Progression of the Holocaust. FACTS o 63% of Jewish population in Europe was killed o 91% of Jewish population in Poland was killed o Auschwitz-Birkenau.

Progression of the Holocaust

FACTSo 63% of Jewish population in Europe was

killedo 91% of Jewish population in Poland was

killedo Auschwitz-Birkenau was liberated by

Soviet troops on Jan. 27, 1945o Found 836, 255 women’s dresseso 348,000 men’s suitso 38,000 pairs of men’s shoeso 14,000 pounds of human hairo But only 7,650 live prisoners

o European Jewish Population in 1933: 9,508,340

o Estimated Jewish survivors of Holocaust: 3,546,211

o =5,962,129

First Stage: Definition (early 1930s)

o Purpose of this stage was to establish the Jewish population as “different” from the rest of society

o Nazis defined Jews based on so-called “scientific” evidence

o Jews were required to register Jews for identity cards

Definitiono Jewish people were

separated from the rest of society by visible symbols-placing the label “Jew” on their clothing, passports and businesses

o Towards the end of this stage, Jews were required to sew a yellow star on all of their clothing

Stage 2: Expropriation (late 1930s)o Purpose of this stage was to

demoralize the Jewish population

o Jewish properties and livelihoods were expropriated (taken away)

o Law forbade Jews from holding certain jobs, living in certain places, owning businesses or having bank accounts

Stage 2o Because Jews had already

been identified in the first stage, it was easy to enforce the new laws against them

o Furthermore, Jews had already been established as different than and inferior to the rest of society, so few people objected

Stage 3: Concentration (early 1930s, but intensified in 1939)

o Purpose of this stage was not only to further remove the Jewish population from the rest of society (both physically and psychologically), but also to bring the Jews into a concentrated area to make it easier to transport them to the death camps

Stage 3o German Jews were not

allowed to attend school, to travel, to own phones, radios, cameras or pets

o In Poland in 1939, Jews were forced to move from the countryside into sectioned-off sections of cities called ghettos

Stage 3o In the ghettos, Jews worked

as slave labourers, surviving on minimal supplies of food, water and shelter

o Huge numbers of the Jews died in the ghettos of disease and malnutrition

Stage 4: Annihilation (from 1941, intensified after

1942)

o The sole purpose of this stage was eliminate the entire Jewish population-as well as:

o anyone who disagreed with the Nazis; members of banned political parties (Communists and Social Democrats); Jehovah’s witnesses and members of many other religious groups; Gypsies; homosexuals; blacks; people with mental and physical disabilities

Stage 4o It began with the liquidation of the

ghettos-transporting anyone who survived the liquidation to labour camps and death camps

o In parts of Russia, Latvia and Lithuania, Jews ere shot or gassed by mobile killing units and dumped in mass graves

o In the rest of Europe, Jews were transported to killing centers disguised as labour camps

Stage 4o Most of the Jews who died in the

death camps were gassed in changers disguised as showers—their bodies were burned in crematoriums

o Before people were killed in the death camps, one last expropriated took place—all personal property was taken from them, including clothing, shoes, eyeglasses, gold fillings in teeth and women’s hair

NOTEo It’s very important to

understand that NONE of these stages were inevitable.

o People could decide whether or not to enforce the laws or comply with them

o People who resisted, however, were usually imprisoned or executed.

Chronology-specifico 1933o Jews who worked for the government

ad to give up their jobso Citizenship was taken awayo 1934o Jewish newspapers could not be sold in

the streetso Marriage between Jews and Germans

was illegalo All books written by Jews are burned in

the streets

o 1935o Jews cannot be in the armyo 1936o Jews could not voteo Jewish doctors could not work in

German hospitals

o 1938o All Jewish passports were marked with a red

letter “J”o Jews could not run businesses that were

owned by Germanso Jews could not go to plays, movies or concertso Jews could not go to German public schoolso All Jewish businesses were shut downo Jews could not have driver’s licenses or own

carso Jews had to hand over all jewellery and arto Jews could not go to university

o 1939o Jews must turn in their radioso Jews must wear a yellow star on

their coato 1940o Jews could not have phoneso Jews were sent to concentration

camps

o 1941o Jews were not allowed to leave

their homes without permission from the police

o Jews were not allowed to use public phones

o Jewish schools were closed

o 1942o Jews were not allowed to have

newspaperso Jews were not allowed to have petso Jews were not allowed to have

typewriterso Jews were not allowed to buy

meat, eggs or milko Jews were not allowed to use

busseso Jews were not allowed to attend

school