The Holocaust

The The HolocaustHolocaust

An examination of the crimes of the Nazis

Yellow - Jew Brown - Gypsy Violet - Jehovah's Witness

Pink - Homosexual Green - Habitual criminal Red - Political prisoner Black - Asocial Blue - Emigrant

SHOAH - a great terrible wind(Hebrew)

HOLOCAUST(Greek): Holos means “whole”, caustos means“burnt”.

HOLOCAUST is an example of GENOCIDE.

The United Nations Convention of 1948 defines genocide as“acts committed to destroy in whole or in part a national, ethnical, racial or religious groups.”

Genocide in History

1904-5: annihilation of Herero in Africa by German settlers.

1915-16: Turks massacre 1 M. Armenians.

German German ImperialismImperialismin S.W. Africain S.W. Africa(Namibia)(Namibia)

ArmeniansArmenianskilled by killed by TurksTurks

1965-66: 1 M communists and their families massacred by Indonesian army.

1972: 150,000 Hutus massacred by ruling Tutsis in Burundi.

1975-79: Up to 2 M. Cambodians murdered by Khmer Rouge in Kampuchea.

1975-2002: 200,000 Timorese murdered by Indonesian army.

Brazilian Indians by destruction of rainforests.

“Ethnic Cleansing” in former Yugoslavia.

Two Approaches to Examining this history:

When they examine the factors which When they examine the factors which enabled the Holocaust to occur they enabled the Holocaust to occur they are then what is calledare then what is called FUNCTIONALIST.

When they believe that from the When they believe that from the moment of the Nazis gaining of power moment of the Nazis gaining of power that all Jewry was to be annihilated that all Jewry was to be annihilated then this is what is called anthen this is what is called an INTENTIONALIST.

Steps to Genocide

1. You have no right to live among us as Jews.

2. You have no right to live among us.

3. You have no right to live.

Deaths caused by the Nazis

Jews 5-6 millionSoviets sold./civil. 5 millionPolish civilians 1 millionYugoslavian civilians 1 millionHandicapped 70,000Gypsies 200,000Gays/Pol. Pris./res. Unknown

Anti-Semitism: A Anti-Semitism: A HistoryHistory

Crucifixion of Jesus Christ.The revolutions in Judea

under Roman rule…Diaspora.The Crusades.The Enlightenment.19th Century nationalism.

In the late 19th cent. Jews were seen as anti-nationalist: they were Zionists.

Two Peoples One Religion

Sephardim: Sephardim: means Spain; means Spain; refers to Jews in refers to Jews in the the Mediterranean Mediterranean basin.basin.

They speak They speak Ladino; eat Ladino; eat couscous; listen couscous; listen to Oriental music.to Oriental music.

Ashkenazim: means Ashkenazim: means Germany; all Jews Germany; all Jews living in western, living in western, central and eastern central and eastern Europe…and North Europe…and North America.America.

Speak Yiddish: Speak Yiddish: Hebrew + Medieval Hebrew + Medieval German.German.

Listen to Slavic Listen to Slavic melodies.melodies.

The Nazi ApproachThe Nazi Approach

Step One: Nuremberg Laws (1935) Jews could not enjoy German citizenship

Step Two: Forced ghettoization. Especially in Poland.

Step Three: The Final Solution 1942 Killing factories.

The Evian Conference, July, 1938: Many countries discuss why they can’t accept refugees.

“Suppose the conference actually does find territories other than Palestine to shelter Jewish refugees? If other doors are open, it will damage Zionism in Palestine! Better the conference comes to no decision.” David Ben-Gurion (1886-1973) future PM of Israel.

“If the international Jewish financiers in and outside Europe should succeed in plunging the nations once more into a world war, then the result will be not the Bolshevization of the earth and thus the victory of Jewry, but the annihilation of the Jewish race in Europe.” Hitler, January, 1939, speaking the the German parliament.

There was a plan to ship Jews to Madagascar, but with Britain still fighting on, this was scrapped in the summer of 1940.

Shipped to centralized locations in Poland; ghettos (once more).

Warsaw, Lodz, Krakow, Lublin were the most popular cities with Jewish ghettos.

“Non-productive” Jews were taken out of the ghettos for “resettlement”.

The approach to a solution.

The Final Solution

Several ways of mass killing were utilized, but they were slow and psychologically painful on the murderers: shooting and carbon-monoxide.

Solution: Zyklon B

On January 20, 1942, the aims of the Final Solution were dictated: 11 million JEWS in Europe. 4.5 are in German held areas, 5 are in Russia.

All are to be gathered in the East.

They are to be used as slave labour. Most will die from disease, starvation, and brutality.

Jews will be taken to transit ghettos and then to camps.

The Economics of the Final Solution.

Nearly 500,000 slave labourers were used in German industry.

Many companies found in Germany today utilized this force: Krupp Steel, I.G. Furban Chemicals, Siemans, Graetz, and Krone-Presswerk.

Most produced war material.

Auschwitz-BirkinauThe most infamous camp: 1/5th of all killings

3 campsZyklon-B used in gassing. Thirty minutes.

12,000 a day In two

months the entire Jewish population of Hungary was murdered.

Jewish Resistance

No chancesMany collaborated with Nazis

to hunt down Jewish people.Warsaw Ghetto, April 18,

1943.Treblinka Death Camp

Rebellion, summer, 1943.

By December, 1941, reports had been received by the allies of the genocide going on.

Two Czech Jews that had escaped from Auschwitz had evidence of what was happening and numbers; both were registrars in the camp.

The Allies chose not to believe this.

By August, 1944, aerial photographs of Auschwitz were taken.

Chimneys of the crematoria could be seen.

Rather than bomb that, the Americans aimed at Auschwitz III, the synthetic rubber factory.

In the end it was felt that bombing death camps would endanger crews.

War Crimes and TrialsHolocaust crimes were not pursued

as fervently as other crimes.Especially by the British.Of the thousands involved in the

Holocaust only a fraction have been brought to justice.

More Japanese soldiers/leaders were executed than Germans.

Many prominent businessmen who benefited by the slave labour, were not punished, or were given light sentences.

The Endurance of Anti-Semitism

In Poland nine months after the war, more than one thousand Jews were murdered in a series of pogroms.

Revisionist historians seek to prove that the Holocaust is a Jewish conspiracy.

Japanese War Crimes

Comfort WomenComfort Women: : Sex slaves for Sex slaves for Japanese SoldiersJapanese Soldiers

One womOne womaan was required for n was required for every thirty-five soldiers.every thirty-five soldiers.

100,000 plus women were forced 100,000 plus women were forced into this.into this.

Eighty percent were Korean.Eighty percent were Korean.The rest Taiwanese or Filipino.The rest Taiwanese or Filipino.

Few of them have ever been compensated.

POW Abuse & MurderPOW Abuse & Murder

Death rate for POWs in Nazi Death rate for POWs in Nazi camps: 3%camps: 3%

Death rate for POWs in Death rate for POWs in Japanese camps: 37%.Japanese camps: 37%.

Nan king Massacre

Nanjing Massacre Dec. ‘37- Mar. ‘38Nanjing Massacre Dec. ‘37- Mar. ‘38

300,000 massacred Chinese were in Nanjing.

Over 20,000 women were raped.

http://www.arts.cuhk.edu.hk/NanjingMassacre/http://www.arts.cuhk.edu.hk/NanjingMassacre/NMB&J.htmlNMB&J.html

Japanese Diet members commemorating Japanese Diet members commemorating the service of their war criminals, i.e. Matsuithe service of their war criminals, i.e. MatsuiIwane of the Nanking Massacre Iwane of the Nanking Massacre

Canadian Crimes…Somalia

Canadian Airborne Regiment on U.N. Peacekeeping Mission to Belet Huen, Somalia.

Under U.N. Charter 7, same as Korean War and Gulf War.

Somalia was engaged in a civil war.

Members tortured a Somali boy, Aaron, till he died from his wounds.

The mission met with violence every day.

They did meet their objectives.