jews they crossed were killed by the Einsatzgruppen (SS killing squad). This led to over 1 million Jews being killed.
  • By December 1941 AD, Jews were being gassed at Chelmno death camp. Many more death camps were to follow.
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The Final Solution

  • After the Wannsee Conference in January 1942 AD, the ‘Final Solution of the Jewish Question’ was decided.
    • 6 death camps with gas chambers were built in Poland.
  • Out of all the Jews killed, 60% were killed after 1942 AD, after the Wannsee Conference.
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How did the public react to Jewish persecution?

  • Almost no one spoke out to help the Jews.
    • Many helped the Nazis, others stood back and did nothing because either it did not affect them or they were too scared of the Nazis.
  • Many Jews and others did not know what happened at the camps. They took suitcases and bought their own train tickets to get to the death camps.

Jump to other topics

1The Medieval World: 450-1450 AD

1.1Anglo-Saxon England

1.2The Contest for the English Throne

1.3Conquering the Holy Land, 10-96-1396 AD

1.4King John

1.5The Magna Carta & Parliament

1.6The Black Death

2Worldviews

3The Empire of Mali

4The Renaissance & Reformations, 1500-1598 AD

5The British Empire, 1583-1960 AD

6The Peasants' Revolt

7Religion in the Middle Ages

8Slavery, 1619-1833 AD

9The English Civil War, 1642-1660

10The Industrial Revolution, 1750-1840

11US Independence, 1775-1783

12The French Revolution, 1789-1815

13The British Empire, 1857–1930

14Suffrage

15World War 1, 1914-1918

16The Inter-War Years, 1919-1939

17World War 2, 1939-1945

18The Cold War, 1947-1962

19Civil Rights in the USA, 1954-1975

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