Jewish Discrimination, Relocation, and the

Start of World War II

Anti-Semitism

What was Lebensraum?

What were Eugenics?

Kristallnacht

• November 1938

• Jewish businesses were destroyed

• Books were burned

• Synagogues were burned

• The Night of Broken Glass

• Jewish men sent to concentration (work)

camps

• First act of open discrimination against

the Jews Why?

Pseudo-Science• Attempt to argue opinion with “science”

• Led to the justification of the Holocaust

Eugenics • The control of the human species to create the perfect race

• Controlled breeding of humans

• Forced sterilization of the mentally ill and “inferior” races

Social Darwinism • Conflict is positive—breed a stronger people

• “Survival of the fittest”

• Attempts to use evolution as a way to study human interactions

Jewish Ghettos

THE ENIGMA

• Train radio code/frequency

• The Allies knew what the “cargo” was, and they most likely knew the intentions.

From very early on, it was clear what Hitler’s intentions were.

Did the Allies know

what was happening?

Instructions by Reinhard Heydrich, on Policy and Operations Concerning the Jews in the Occupied Territories, September 21, 1939

Berlin, September 21, 1939 To Chiefs of all Einsatzgruppen of the Security Police. Subject: Jewish Question in Occupied Territory for the time being, the first prerequisite for the final aim is the concentration of the Jews from the countryside into the larger cities.This is to be carried out speedily.

As far as possible, the areas…are to be cleared of Jews; at least the aim should be to establish only few cities of concentration so as to facilitate subsequent measures. In this connection, it should be borne in mind that only cities which are rail junctions, or at least located on railroad lines, should be selected as concentration points.On principle, Jewish communities of less than 500 persons are to be dissolved and transferred to the nearest concentration center.[1]

Question:

This document was written less than three weeks after the Nazis invaded Poland. What does this denote about Nazi Germany’s policy toward Jews under their occupation?

Staff and VKM 2,029SK 7a 1,252SK 7b 1,544EK 8 15,000EK 9 10,2695

Total 30,094 persons liquidated by the group

Operational Situation Report # 108.

8. Liquidation

The liquidations carried out during the time of this report up to and including September 28, 1941, increased the final figures as follows: