Copy of The Holocaust

The Holocaust - An Industrial Age Genocide

1945

Medieval Europe

1919

1940

1925

1938

How Jews became "the other."

These are the infamous tracks to Auschwitz, where millions of people were gassed and incinerated.

Along with Jews, other "undesirables" died here, including disabled people, people with mental illness, Jehovah's Witnesses, Gypsies, Gay, Lesbian, and Transgendered people.

By 1945, Hitler had begun his "final solution" to the Jewish question.

Jews were sent to camps. Those unable to work were immediately murdered. Those that could work did so with little food or sleep. If they became unable to work, they were murdered.

Together, we will read three accounts of hyperinflation in Germany.

Ask a clarifying question or answer in 2-3 sentences - how did hyperinflation make Germany vulnerable to Fascism?

By 1940, many German and Polish Jews had been relocated to the Warsaw Ghetto. More than 400,000 people came to live in a space a little more than one square mile.

On Nov. 16th, the Germans closed off the Warsaw Ghetto from the rest of the world. They erected high barbed wire fences and placed armed guards at the borders.

Most inhabitants went from the Ghetto directly to a concentration camp.

Note exaggerated "Jewish" features. Why do you think the artist chose to depict Jews this way?

The Jewish people had long been seen as foreigners in Medieval Europe. Most communities were banned from doing any job except for making loans, as it was seen as improper work for a Christian. Most lived in desperate poverty, while a few families grew wealthy.

• Can you explain how ____ affected ____?

• How is ____ related to ____?

• What conclusions can you draw _____?

What can you say about____?

• How would you summarize____?

Task:

Select an excerpt from either "Night" by Elie Wiesel, or "The Diary of Anne Frank.

When finished, write a letter on behalf of the author. Your letter should include an ARGUMENT - an attempt to convince Immigration and Naturalization to allow Jewish refugees into the United States.

How to argue - Do the checklist!

Maintain FORMALITY (You're writing to the president!)

Introduce a claim (Why should they be allowed in?)

Develop the claim (cite evidence from your text.)

Acknowledge the COUNTERCLAIM (Why would people want to refuse refugees?)

Restate your argument (why should he ignore the counterclaim?)

when complete, hand to your neighbor - Use the checklist to assess.

The Spanish Inquisition tortured and killed thousands of "Conversos," Jews who had been forced to convert to Christianity. Conveniently, their property reverted to their accuser.

In his book, "Mein Kampf," Hitler argued that all the world's great art and literature were produced by a single race, the Arayans.

He wrote that the Jew was the opposite of the Arayan. Without a homeland, they lived among other cultures.

Because Arayans could not have lost the war, it must be the responsibility of the "other", the culture-less Jewish population that had settled in Germany.

Historians call this the "Stabbed in the Back" myth.

This is the MS St. Louis.

On 13 May 1939, more than 900 Jews fled Germany aboard a luxury cruise liner, the MS St Louis. They hoped to reach Cuba and then travel to the US - but because American immigration policy, it was turned away in Havana and forced to return to Europe, where more than 250 were killed by the Nazis.

Antisemitism (prejudice against people of Jewish ancestry) became a powerful force in Germany throughout the 30s

In 1938, over two nights in November, Jewish businesses, homes, and synagogues were attacked.

More than 100 Jews were murdered and more than 30,000 were arrested. The night was called "Kristallnacht," or the Night of Broken Glass.

The Nazi Government media blamed Jews for the violence.

https://www.ushmm.org/learn/timeline-of-events/1933-1938/kristallnacht

For the poor of Europe, Jews became a popular target of persecution. Because Jews often worked for oppressive royal governments and made loans, rage against general injustice was often aimed at Jews.

If they criticized the state, they could be arrested, but there were no consequences for attacking Jewish communities. Royal families encouraged POGROMS to deflect criticism of their own actions.

This is a cloth star which the German government forced people of Jewish descent to wear.

Why do you think the Nazi Party wanted Jews to wear a clear symbol of their faith?

Should the United States get involved in places that seem to be committing genocide? Why or why not?

How did Hitler rise to power in a democracy?

The Roots of Antisemitism

The Warsaw Ghetto

A Timeline