Holocaust

►Organized by Adolf Hitler—he was trying to create a master race.

►He called the decision to kill non-Aryans the Final Solution to the “Jewish problem.”

►Anti-Semitism: hatred or prejudice against Jews

Gradual, increasing violence

►Propaganda

►Identification

►Segregation

Ghettos

►Kristallnacht

Pogrom

Nov. 9-10, 1938

Passive reaction

►Over 10 million victims

► --6 million Jews

► --Also, disabled, mentally ill, Catholics, certain ethnic groups (Gypsies, Slavs, and others), homosexuals

►Genocide—trying to eliminate an entire group of people (a race, ethnic group, religious group, etc.)

► --Other examples of genocide: Namibia (1904);Armenia (during WWI); Ukraine (1932-33); Cambodia (1975); Bosnia (1992-94); Rwanda (1994)

►Concentration Camps

► --Death Camp

► --Labor Camp

►Occurred mostly in Germany, Poland, E. Europe, but also other occupied territories

How/Why did Holocaust occur?

► People didn’t realize how bad it was until it was too late.

►Racism/Anti-Semitism

►Hitler had popular support

--Good speaker

--Told people what they wanted to hear, made Jews scapegoats for loss of WWI, economic problems

► Propaganda

► Fear

►Hitler had already taken over areas where there might have been meaningful opposition.