Holocaust Readings

The Holocaust last from January 30, 1993 (When Hitler became Chancellor) to May 8, 1945 (the end of World War II). During this time, the Jewish people became Germany's scapegoat. In the newspaper Der Sturmer, it claimed, "The Jews are out misfortune". In alignment with fascism core values Hitler called for new elections in order to get the Nazi party to control German Parliament. They terrorized other parties, arrested their leaders, and banned their political meetings. Soon the Nazi's turned their power into a dictatorship and March 23rd, with the passing of the Enabling Act. As Nazi propaganda spread, so did their power. Hitler and the Nazi Party gained control over the police, terrorizing opponents of his power. These opponents were beaten or sent to concentration camps, which later was where Hitler would send the Jews. Hitler created a "massive government-supported propaganda machine" that turned Germany very anti- Semitic, with the superior race being the Aryans. This eventually lead to the Jews being isolated from society and the Nuremberg Laws, which were enacted on September 15th, 1935, formed the legal basis for this to happen. On November 9-10th, 1938, things became violent starting with Kristallnacht (the night of broken glass) and 30,000 Jews were arrested and sent to concentration camps. At the beginning of World War II in September of 1939, Germany invaded Poland and in 1940 established ghettos for the Jewish population. These ghettos lacked water, sanitary facilities, food, and space leading many to die of starvation and deprivation. The Final Solution began in June of 1941 when Germany attacked the Soviet Union. Four mobile killing groups (Einsatzgruppen A, B, C, and D) were formed and used a firing squat that is estimated to have killed more than 1.3 million Jews by the end of 1942. The Wannsee Conference, which meet on January 20, 1942, marked the beginning of a comprehensive extermination operation. By the Spring of 1942 there were already 6 death camps in Poland established (Chelmno, Belzec, Sobibor, Treblinka, Maidanek, and Auschiwtz. The main concentration camps however, were Ravenbruck, Neuengamme, Bergen- Belsen, Sachsenhausen, Gross- Rosen, Buchenwald, Theresienstradt, Flossenburg, Natweiler- Struthof, Dachau, Mauthausen, Stutthof, and Dora/Nordhausen. About 35 million Jews were murdered in the concentration camps, but many were also saved and used for slave labor. The Jewish did resist and the biggest of the revolts was the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. Although these revolts were unsuccessful, they were enough to give the Jewish people hope that the Nazis could be defeated one day. The camps were liberated gradually as the Allies slowly defeated Germany. It is estimated that between 5 and 7 million Jews were murdered during this period, but that number will never be exact because of the countless killings not recorded and bodies not found.

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