The Nazis and the Holocaust

1. The Nazis and the Holocaust Source 1: How to exterminate the Jews In the prewar years, Hitler tried to rid Germany of its Jewish population by a series of harsh laws intended to make Jews want to leave Germany. After the invasion of Poland, more Jews came under the control of Hitler and the Nazis. Hitler decides to turn from forced migration to annihilation with the formation of Einsatzgruppen, mobile killing squads, that would murder Jews in Eastern Europe. First, the Nazis simply rounded up the Jews in towns, stripped them of their possessions, shot them, and buried them in huge pits. However, there were millions of Jews under Hitler’s control and this was not quick enough; therefore, the Nazis moved toward using poison gas . They used poison gas trucks and the ominous gas chambers of concentration/death camps. The Nazis also built crematories – large furnaces to burn the bodies of the dead. By the fall of 1941, mass murder became the official state policy; orders were given to build death camps in Poland because the largest number of Jews lived in Eastern Europe. Source 2: Account by a young Jewish girl I came to the Auschwitz death factory from one of the many towns that had been taken over by the Germans. I was “processed” into the camp in January 1943. My head was shaved and they gave me the uniform of a dead Russian soldier. I had no spoon, coat, rag, or anything to care for my appearance. This was a means to dehumanize the Jews so that the German guards would feel no pity when they treated us like vermin. How did I survive such hell? I learned to accept the nightmarish camp and, of course, luck. I have no explanation why some lived and others died. I worked all day building roads, digging, cultivating fields, etc… We lived in a unit that was made to house 300, but actually crammed with 700 women. There was one toilet and one source of water. Dysentery and disease were rampant and killed many., Source 3: U.S. Fails to help Europe’s Jews By 1942 Britain and the United States had confirmed reports of Hitler’s intent to annihilate the Jews of Europe. However, a variety of factors including anti-Semitism and fear of a massive increase in refugees stopped both countries from changing their immigration policies. To the American public and government, the goal was, first and foremost, to defeat the German military and not a rescue mission for the Jews. A few Christian leaders in American churches tried to pressure the U.S. Government but their voices were seldom heard. Seeing their lives crumbling around them, many Jews tried to leave Germany and other countries and sail for a safe haven in America. In May 1939, more than 900 Jews left Germany on board the ship – the St. Louis. The St. Louis reached Cuba - only 90 miles off the coast of the U.S. For one month the passengers waited for their papers to be processed by the U.S. Government. When permission was denied, the St. Louis was forced to return to Germany where most of the passengers died in concentration camps. Source 4: You did not bear the shame. You resisted” After the war broke out, there were a number of Christian leaders in Europe that offered assistance to Jews such as Dietrich Bonheoffer. Now he signed up with the German secret service (to serve as a double agent—while traveling to church conferences over Europe, he was supposed to be collecting information about the places he visited, but he was, instead, trying to help Jews escape Nazi oppression). Bonheoffer also became a part of a plot to overthrow, and later to assassinate, Hitler. However, he was later arrested and On April 9, 1945, one month before Germany surrendered, he was hanged. He is one of many who stood up against Nazi tyranny and has since been given the title “Righteous Among the Nations.” Others such as the King of Denmark – Christian X – told the Germans he would not hand the Jews over to them. In 1943, the Danish resistance, fishermen, and police risked their lives ferrying Jews across the Baltic sea to Sweden. The rescue saved almost the entire Jewish population of 7,000.

2. Name ______________________ The Nazis and the Holocaust Directions: Use the four sources to answer the questions. Source 1: How to exterminate the Jews Why did Hitler and the Nazis move away from forced migration to annihilation of the Jews? What was Einstatzgruppenand their job? Why did the Nazis move from shooting to gas trucks to concentration camps for the Jews? Source 2: Account by a young Jewish girl How did Nazis dehumanize the Jews? Why would the Nazis try to dehumanize the Jews? What was wrong with the unit and living conditions? Source 3: U.S. fails to help Europe’s Jews Why did the U.S. and Britain not change their immigration policy to help the Jews of Europe? Summarize the account of the St. Louis ship and its passengers. Who in America tried to pressure the government to help the Jews? Is it wrong to see evil and crimes against humanity and choose not to do anything about it? Explain. Source 4: “You did not bear the shame. You resisted” How did Bonheoffer try to help the Jews? What happened to him? What did the Danish resistance do to save Jews?