For this exam, you may bring in one side of a page of looseleaf containing notes—facts, opinions, outlines, evidence.  You will need to hand this page in after you write the in-class essay, as evidence that you spent adequate time preparing.
    Choose ONE topic and explore it thoroughly.  You should plan to write steadily for at least 30 minutes (two sides of foolscap minimum).

1. Some people say that the Holocaust never happened.  Write an essay in which you aim to persuade one of these people to rethink their point of view.  Give plenty of evidence to back up your opinions.

2. What was Hitler’s “final solution to the Jewish problem”?  Give examples of how he put this policy into action.  Tell what the results were.  Then explain what you think about this policy.

3. What technological developments resulted directly from World War II?  (This can include both new technology and “improvements” to old.)  What is the impact of this technology?  Does it affect our lives today in any way?  In your opinion, should some of this technology have been used against other human beings?  (eg—atomic bomb)

4. Hitler believed that it was more important to win than to do the right thing.  (“In starting and making war, it is not right that matters, but victory.”)  Give examples of how he and his followers displayed this attitude.  What do you think of this belief?

5. How did the books you read help you to understand the war, the Holocaust, and the nature of human beings?  Be sure to name the books you read and to explain how each one affected your thinking.

6. Is war and Holocaust material suitable for students in Grades 7 and 8 to read and watch?  Should some books and movies be restricted because they are too graphic, even if they tie in directly with topics being studied?  Why or why not?

7. Why do you think that people in other countries were so slow to help the victims of the Holocaust?  Use research to back up your opinions.
 
 

This first link is a new one, from Teacher Net.  It contains an enormous number of excellent resources on all aspects of the Holocaust.  Be sure to start here.

 Anne Frank

 US Holocaust Memorial Museum

Heroes

Survivor art

Teacher stuff

Links to other sites

Comprehensive but graphic

General

Poems, chart

History

Teacher's Guide

Bibliography

Holocaust

More Holocaust

Holocaust Denial

Auschwitz

Holocaust 2

Holocaust 3

Treaty of Versailles

Holocaust history

Remember

Memorial

World War II

Israel

Student resources

Holocaust--Jewish perspective

Holocaust 3

Holocaust 4

Holocaust Forgotten

Holocaust 5
 
 

The following information is abridged from a web site feature called "Ask a Rabbi". Please note the credits below.

1. When speaking about the "Holocaust," what time period are we referring to?
Answer: The "Holocaust" refers to the period from January 30, 1933, when Hitler became Chancellor of Germany, to May 8, 1945 (V-E Day), the end of the war in Europe.

2. How many Jews were murdered during the Holocaust?
Answer: While it is impossible to ascertain the exact number of Jewish victims, statistics indicate that the total was over 5,860,000. Six million is the round figure accepted by most authorities.

3. How many non-Jewish civilians were murdered during World War II?
Answer: While it is impossible to ascertain the exact number, the recognized figure is approximately 5,000,000. Among the groups which the Nazis and their collaborators murdered and persecuted were: Gypsies, Serbs, Polish intelligentsia, resistance fighters from all the nations, German opponents of Nazism, homosexuals, Jehovah's Witnesses, habitual criminals, and the "anti-social," e.g. beggars, vagrants, and hawkers.

4. Which Jewish communities suffered losses during the Holocaust?
Answer: Every Jewish community in occupied Europe suffered losses during the Holocaust. The Jewish communities in North Africa were persecuted, but the Jews in these countries were neither deported to the death camps, nor were they systematically murdered.

5. How many Jews were murdered in each country and what percentage of the pre-war Jewish population did they constitute?
Answer: (Source: Encyclopedia of the Holocaust)
Austria 50,000 -- 27.0%
Italy 7,680 -- 17.3%
Belgium 28,900 -- 44.0%
Latvia 71,500 -- 78.1%
Bohemia/Moravia 78,150 -- 66.1%
Lithuania 143,000 -- 85.1%
Bulgaria 0 -- 0.0%
Luxembourg 1,950 -- 55.7%
Denmark 60 -- 0.7%
Netherlands 100,000 -- 71.4%
Estonia 2,000 -- 44.4%
Norway 762 -- 44.8%
Finland 7 -- 0.3%
Poland 3,000,000 -- 90.9%
France 77,320 -- 22.1%
Romania 287,000 -- 47.1%
Germany 141,500 -- 25.0%
Slovakia 71,000 -- 79.8%
Greece 67,000 -- 86.6%
Soviet Union 1,100,000 -- 36.4%
Hungary 569,000 -- 69.0%
Yugoslavia 63,300 -- 81.2%

6. What is a death camp? How many were there? Where were they located?
Answer: A death (or mass murder) camp is a concentration camp with special apparatus specifically designed for systematic murder. Six such camps existed: Auschwitz-Birkenau, Belzec, Chelmno, Majdanek, Sobibor, Treblinka. All were located in Poland.

7. What does the term "Final Solution" mean and what is its origin?
Answer: The term "Final Solution" (Endl"sung) refers to Germany's plan to murder all the Jews of Europe. The term was used at the Wannsee Conference (Berlin; January 20,1942) where German officials discussed its implementation.

8. When did the "Final Solution" actually begin?
Answer: While thousands of Jews were murdered by the Nazis or died as a direct result of discriminatory measures instituted against Jews during the initial years of the Third Reich, the systematic murder of Jews did not begin until the German invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941.

9. How did the Germans define who was Jewish?
Answer: On November 14, 1935, the Nazis issued the following definition of a Jew: Anyone with three Jewish grandparents; someone with two Jewish grandparents who belonged to the Jewish community on September 15, 1935, or joined thereafter; was married to a Jew or Jewess on September 15, 1935, or married one thereafter; was the offspring of a marriage or extramarital liaison with a Jew on or after September 15, 1935.

10. How did the Germans treat those who had some Jewish blood but were not classified as Jews?
Answer: Those who were not classified as Jews but who had some Jewish blood were categorized as Mischlinge (hybrids)and were divided into two groups:
Mischlinge of the first degree--those with two Jewish grandparents;
Mischlinge of the second degree--those with one Jewish grandparent.
The Mischlinge were officially excluded from membership in the Nazi Party and all Party organizations (e.g. SA, SS, etc.). Although they were drafted into the Germany Army, they could not attain the rank of officers. They were also barred from the civil service and from certain professions. (Individual Mischlinge were, however, granted exemptions under certain circumstances.) Nazi officials considered plans to sterilize Mischlinge, but this was never done. During World War II, first-degree Mischlinge, incarcerated in concentration camps, were deported to death camps.

11. What were the first measures taken by the Nazis against the Jews?
Answer: The first measures against the Jews included:
April 1, 1933: A boycott of Jewish shops and businesses by the Nazis.
April 7, 1933: The law for the Re-establishment of the Civil Service expelled all non-Aryans (defined on April 11, 1933 as anyone with a Jewish parent or grandparent) from the civil service. Initially, exceptions were made for those working since August 1914; German veterans of World War I; and, those who had lost a father or son fighting for Germany or her allies in World War I.
April 7, 1933: The law regarding admission to the legal profession prohibited the admission of lawyers of non-Aryan descent to the Bar. It also denied non-Aryan members of the Bar the right to practice law. (Exceptions were made in the cases noted above in the law regarding the civil service.) Similar laws were passed regarding Jewish law assessors, jurors, and commercial judges.
April 22, 1933: The decree regarding physicians' services with the national health plan denied reimbursement of expenses to those patients who consulted non-Aryan doctors. Jewish doctors who were war veterans or had suffered from the war were excluded.
April 25, 1933: The law against the overcrowding of German schools restricted Jewish enrollment in German high schools to 1.5% of the student body. In communities where they constituted more than 5% of the population, Jews were allowed to constitute up to 5% of the student body. Initially, exceptions were made in the case of children of Jewish war veterans, who were not considered part of the quota. In the framework of this law, a Jewish student was a child with two non-Aryan parents.

12. Did the Nazis plan to murder the Jews from the beginning of their regime?
Answer: This question is one of the most difficult to answer. While Hitler made several references to killing Jews, both in his early writings (Mein Kampf) and in various speeches during the 1930s, it is fairly certain that the Nazis had no operative plan for the systematic annihilation of the Jews before 1941. The decision on the systematic murder of the Jews was apparently made in the late winter or the early spring of 1941 in conjunction with the decision to invade the Soviet Union.

13. When was the first concentration camp established and who were the first inmates?
Answer: The first concentration camp, Dachau, opened on March 22, 1933. The camp's first inmates were primarily political prisoners (e.g. Communists or Social Democrats); habitual criminals; homosexuals; Jehovah's Witnesses; and "anti-socials" (beggars, vagrants, hawkers). Others considered problematic by the Nazis (e.g. Jewish writers and journalists, lawyers, unpopular industrialists, and political officials) were also included.

14. Which groups of people in Germany were considered enemies of the state by the Nazis and were, therefore, persecuted?
Answer: The following groups of individuals were considered enemies of the Third Reich and were, therefore, persecuted by the Nazi authorities: Jews, Gypsies, Social Democrats, other opposing politicians, opponents of Nazism, Jehovah's Witnesses, homosexuals, habitual criminals, and "anti-socials" (e.g. beggars, vagrants, hawkers), and the mentally ill. Any individual who was considered a threat to the Nazis was in danger of being persecuted.

15. What was the difference between the persecution of the Jews and the persecution of other groups classified by the Nazis as enemies of the Third Reich?
Answer: The Jews were the only group singled out for total systematic annihilation by the Nazis. To escape the death sentence imposed by the Nazis, the Jews could only leave Nazi-controlled Europe. Every single Jew was to be killed according to the Nazis' plan. In the case of other criminals or enemies of the Third Reich, their families were usually not held accountable. Thus, if a person were executed or sent to a concentration camp, it did not mean that each member of his family would meet the same fate. Moreover, in most situations the Nazis' enemies were classified as such because of their actions or political affiliation (actions and/or opinions which could be revised). In the case of the Jews, it was because of their racial origin, which could never be changed.

16. Why were the Jews singled out for extermination?
Answer: The explanation of the Nazis' implacable hatred of the Jew rests on their distorted world view which saw history as a racial struggle. They considered the Jews a race whose goal was world domination and who, therefore, were an obstruction to Aryan dominance. They believed that all of history was a fight between races which should culminate in the triumph of the superior Aryan race. Therefore, they considered it their duty to eliminate the Jews, whom they regarded as a threat. Moreover, in their eyes, the Jews' racial origin made them habitual criminals who could never be rehabilitated and were, therefore, hopelessly corrupt and inferior.
There is no doubt that other factors contributed toward Nazi hatred of the Jews and their distorted image of the Jewish people. These included the centuries-old tradition of Christian antisemitism which propagated a negative stereotype of the Jew as a Christ-killer, agent of the devil, and practitioner of witchcraft. Also significant was the political antisemitism of the latter half of the nineteenth and early part of the twentieth centuries, which singled out the Jew as a threat to the established order of society. These combined to point to the Jew as a target for persecution and ultimate destruction by the Nazis.

17. What did people in Germany know about the persecution of Jews and other enemies of Nazism?
Answer: Certain initial aspects of Nazi persecution of Jews and other opponents were common knowledge in Germany. Thus, for example, everyone knew about the Boycott of April 1, 1933, the Laws of April, and the Nuremberg Laws, because they were fully publicized. Moreover, offenders were often publicly punished and shamed. The same holds true for subsequent anti-Jewish measures. Kristallnacht (The Night of the Broken Glass) was a public pogrom, carried out in full view of the entire population. While information on the concentration camps was not publicized, a great deal of information was available to the German public, and the treatment of the inmates was generally known, although exact details were not easily obtained.

As for the implementation of the "Final Solution" and the murder of other undesirable elements, the situation was different. The Nazis attempted to keep the murders a secret and, therefore, took precautionary measures to ensure that they would not be publicized. Their efforts, however, were only partially successful. Thus, for example, public protests by various clergymen led to the halt of their euthanasia program in August of 1941. These protests were obviously the result of the fact that many persons were aware that the Nazis were killing the mentally ill in special institutions.
As far as the Jews were concerned, it was common knowledge in Germany that they had disappeared after having been sent to the East. It was not exactly clear to large segments of the German population what had happened to them. On the other hand, there were thousands upon thousands of Germans who participated in and/or witnessed the implementation of the "Final Solution" either as members of the SS, the Einsatzgruppen, death camp or concentration camp guards, police in occupied Europe, or with the Wehrmacht.

18. Did all Germans support Hitler's plan for the persecution of the Jews?
Answer: Although the entire German population was not in agreement with Hitler's persecution of the Jews, there is no evidence of any large scale protest regarding their treatment. There were Germans who defied the April 1, 1933 boycott and purposely bought in Jewish stores, and there were those who aided Jews to escape and to hide, but their number was very small. Even some of those who opposed Hitler were in agreement with his anti-Jewish policies. Among the clergy, Dompropst Bernhard Lichtenberg of Berlin publicly prayed for the Jews daily and was, therefore, sent to a concentration camp by the Nazis. Other priests were deported for their failure to cooperate with Nazi antisemitic policies, but the majority of the clergy complied with the directives against German Jewry and did not openly protest.

19. Did the people of occupied Europe know about Nazi plans for the Jews? What was their attitude? Did they cooperate with the Nazis against the Jews?
Answer: The attitude of the local population vis-a-vis the persecution and destruction of the Jews varied from zealous collaboration with the Nazis to active assistance to Jews. Thus, it is difficult to make generalizations. The situation also varied from country to country. In Eastern Europe and especially in Poland, Russia, and the Baltic States (Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania), there was much more knowledge of the "Final Solution" because it was implemented in those areas. Elsewhere, the local population had less information on the details of the "Final Solution."
In every country they occupied, with the exception of Denmark and Bulgaria, the Nazis found many locals who were willing to cooperate fully in the murder of the Jews. This was particularly true in Eastern Europe, where there was a long standing tradition of virulent antisemitism, and where various national groups, which had been under Soviet domination (Latvians, Lithuanians, and Ukrainians), fostered hopes that the Germans would restore their independence. In several countries in Europe, there were local fascist movements which allied themselves with the Nazis and participated in anti-Jewish actions; for example, the Iron Guard in Romania and the Arrow Guard in Slovakia. On the other hand, in every country in Europe, there were courageous individuals who risked their lives to save Jews. In several countries, there were groups which aided Jews, e.g. Joop Westerweel's group in the Netherlands, Zegota in Poland, and the Assisi underground in Italy.

20. Did the Allies and the people in the Free World know about the events going on in Europe?
Answer: The various steps taken by the Nazis prior to the "Final Solution" were all taken publicly and were, therefore, reported in the press. Foreign correspondents commented on all the major anti-Jewish actions taken by the Nazis in Germany, Austria, and Czechoslovakia prior to World War II. Once the war began, obtaining information became more difficult, but reports, nonetheless, were published regarding the fate of the Jews. Thus, although the Nazis did not publicize the "Final Solution," less than one year after the systematic murder of the Jews was initiated, details began to filter out to the West. The first report which spoke of a plan for the mass murder of Jews was smuggled out of Poland by the Bund (a Jewish socialist political organization) and reached England in the spring of 1942. The details of this report reached the Allies from Vatican sources as well as from informants in Switzerland and the Polish underground. (Jan Karski, an emissary of the Polish underground, personally met with Franklin Roosevelt and British Foreign Minister Anthony Eden). Eventually, the American Government confirmed the reports to Jewish leaders in late November 1942. They were publicized immediately thereafter. While the details were neither complete nor wholly accurate, the Allies were aware of most of what the Germans had done to the Jews at a relatively early date.

21. What was the response of the Allies to the persecution of the Jews? Could they have done anything to help?
Answer: The response of the Allies to the persecution and destruction of European Jewry was inadequate. Only in January 1944 was an agency, the War Refugee Board, established for the express purpose of saving the victims of Nazi persecution. Prior to that date, little action was taken. On December 17, 1942, the Allies issued a condemnation of Nazi atrocities against the Jews, but this was the only such declaration made prior to 1944.
Moreover, no attempt was made to call upon the local population in Europe to refrain from assisting the Nazis in their systematic murder of the Jews. Even following the establishment of the War Refugee Board and the initiation of various rescue efforts, the Allies refused to bomb the death camp of Auschwitz and/or the railway lines leading to that camp, despite the fact that Allied bombers were at that time engaged in bombing factories very close to the camp and were well aware of its existence and function.

Other practical measures which were not taken concerned the refugee problem. Tens of thousands of Jews sought to enter the United States, but they were barred from doing so by the stringent American immigration policy. Even the relatively small quotas of visas which existed were often not filled, although the number of applicants was usually many times the number of available places. Conferences held in Evian, France (1938) and Bermuda (1943) to solve the refugee problem did not contribute to a solution. At the former, the countries invited by the United States and Great Britain were told that no country would be asked to change its immigration laws. Moreover, the British agreed to participate only if Palestine were not considered. At Bermuda, the delegates did not deal with the fate of those still in Nazi hands, but rather with those who had already escaped to neutral lands. Practical measures which could have aided in the rescue of Jews included the following:

•  Permission for temporary admission of refugees
•  Relaxation of stringent entry requirements
•  Frequent and unequivocal warnings to Germany and local populations all over Europe that those participating in the annihilation of Jews would be held strictly accountable
• Bombing the death camp at Auschwitz

23. Were Jews in the Free World aware of the persecution and destruction of European Jewry and, if so, what was their response?
Answer: The news of the persecution and destruction of European Jewry must be divided into two periods. The measures taken by the Nazis prior to the "Final Solution" were all taken publicly and were, therefore, in all the newspapers. Foreign correspondents reported on all major anti-Jewish actions taken by the Nazis in Germany, Austria, and Czechoslovakia prior to World War II. Once the war began, obtaining information became more difficult, but, nonetheless, reports were published regarding the fate of the Jews.

The "Final Solution" was not openly publicized by the Nazis, and thus it took longer for information to reach the "Free World." Nevertheless, by December 1942, news of the mass murders and the plan to annihilate European Jewry was publicized in the Jewish press.

The response of the Jews in the "Free World" must also be divided into two periods, before and after the publication of information on the "Final Solution." Efforts during the early years of the Nazi regime concentrated on facilitating emigration from Germany (although there were those who initially opposed emigration as a solution) and combatting German antisemitism. Unfortunately, the views on how to best achieve these goals differed and effective action was often hampered by the lack of internal unity. Moreover, very few Jewish leaders actually realized the scope of the danger. Following the publication of the news of the "Final Solution," attempts were made to launch rescue attempts via neutral states and to send aid to Jews under Nazi rule. These attempts, which were far from adequate, were further hampered by the lack of assistance and obstruction from government channels. Additional attempts to achieve internal unity during this period failed.

24. Did the Jews in Europe realize what was going to happen to them?
Answer: Regarding the knowledge of the "Final Solution" by its potential victims, several key points must be kept in mind. First of all, the Nazis did not publicize the "Final Solution," nor did they ever openly speak about it. Every attempt was made to fool the victims and, thereby, prevent or minimize resistance. Thus, deportees were always told that they were going to be "resettled." They were led to believe that conditions "in the East" (where they were being sent) would be better than those in ghettos. Following arrival in certain concentration camps, the inmates were forced to write home about the wonderful conditions in their new place of residence. The Germans made every effort to ensure secrecy. In addition, the notion that human beings--let alone the civilized Germans--could build camps with special apparatus for mass murder seemed unbelievable in those days. Since German troops liberated the Jews from the Czar in World War I, Germans were regarded by many Jews as a liberal, civilized people. Escapees who did return to the ghetto frequently encountered disbelief when they related their experiences. Even Jews who had heard of the camps had difficulty believing reports of what the Germans were doing there. Inasmuch as each of the Jewish communities in Europe was almost completely isolated, there was a limited number of places with available information. Thus, there is no doubt that many European Jews were not aware of the "Final Solution," a fact that has been corroborated by German documents and the testimonies of survivors.

25. How many Jews were able to escape from Europe prior to the Holocaust?
Answer: It is difficult to arrive at an exact figure for the number of Jews who were able to escape from Europe prior to World War II, since the available statistics are incomplete. From 1933-1939, 355,278 German and Austrian Jews left their homes. (Some immigrated to countries later overrun by the Nazis.) In the same period, 80,860 Polish Jews immigrated to Palestine and 51,747 European Jews arrived in Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay. During the years 1938-1939, approximately 35,000 emigrated from Bohemia and Moravia (Czechoslovakia). Shanghai, the only place in the world for which one did not need an entry visa, received approximately 20,000 European Jews (mostly of German origin) who fled their homelands. Immigration figures for countries of refuge during this period are not available. In addition, many countries did not provide a breakdown of immigration statistics according to ethnic groups. It is impossible, therefore, to ascertain.

26. What efforts were made to save the Jews fleeing from Germany before World War II began?
Answer: Various organizations attempted to facilitate the emigration of the Jews (and non-Jews persecuted as Jews) from Germany. Among the most active were the Jewish Agency for Palestine, the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, HICEM, the Central British Fund for German Jewry, the Reichsvertretung der Deutschen Juden (Reich Representation of German Jews), which represented German Jewry, and other non-Jewish groups such as the League of Nations High Commission for Refugees (Jewish and other) coming from Germany, and the American Friends Service Committee. Among the programs launched were the "Transfer Agreement" between the Jewish Agency and the German government whereby immigrants to Palestine were allowed to transfer their funds to that country in conjunction with the import of German goods to Palestine. Other efforts focused on retraining prospective emigrants in order to increase the number of those eligible for visas, since some countries barred the entry of members of certain professions. Other groups attempted to help in various phases of refugee work: selection of candidates for emigration, transportation of refugees, aid in immigrant absorption, etc. Some groups attempted to facilitate increased emigration by enlisting the aid of governments and international organizations in seeking refugee havens. The League of Nations established an agency to aid refugees but its success was extremely limited due to a lack of political power and adequate funding.
The United States and Great Britain convened a conference in 1938 at Evian, France, seeking a solution to the refugee problem. With the exception of the Dominican Republic, the nations assembled refused to change their stringent immigration regulations, which were instrumental in preventing large-scale immigration.

In 1939, the Intergovernmental Committee on Refugees, which had been established at the Evian Conference, initiated negotiations with leading German officials in an attempt to arrange for the relocation of a significant portion of German Jewry. However, these talks failed. Efforts were made for the illegal entry of Jewish immigrants to Palestine as early as July 1934, but were later halted until July 1938. Large-scale efforts were resumed under the Mosad le-Aliya Bet, Revisionist Zionists, and private parties. Attempts were also made, with some success, to facilitate the illegal entry of refugees to various countries in Latin America.

27. Why were so few refugees able to flee Europe prior to the outbreak of World War II?
Answer: The key reason for the relatively low number of refugees leaving Europe prior to World War II was the stringent immigration policies adopted by the prospective host countries. In the United States, for example, the number of immigrants was limited to 153,744 per year, divided by country of origin. Moreover, the entry requirements were so stringent that available quotas were often not filled. Schemes to facilitate immigration outside the quotas never materialized as the majority of the American public consistently opposed the entry of additional refugees. Other countries, particularly those in Latin America, adopted immigration policies that were similar or even more restrictive, thus closing the doors to prospective immigrants from the Third Reich.

Great Britain, while somewhat more liberal than the United States on the entry of immigrants, took measures to severely limit Jewish immigration to Palestine. In May 1939, the British issued a "White Paper" stipulating that only 75,000 Jewish immigrants would be allowed to enter Palestine over the course of the next five years (10,000 a year, plus an additional 25,000). This decision prevented hundreds of thousands of Jews from escaping Europe.

The countries most able to accept large numbers of refugees consistently refused to open their gates. Although a solution to the refugee problem was the agenda of the Evian Conference, only the Dominican Republic was willing to approve large-scale immigration. The United States and Great Britain proposed resettlement havens in under-developed areas (e.g. Guyana, formerly British Guiana, and the Philippines), but these were not suitable alternatives.

Two important factors should be noted. During the period prior to the outbreak of World War II, the Germans were in favor of Jewish emigration. At that time, there were no operative plans to kill the Jews. The goal was to induce them to leave, if necessary, by the use of force. It is also important to recognize the attitude of German Jewry. While many German Jews were initially reluctant to emigrate, the majority sought to do so following Kristallnacht (The Night of Broken Glass), November 9-10, 1938. Had havens been available, more people would certainly have emigrated.

28. What was Hitler's ultimate goal in launching World War II?
Answer: Hitler's ultimate goal in launching World War II was the establishment of an Aryan empire from Germany to the Urals. He considered this area the natural territory of the German people, an area to which they were entitled by right, the Lebensraum (living space) that Germany needed so badly for its farmers to have enough soil. Hitler maintained that these areas were needed for the Aryan race to preserve itself and assure its dominance.

There is no question that Hitler knew that, by launching the war in the East, the Nazis would be forced to deal with serious racial problems in view of the composition of the population in the Eastern areas. Thus, the Nazis had detailed plans for the subjugation of the Slavs, who would be reduced to serfdom status and whose primary function would be to serve as a source of cheap labor for Aryan farmers. Those elements of the local population, who were of higher racial stock, would be taken to Germany where they would be raised as Aryans.

In Hitler's mind, the solution of the Jewish problem was also linked to the conquest of the eastern territories. These areas had large Jewish populations and they would have to be dealt with accordingly. While at this point there was still no operative plan for mass annihilation, it was clear to Hitler that some sort of comprehensive solution would have to be found. There was also talk of establishing a Jewish reservation either in Madagascar or near Lublin, Poland. When he made the decisive decision to invade the Soviet Union, Hitler also gave instructions to embark upon the "Final Solution," the systematic murder of European Jewry.

29. Was there any opposition to the Nazis within Germany?
Answer: Throughout the course of the Third Reich, there were different groups who opposed the Nazi regime and certain Nazi policies. They engaged in resistance at different times and with various methods, aims, and scope.
From the beginning, leftist political groups and a number of disappointed conservatives were in opposition; at a later date, church groups, government officials, students and businessmen also joined. After the tide of the war was reversed, elements within the military played an active role in opposing Hitler. At no point, however, was there a unified resistance movement within Germany.

30. Did the Jews try to fight against the Nazis? To what extent were such efforts successful?
Answer: Despite the difficult conditions to which Jews were subjected in Nazi-occupied Europe, many engaged in armed resistance against the Nazis. This resistance can be divided into three basic types of armed activities: ghetto revolts, resistance in concentration and death camps, and partisan warfare.

The Warsaw Ghetto revolt, which lasted for about five weeks beginning on April 19, 1943, is probably the best-known example of armed Jewish resistance, but there were many ghetto revolts in which Jews fought against the Nazis.
Despite the terrible conditions in the death, concentration, and labor camps, Jewish inmates fought against the Nazis at the following sites: Treblinka (August 2, 1943); Babi Yar (September 29, 1943); Sobibór (October 14, 1943); Janówska (November 19, 1943); and Auschwitz (October 7, 1944).

Jewish partisan units were active in many areas, including Baranovichi, Minsk, Naliboki forest, and Vilna. While the sum total of armed resistance efforts by Jews was not militarily overwhelming and did not play a significant role in the defeat of Nazi Germany, these acts of resistance did lead to the rescue of an undetermined number of Jews, Nazi casualties, and untold damage to German property and self-esteem.

31. What was the Judenrat?
Answer: The Judenrat was the council of Jews, appointed by the Nazis in each Jewish community or ghetto. According to the directive from Reinhard Heydrich of the SS on September 21, 1939, a Judenrat was to be established in every concentration of Jews in the occupied areas of Poland. They were led by noted community leaders. Enforcement of Nazi decrees affecting Jews and administration of the affairs of the Jewish community were the responsibilities of the Judenrat. These functions placed the Judenrat in a highly responsible, but controversial position, and many of their actions continue to be the subject of debate among historians. While the intentions of the heads of councils were rarely challenged, their tactics and methods have been questioned. Among the most controversial were Mordechai Rumkowski in Lodz and Jacob Gens in Vilna, both of whom justified the sacrifice of some Jews in order to save others. Leaders and members of the Judenrat were guided, for the most part, by a sense of communal responsibility, but lacked the power and the means to successfully thwart Nazi plans for annihilation of all Jews.

32. Did international organizations, such as the Red Cross, aid victims of Nazi persecution?
Answer: During the course of World War II, the International Red Cross (IRC) did very little to aid the Jewish victims of Nazi persecution. Its activities can basically be divided into three periods:
1. September, 1939 - June 22, 1941:
The IRC confined its activities to sending food packages to those in distress in Nazi-occupied Europe. Packages were distributed in accordance with the directives of the German Red Cross. Throughout this time, the IRC complied with the German contention that those in ghettos and camps constituted a threat to the security of the Reich and, therefore, were not allowed to receive aid from the IRC.

2. June 22, 1941 - Summer 1944:
Despite numerous requests by Jewish organizations, the IRC refused to publicly protest the mass annihilation of Jews and non-Jews in the camps, or to intervene on their behalf. It maintained that any public action on behalf of those under Nazi rule would ultimately prove detrimental to their welfare. At the same time, the IRC attempted to send food parcels to those individuals whose addresses it possessed.

3. Summer 1944 - May 1945:
Following intervention by such prominent figures as President Franklin Roosevelt and the King of Sweden, the IRC appealed to Miklós Horthy, Regent of Hungary, to stop the deportation of Hungarian Jews.
The IRC did insist that it be allowed to visit concentration camps, and a delegation did visit the "model ghetto" of Terezin (Theresienstadt). The IRC request came following the receipt of information about the harsh living conditions in the camp.

The IRC requested permission to investigate the situation, but the Germans only agreed to allow the visit nine months after submission of the request. This delay provided time for the Nazis to complete a "beautification" program, designed to fool the delegation into thinking that conditions at Terezin were quite good and that inmates were allowed to live out their lives in relative tranquility.

The visit, which took place on July 23, 1944, was followed by a favorable report on Terezin to the members of the IRC which Jewish organizations protested vigorously, demanding that another delegation visit the camp. Such a visit was not permitted until shortly before the end of the war. In reality, the majority were subsequently deported to Auschwitz where they were murdered.

33. How did Germany's allies, the Japanese and the Italians, treat the Jews in the lands they occupied?
Answer: Neither the Italians nor the Japanese, both of whom were Germany's allies during World War II, cooperated regarding the "Final Solution." Although the Italians did, upon German urging, institute discriminatory legislation against Italian Jews, Mussolini's government refused to participate in the "Final Solution" and consistently refused to deport its Jewish residents. Moreover, in their occupied areas of France, Greece, and Yugoslavia, the Italians protected the Jews and did not allow them to be deported. However, when the Germans overthrew the Badoglio government in 1943, the Jews of Italy, as well as those under Italian protection in occupied areas, were subject to the "Final Solution."
The Japanese were also relatively tolerant toward the Jews in their country as well as in the areas which they occupied. Despite pressure by their German allies urging them to take stringent measures against Jews, the Japanese refused to do so. Refugees were allowed to enter Japan until the spring of 1941, and Jews in Japanese-occupied China were treated well. In the summer and fall of 1941, refugees in Japan were transferred to Shanghai but no measures were taken against them until early 1943, when they were forced to move into the Hongkew Ghetto. While conditions were hardly satisfactory, they were far superior to those in the ghettos under German control.

34. What was the attitude of the churches vis-a-vis the persecution of the Jews? Did the Pope ever speak out against the Nazis?
Answer: The head of the Catholic Church at the time of the Nazi rise to power was Pope Pius XI. Although he stated that the myths of "race" and "blood" were contrary to Christian teaching (in a papal encyclical, March 1937), he neither mentioned nor criticized antisemitism. His successor, Pius XII (Cardinal Pacelli) was a Germanophile who maintained his neutrality throughout the course of World War II. Although as early as 1942 the Vatican received detailed information on the murder of Jews in concentration camps, the Pope confined his public statements to expressions of sympathy for the victims of injustice and to calls for a more humane conduct of the war.

Despite the lack of response by Pope Pius XII, several papal nuncios played an important role in rescue efforts, particularly the nuncios in Hungary, Romania, Slovakia, and Turkey. It is not clear to what, if any, extent they operated upon instructions from the Vatican. In Germany, the Catholic Church did not oppose the Nazis' antisemitic campaign. Church records were supplied to state authorities which assisted in the detection of people of Jewish origin, and efforts to aid the persecuted were confined to Catholic non-Aryans. While Catholic clergymen protested the Nazi euthanasia program, few, with the exception of Bernhard Lichtenberg, spoke out against the murder of the Jews.

In Western Europe, Catholic clergy spoke out publicly against the persecution of the Jews and actively helped in the rescue of Jews. In Eastern Europe, however, the Catholic clergy was generally more reluctant to help. Dr. Jozef Tiso, the head of state of Slovakia and a Catholic priest, actively cooperated with the Germans as did many other Catholic priests.

The response of Protestant and Eastern Orthodox churches varied. In Germany, for example, Nazi supporters within Protestant churches complied with the anti-Jewish legislation and even excluded Christians of Jewish origin from membership. Pastor Martin Niem"ller's Confessing Church defended the rights of Christians of Jewish origin within the church, but did not publicly protest their persecution, nor did it condemn the measures taken against the Jews, with the exception of a memorandum sent to Hitler in May 1936.

In occupied Europe, the position of the Protestant churches varied. In several countries (Denmark, France, the Netherlands, and Norway) local churches and/or leading clergymen issued public protests when the Nazis began deporting Jews. In other countries (Bulgaria, Greece, and Yugoslavia), some Orthodox church leaders intervened on behalf of the Jews and took steps which, in certain cases, led to the rescue of many Jews.

35. How many Nazi criminals were there? How many were brought to justice?
Answer: We do not know the exact number of Nazi criminals since the available documentation is incomplete. The Nazis themselves destroyed many incriminating documents and there are still many criminals who are unidentified and/or unindicted.

Those who committed war crimes include those individuals who initiated, planned and directed the killing operations, as well as those with whose knowledge, agreement, and passive participation the murder of European Jewry was carried out.

Those who actually implemented the "Final Solution" include the leaders of Nazi Germany, the heads of the Nazi Party, and the Reich Security Main Office. Also included are hundreds of thousands of members of the Gestapo, the SS, the Einsatzgruppen, the police and the armed forces, as well as those bureaucrats who were involved in the persecution and destruction of European Jewry. In addition, there were thousands of individuals throughout occupied Europe who cooperated with the Nazis in killing Jews and other innocent civilians.

We do not have complete statistics on the number of criminals brought to justice, but the number is certainly far less than the total of those who were involved in the "Final Solution." The leaders of the Third Reich, who were caught by the Allies, were tried by the International Military Tribunal in Nuremberg from November 20, 1945 to October 1, 1946. Afterwards, the Allied occupation authorities continued to try Nazis, with the most significant trials held in the American zone (the Subsequent Nuremberg Proceedings). In total, 5,025 Nazi criminals were convicted between 1945-1949 in the American, British and French zones, in addition to an unspecified number of people who were tried in the Soviet zone. In addition, the United Nations War Crimes Commission prepared lists of war criminals who were later tried by the judicial authorities of Allied countries and those countries under Nazi rule during the war. The latter countries have conducted a large number of trials regarding crimes committed in their lands. The Polish tribunals, for example, tried approximately 40,000 persons, and large numbers of criminals were tried in other countries. In all, about 80,000 Germans have been convicted for committing crimes against humanity, while the number of local collaborators is in the tens of thousands. Special mention should be made of Simon Wiesenthal, whose activities led to the capture of over one thousand Nazi criminals.

Courts in Germany began, in some cases, to function as early as 1945. By 1969, almost 80,000 Germans had been investigated and over 6,000 had been convicted. In 1958, the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; West Germany) established a special agency in Ludwigsburg to aid in the investigation of crimes committed by Germans outside Germany, an agency which, since its establishment, has been involved in hundreds of major investigations. One of the major problems regarding the trial of war criminals in the FRG (as well as in Austria) has been the fact that the sentences have been disproportionately lenient for the crimes committed. Some trials were also conducted in the former German Democratic Republic (GDR; East Germany), yet no statistics exist as to the number of those convicted or the extent of their sentences.

36. What were the Nuremberg trials?
Answer: The term "Nuremberg Trials" refers to two sets of trials of Nazi war criminals conducted after the war. The first trials were held November 20, 1945 to October 1, 1946, before the International Military Tribunal (IMT), which was made up of representatives of France, Great Britain, the Soviet Union, and the United States. It consisted of the trials of the political, military and economic leaders of the Third Reich captured by the Allies. Among the defendants were: G"ring, Rosenberg, Streicher, Kaltenbrunner, Seyss-Inquart, Speer, Ribbentrop and Hess (many of the most prominent Nazis -- Hitler, Himmler, and Goebbels -- committed suicide and were not brought to trial). The second set of trials, known as the Subsequent Nuremberg Proceedings, was conducted before the Nuremberg Military Tribunals (NMT), established by the Office of the United States Government for Germany (OMGUS). While the judges on the NMT were American citizens, the tribunal considered itself international. Twelve high-ranking officials were tried, among whom were cabinet ministers, diplomats, doctors involved in medical experiments, and SS officers involved in crimes in concentration camps or in genocide in Nazi-occupied areas.
 
 

Copyright © 1997, The Simon Wiesenthal Center
9760 West Pico Boulevard, Los Angeles, California 90035
 
 

The Nazi Boycott of Jewish Stores, April 1933

After the Enabling Act was passed, violence against Jews escalated and Julius Streicher, editor of the vehemently anti-Semitic newspaper Der Stürmer, was told to form a boycott committee. Lists of specific businesses and individuals to be boycotted were published. On April 1st, Nazi pickets were posted in front of stores and factories belonging to Jews and in front of Jewish professional offices to prevent anyone from entering. Hermann Göring, meanwhile, had ordered German Jewish leaders to deny reports of Nazi atrocities committed against Jews. Germans who tried to buy from Jews were shamed and exposed publicly.

The boycott lasted only three days but it had important implications and consequences. Moreover, it revealed the completeness and efficiency of Nazi information on Jewish economic life. It also strengthened the idea that it was permissible to damage and even destroy that life with impunity. Later measures were based on this assumption.

"Retirement"
On April 7th, the German government issued an order firing all civil service workers not of "Aryan" descent. This was the first instance of discrimination on the basis of "race" which was consistent with German law. City governments responded by passing other laws discriminating against Jews. In Frankfurt, Jewish teachers were excluded from universities, and Jewish performers were barred from the stage and concert halls. In other cities, Jews were excluded from admission to the legal profession. These actions created thousands of jobs for "Aryans." A decree was issued on April 11th defining "non-Aryans" as those who were descended from "non-Aryan" parents or grandparents, even if only one grandparent was "non-Aryan."

The slaughter of animals for food under Jewish kosher laws was banned on April 21st. On April 25th, a numerus clausus, or quota law, limited admission of Jews to institutions of higher learning to 1.5 percent of the total. On September 28th, Jews were excluded from all artistic, dramatic, literary and film enterprises. On September 29th, Jews could no longer own farmland.

Eventually, 400 specific anti-Jewish laws and decrees were passed, each based on the Nazi racist definition of a non-Aryan.

Terror, much of it state-condoned, continued against Jews and leftists. Many were beaten to death for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Some in despair committed suicide. Many others fled to Palestine or to other countries where they perceived they would be safe.

Nazi Concentration Camps
In 1933, ten concentration camps were set up in Germany - the first at Dachau - at first for the purpose of imprisoning political opponents of the regime and then for specific victims, such as Jews and homosexuals. The concentration camps were intended not only to break the prisoners as individuals and to spread terror among the rest of the population, but also to provide the Gestapo with a training ground, a way of conditioning them so that they would lose all familiar human emotions and attitudes. In talks with a Nazi leader even before he became chancellor, Hitler had said:
"We must be ruthless...Only thus shall we purge our people of their softness...and their degenerate delight in beer-swilling...I don't want the concentration camps transformed into penitentiaries. Terror is the most effective political instrument...It is my duty to make use of every means of training the German people to cruelty, and to prepare them for war...There must be no weakness or tenderness."

The Instruments of Nazi Terror

There were three organizations of terror in the Nazi hierarchy: the Gestapo, the S.S. or Elite Guard, and the S.D. or Security Service. They overlapped and often feuded with one another over power and booty. The Gestapo was organized by Göring, who, as Minister of the Interior of Prussia, administered two-thirds of Germany and controlled the Prussian police. After purging the regular police and replacing them with Nazis, he added a small unit of his own, the Secret State Police, or Gestapo. The Gestapo was first used against Göring's political opponents, but was then aimed at any so-called enemies of the regime and could seize and arrest anyone at will without regard for court or law. Under Heinrich Himmler, it quickly expanded as an arm of the dreaded "black-shirts," S.S.

Himmler had been a chicken farmer and fertilizer salesman before the war. In 1923, he participated in the attempted putsch of 1923 (see Chapter 6) and for a time worked in the party office in Landshut. In this job, he began to collect confidential reports on Party members made by his spies, thus building up secret files later used by Reinhard Heydrich in the Security Service (S.D.). The S.S. was originally set up under Himmler in 1929 as a protective guard for Hitler and other leading Nazis, but Himmler ultimately developed it into a vast empire of terror. He had helped to secure Bavaria for the Nazis and fell under the spell of those who wanted to breed a future race of blond Nordic leaders as world overlords. For a few years, the S.S. was subordinate to the S.A. (Stormtroopers), but Himmler steadily built up his force into a combination private army and police force, enlisting only the most loyal followers of Hitler and racial fanatics like himself. The open membership of the S.S. reached 52,000 by 1933. In addition to this complement, Himmler recruited a shadow corps of S.S. officers who kept their affiliation secret until Hitler fully controlled the state as well as the party, but who then filled huge parts of the government machinery.

"Night of the Long Knives"
Himmler's ascendancy came after the purge of the S.A. under Ernst Röhm. In 1933, Röhm's troops numbered over four million men, arousing fears among army leaders that they might replace the regular army (Wehrmacht). Röhm also wanted radical social and economic changes which were unacceptable to industrialists and other conservative groups whose support Hitler needed. A power struggle brought Himmler and Göring together against Rohm. They told Hitler that Rohm was plotting against him and urged drastic action. It came on June 30, 1934, the "Night of the Long Knives," when Röhm and several hundred men in the S.A. and a number of marked men, branded as traitors, were murdered. Hitler made much of the depraved morals (read: homosexuality) of the men who were killed and the danger they posed to the state. The cabinet legalized this slaughter as a necessary measure for the defense of the state, and Hitler and Göring were thanked by Hindenburg. The army, of course, was pleased with the elimination of the S.A. as its rival, but showed itself unwilling or incapable of challenging the gangster-like powers under Hitler's control.

As a reward for carrying out the executions on June 30th, Himmler advanced in rank and prestige. Göring named him chief deputy of the Prussian Gestapo, and he immediately began to build a police empire of his own, the terrible machine of terror that was to become the scourge of the continent and the annihilator of Jews. After the Röhm purge, the concentration camps were turned over to S.S. control.

Guard duty was given to the S.S. Death Head units, whose members were recruited from the toughest, most sadistic Nazi elements. By 1936, the Gestapo was absorbed into the S.S. and in the same year, Himmler gained control of the entire police force in Germany, which he pushed into the framework of the Nazi party. Later, Himmler created an S.S. Supreme Command, consisting of twelve departments which duplicated many of the departments of the government, including a huge army and a department that organized huge population upheavals after the war started.

Security Service (S.D.)
A third system of terror during the Third Reich was the S.D. or Security Service. This sub-structure was also within the S.S., and did not number more than 3,000, but its intelligence and counterintelligence systems pried into the lives of all Germans through the use of thousands of part-time informers. Under Reinhard Heydrich, the head of the S.D., security and terror were brought to murderous effectiveness. After the purge of the S.A., Heydrich began to penetrate the political police with personnel and build up dossiers on powerful as well as inconsequential Nazis, including Hitler himself, for blackmail purposes. Many of his recruits were bright, university-trained men who were unable to find jobs, but their civilized backgrounds were no barrier to later assignments carrying out orders in the murderous Einsatzgruppen, or mobile killing squads, that accompanied the German army into Russia.

Toward the end of 1934, a so-called Nazi "expert" on the Jews, Adolf Eichmann, was hired by the S.D. to work in its department for Jewish affairs. This department gathered information about prominent Jews in Germany and abroad and monitored the Jewish press. It also made studies of Jewish organizations and books about Judaism. Jewish organizations in Germany, their meetings and members came under close S.D. surveillance, and agreements were worked out between the S.D. and the Gestapo. By 1936, Himmler turned over the administration of the Gestapo to Heydrich, and the line between the Gestapo and S.D. became extremely blurred after that time.

Book Burnings
Book burnings became commonplace in pre-war Germany. The Nazis denigrated much of the Western cultural heritage of Europe and liberal, humanistic values. On May 10, 1933, in Berlin, the first of a series of book burnings took place. The works of world-class authors such as Thomas Mann, Erich Maria Remarque, Jack London, H. G. Wells, and Emile Zola as well as those of Jewish writers were burned in huge bonfires under the approving eye of Joseph Goebbels, the Propaganda Minister. While the books burned, Goebbels declared: "The soul of the German people can again express itself. These flames not only illuminate the final end of an old era; they also light up the new." Goebbels henceforth nazified German culture, forcing all of the arts to serve the new regime. Many great writers, musicians, artists and actors fled Germany or were silenced.

Anti-Semitism in the German Media
Anti-Semitic hate spewed out of the press and government information offices during this period. Julius Streicher's Der Stürmer, a German newspaper, carried a 14-page special issue which included the age-old charge that Jews used Christian blood to bake their Passover matzoh. The newspaper "documented" two thousand years of Jewish ritual murders. More than 100,000 copies of the issue were printed and distributed. Nazi propaganda beamed to Palestine exacerbated Arab hostility toward German Jews who had settled there, and sparked anti-Jewish riots.

Hitler as Head of State
With the death of President Hindenburg on August 2, 1934, Hitler became the Head of State. He issued a new law combining the offices of Chancellor and president, and pronounced himself Reichsführer (Leader of the Reich).

Nuremberg Laws (September 1935)
On September 15, 1935, comprehensive new laws codified the racial policies which Hitler envisioned in Mein Kampf. Under the "Reich Citizenship Law," the status of German citizenship was conveyed only to those belonging to "a national of German or related blood." "The Law for the Protection of German Blood and Honor" forbade marriage and sexual contact between Jews and Aryans. Jews were forbidden to fly the German flag. This law stripped Jews of all basic civil rights, classifying them as state subjects rather than as citizens. Jews were defined as a separate race. Thirteen supplementary laws were passed during the next eight years. Jews were further defined as persons having three Jewish grandparents, two Jewish grandparents if they belonged to the Jewish religious community before September 15, 1935, or if they were married to a Jew as of that date.

No one at this time could envision the ominous Nazi decision to physically destroy all Jews, but the Nuremberg Laws were an important step toward that end. The Nazis now had a definition that was the first of a chain of measures, one leading to another, escalating in severity and leading ultimately to the physical destruction of European Jewry. Once Jews could be defined and identified, they now could be and were segregated socially, politically, and economically from other Germans. Their property could be and was confiscated. They had become pariahs, outside the protection of the state they had placed their confidence in for generations.

By the time that the Nuremberg Laws had been proposed, more than 75,000 German Jews had fled the country. Many thousands of others who left were not Jews at all in their own minds, but were defined as Jews or "Christian non-Aryans" by the ideological dogma of the Nazi party. As such, they were subject to the same harassment, social and economic isolation, and physical and emotional intimidation and discrimination as the Jews. Many of these "non-Aryans" were baptized Christians, were regular church-goers, were the sons and daughters of Christians, and thought and acted no differently than their friends and neighbors who were accepted as true "Germans." The only thing which distinguished them from their neighbors was that they had some "Jewish blood" in their veins, perhaps going back two generations, which made it impossible for them to be considered "German" under Nazi doctrine.
About 40% of those Jews who emigrated chose Palestine as their destination. Almost 10,000 went to the United States. Thousands of others found a haven in Canada and South Africa. Others settled in other European countries. As thousands of Jewish professionals found that they could no longer earn a living, emigration as a response gained more and more credence. Jews, once virtually totally assimilated into the social tapestry of Germany, began to realize that they had no future there. The optimism that the Nazi era was just an ephemeral phase faded. When the Nuremberg Laws were announced, it was one more death knell for the Jews of Germany.

Why Many Jews Remained in Germany
Until 1935, when the Nuremberg Laws were passed, Nazis differed on what to do with German Jews. Jewish cultural as well as physical survival in Germany seemed possible. The Jüdische Kulturbund was organized in 1933 and provided purposeful work for professional Jewish musicians, actors, and artists who had been expelled from German cultural fields. The Jewish community as a whole, in its organized form, the Representative Council of German Jews, was not threatened until 1938, and between 1933 and 1935, there was a lull in anti-Jewish persecution. A false optimism was induced by the S.A. purge of June 30, 1934, and some Jews who had left Germany, believing that the most dangerous of the Nazis had been removed, returned to Germany after the purge.

In the early 1930's, there was also general belief that the Nazi regime would be short-lived. Although 37,000 Jews left Germany in 1933, many who remained believed that they could hold on and hold out. Jewish attachment to Germany was particularly strong, and they hoped for support and protection from the non-Nazis in the Cabinet and hold-over civil servants from the Weimar Republic.

Rabbi Leo Baeck, the acknowledged intellectual and spiritual leader of German Jewry, was one of the few German Jews who was fundamentally pessimistic about the future. Soon after Hitler came to power, while addressing a meeting of Jewish communal organizations, Rabbi Baeck said, "The thousand-year history of German Jewry has come to an end." But he did not remain passive. As rabbi, he urged Jews to maintain faith in the ultimate triumph of justice. He tried to create a sense of inner freedom among Jews that could sustain them through the persecution. He also agreed to serve as the spokesman for all German Jews and became head of the Representative Council of German Jews in September 1933. The Council tried to be the political voice for all German Jews in relation to the government and in the early months of its existence tried to appeal for a redress of grievances on the basis of law. These appeals were ignored, and the Council soon began to concentrate on the urgency to emigrate, particularly for young people.
The Council also negotiated with Jews abroad for political support that would not expose them to retaliation and for funds. One of its most important tasks, after Jewish children were removed from schools, was to provide a network of special schools for Jewish children who were shocked by their sudden rejection and isolation. In the meantime, "racial science" became compulsory in German schools, and all courses were nazified.
 

Euthanasia
Under Nazi doctrine, one major obsession of the party was to assure that the blood of the German "master race" remained "pure" of any contamination by people with undesirable features. Additionally, the advancement of German culture, in their view, required that there be a limitation on those who were not "productive" in work or who would otherwise not advance the goals and objectives of the State. The Nazi phrase, "Life unworthy of life" was used to describe such people, as well as criminals, the insane, and the physically handicapped. This characterization was soon extended to include Jews, Gypsies, and homosexuals.

Nazi policies were initiated as early as 1933 to take steps to assure that persons who were "undesirables" were unable to dilute the Aryan race by reproduction. The first step was the forced sterilization of persons considered "mentally deficient." A July 14, 1933 law legalized sterilization for persons with certain hereditary diseases, and empowered the Hereditary Health Courts to enforce this policy. The intent of the program was to eliminate the possibility that these people and their potential offspring would continue to be a burden to society.

Once sterilization became accepted, it was only a matter of time until the Nazis went one step further in approving a program of euthanasia. Intentionally masked by the onset of war, mentally and physically handicapped persons were rounded up and sent to special facilities for "treatment." Most were never heard from again. The families of the victims would often receive telegrams informing them that their loved one had died of a heart attack or pneumonia. In this way, the Nazis hoped to eliminate defective genes from the population, which would have the effect of strengthening future generations of the "master race." Early victims of this program were given fatal injections. These facilities were soon equipped with gas chambers.

In effect, the Nazis' euthanasia program was another rationalization for mass murder. The term "special treatment" (in German, Sonderbehandlung), which was a euphemism for the murder of "defective" persons, was eventually applied to the treatment of Jews in the death camps.

Scores of medical doctors, some of whom were committed Nazis, and others with no political affiliation at all, participated in the sterilization and euthanasia programs. Each had taken the Hippocratic Oath, pledging to heal the sick, protect life, and refrain from harmful actions to their patients. And each had violated that Oath to the fullest degree possible.

Finally, the availability of thousands of human beings without any legal protection, and a government which encouraged their extermination, made it possible for many of these doctors to carry out outrageous human experimentation. Much more of this experimentation was carried out in the concentration camps on prisoners who were savaged both physically and emotionally. The Nazis kept careful records of these experiments, which a horrified world later discovered.
 
 

• This will be our last major literature study for the 2000-2001 school year.  It is vitally important that you complete the work carefully, thoughtfully and promptly.  Remember that LRC books will have to be returned by early June.
• You will be required to read at least two books.  At least one should be fictional or biographical.
• You will view numerous videos during this unit.  Please ensure that you take adequate notes on each video.  You should include the videos we view in your research bibliography, so be sure that you record such details as title, date etc.
• One of your assignments will have a research component.  You will need to use appropriate research skills for this section, including taking jot notes, preparing an outline, doing one or more drafts, preparing a final copy and making a cover page and a correct reference list.

• Suppose that you learn that Saskatoon must be evacuated immediately because a foreign power is about to invade because it wants our water.  You have only five minutes to decide what you will take with you.  Everything you take must fit into your school backpack.  Remember that you must take things that you will need to survive for an unknown length of time, and that chances are good that you will not ever be able to return to your home.
• List everything you want to take, and then priorize the items in order of importance.
• Meet with your designated group (4-5 students) for 15 minutes to compare and discuss your lists and priorities.  What necessities for survival does your group have?  Present your list to the class, and explain why you included each item.  (Hint: think about which items represent needs, and which represent wants or luxuries.)
• Listening:  excerpt from The Diary of Anne Frank.
• RDJ:  Write about the passage you heard and your feelings about the scenario.

• Research how the map of Europe changed from the end of World War I (1914-1918) to the end of World War II.  Draw two maps to show the differences.
• Research the deportation routes of Jews before and during World War II.  Draw a map to show the routes.
• Draw a map of the concentration camps.  Include the dates when each camp was operational.
• Create a graph showing the number of Jewish people killed in at least 10 countries during the Holocaust (~1940-1945)
• Draw a time line showing the chronology of events during the Holocaust.
• Propaganda uses generalizations, false information, stereotypes or other devices to persuade you to believe something without asking why.  Some of the techniques include bandwagon (persuading people to do something because others are doing it); testimonial (using the words of a famous person); repetition (repeating the words or phrases many times); and emotional words (use strong language that makes you feel strongly about someone or something).

• Find copies of popular German songs from World War II that help to support the Nazis’ anti-Semitic ideas.  Share words and/or music.
• Find paintings, poetry, music or other artistic expressions created by concentration camp inmates or Holocaust survivors.  Analyze and evaluate them.
• What were the newspapers, magazines, radio broadcasts and movie newsreels of the time saying about the treatment of Jewish people?  Find copies of articles or transcripts of broadcasts to share with the class.
•  What specific things did the Nazis do to indoctrinate young Germans?
• Prepare an annotated and evaluated list of at least 20 war/Holocaust websites that you would recommend to other Grade Seven or Eight students.

Prepare a two to three page paper on one of the following topics:

• Research the Treaty of Versailles.  Choose two of the items in this treaty and briefly explain them and their implications.  Be sure to consider their effect on German economy, society and politics.
• The Nazis established a number of ghettos:  the Kovno Ghetto and the Warsaw Ghetto were two of the most well-known.  Research either of these and write about what life was like for those who were confined within its boundaries.
• Study the Nuremberg Laws.  Explain what the implications of these laws were.  Discuss whether or not a similar set of laws could be put into practice today.
• Research one aspect of Jewish culture (holidays, dietary laws, religious beliefs, history…)
• Beginning with Kristallnacht, discuss what systematic steps the Nazis took that led to the Holocaust.
• Research and explain how Hitler’s government used propaganda to manipulate the way the German people understood Nazi policy.
• Discuss the Nuremberg Trial and its findings.
• Find out about one of the national Resistance movements (eg—France, Denmark).
• How is the creation of the nation of Israel in 1947 connected to the outcome of WWII?
• Find out about a hero of WWII and provide a detailed biography of him/her, being sure to evaluate their contributions.
• Interview a person who was alive during WWII about their memories of the war and especially of the Holocaust.
• What role did women play during the war?
• Why didn't more Canadians try to help the refugees?
• What happened to the camps and ghettoes?  Are there any left?
• Why did Hitler hate the Jews so much?
• What religion was Hitler?
• What is the significance of "Arbeit Macht Frei?"  (Work makes you free.)
• How were workers "selected"?
• How were young children who were prisoners treatedin the camps?
• How did it all end?
• What did Stalin do?
• What happened to Stalin?
• Where did the concentration camp survivors live after they were freed?
• How did Hitler get into power?
• Was the persecution worse in Germany than in other parts of Europe?
• What role did young people play in the war?  (Hitler Youth)
• How did the SS go from being a group of bodyguards to being a powerful part of the government?
• How and why was the swastika chosen as the Nazi symbol?
• What role did Mussolini (Italy) play?
• Why did the Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor, Hawaii?

 

•  What symbols are used in your novel?  How are symbols used in your novel?  Why did the author choose to use these symbols?
•  What kinds of discrimination and prejudice are demonstrated in your novel?
•  What is altruism?  Discuss examples of altruistic behaviour in your novel.
• Do any of the characters in your novel feel guilty?  Why?
• What kinds of resistance are evident in your novel?  Do you agree with the characters’ choices?  Why or why not?
• How do the events that the author creates influence the development of the main character?  How does the MC view himself/herself at the beginning of the novel?  How do other characters view him/her?  How does the main character grow and change as a person during the course of the novel?
• What are the major incidents in the novel?  Why do you see them as major turning points for the story and/or the main character?
• What kinds of conflict are revealed in your novel?  How does the main character deal with conflict?  (remember:  man vs man; man vs. nature; man vs self)
• If you read two or more novels or memoirs, compare and contrast them.  Look at such topics as personality traits of the main characters, time frames, use of symbolism, point of view and character development.

Complete at least seven of the following IN DETAIL in your RDJ.  (This will complete your RDJ component for this year.)
(Note:  You can substitute any of the the following assignments for work in Activity Four.)
 

•  What is genocide?  Analyze and explain some of the factors that may have led to genocide.  You may want to talk about ideology, technology and bureaucracy in your response.
• What does it mean to be a hero?  Discuss reasons why individuals act in certain ways in difficult situation.  Is the main character in your novel a hero?  WOWN?
• Analyze how prejudice is revealed in your novel.  What impact does prejudice have on the people in your novel?  Do all of the characters react in the same way?
• Develop a personal plan to reduce prejudice and bigotry in yourself.
• Many children were separated from their families during the Holocaust.  If this happens in your novel, discuss the effect separation has on the children.  How would you feel in similar circumstances?
• There are several different kinds of resistance:  passive, direct, moral, physical.  What kinds of resistance do the people in your book display?  Do you agree with what they do?  WOWN?
• Which of the following human behaviours are depicted in your book, and how:  obedience, conformity, courage, integrity, apathy, empathy, cruelty?
• What contemporary examples of bigotry and prejudice are you aware of?
• What is the difference between crime and war crime?
• What was the impact of the Holocaust on the survivors?
• Discuss whether or not the Holocaust could happen again.
• Discuss reasons why the Holocaust should (or should not) be studied,
• Discuss how the Jewish ghettos of the Holocaust period compare to the inner city ghettos of large North American cities.
• What contemporary examples of propaganda are you aware of?
• If the Nuremberg Trial was held today, would the outcomes be different?  WOWN?
• Why are people still writing about the Holocaust, so many years after it happened?
• Is it possible to measure human evil?
• Is it less terrible to kill 600 people than to kill 6 000 000?
• Is it more evil to kill people in gas chambers than to bomb their city?
• Is it worse to destroy people through slavery than to wipe them off the face of the earth?
• Choose one incident in your novel and retell it from another character’s point of view.
• Describe how you would respond to a particular event or situation in your novel.
• Identify a passage in the novel that is especially well written, and discuss how the author used language effectively.
• Draw an illustration based on a descriptive passage from your novel.
• If you could give a gift to the main character in your novel, what would it be, and why?
• If you could change one event in your novel, what would it be, how would you change it, and why?
Write at least five poems expressing your feelings about war, Holocaust and related themes.

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