The Holocaust

What was The Holocaust?• Holocaust is literally defined as:

• “a sacrifice consumed by fire”

But most would define it as: the mass slaughter of European civilians,

especially Jews, by the Nazis during World War II Lasted from 1933-1945

Anti-Semitism Hostility toward or discrimination against Jews as a

religious, ethnic, or racial group.

Who were the victims?• Jews• Homosexuals• Gypsies• The Disabled• Slavic Peoples• Jehovah’s Witnesses

A Total of 6,000,000 Jews

Percentage of Jews killed in each country

Final Solution

Concentration Camps

Types of Camps Concentration/Labor Extermination/

Death Major Camps

Dauchau-Buchenwald

Auschwitz Treblinkia Bikenau

A MAP OF THE CONCENTRATION CAMPS AND DEATH CAMPS USED BY THE NAZIS.

AUSCHWITZ

• Auschwitz was located near the German-Polish border in Upper Silesia

• The sign of the main gate here states “Arbeit Macht Frei”

• This translates to “Work Brings Freedom”

Gas Chambers

Many victims did not know of their death Gas Chambers were

referred to as Baths/Showers

Zyklon B – was used as a poison

Millions of people came to their deaths.

Clothing from concentration camp victims

Shoes on display at the American Holocaust museum that had belonged to victims

After liberation, an Allied soldier displays a stash of gold wedding rings taken

from victims at Buchenwald.

Bales of hair shaven from women at Auschwitz, used to make felt-yarn.

The Numbers

11 million prisoners were murdered

6 million victims were Jews Number of European Jews who survived:

3,546,211 Percentages:

Polish Jews killed: 91% German Jews killed: 36% Jews killed in Europe during war: 63%

AFTERMATHAs the allies fought toward Berlin they discovered the camps

People didn’t realize what was happening

Even within Germany, not everyone knew or participated

After the war the allies create the nation of Israel as a Jewish homeland under the protection of the US

• Why might this spark conflict?

Partner WorkORead page 769 in your textbook with

your partner OAnswer the following questions:

O What does Wiesel mean when he says, “Our eyes were opened, but too late”?

O What would be the effect on people of uprooting them from their homes?

O This excerpt if from a book called Night. What might be the meaning of the title?