The Jewish Religion and those that follow it (Jews) have been persecuted before the holocaust. Anti-Semitism (the hatred of Jews) has existed for many years, all though the holocaust was the furthest this hatred has ever been taken there have been other instances were Jews have been persecuted. One of which is that of Christian anti-Semitism. In the middle ages it was part of the catholic religion, but not belief, to be anti-Semitic because they thought that the Jewish people were responsible for killing Jesus. Over time Christians began to accept the Jewish religion due to the interpretation that all Jews are born with the sin of deicide (god killing). In the Papal States, which existed until 1870, Jews were only allowed to live in ghettos. Until the 1840s, they were made to go to sermons until they converted to Christianity. Only Jews were taxed to support school and it was illegal to convert from Christianity to Judaism. Sometimes Jews were baptized without their consent and were forced to practise Christianity. Some catholic churches were still anti-Semitic during the war and holocaust but it was told to be a non-Christian act as it was not following the bible and Love your neighbour prophecy.

 

Why did Hitler and the Nazis hate the Jews?

Hitler and his hatred of Jews came to light even before he was chancellor, his book Mein kamph contained many references to his hatred of the Jewish religion. It appears this hatred of Jews arose after ww1. Hitler thought that the Jewish people had stabbed Germany in the back during ww1 and if it were not for them Germany could have won the war! This statement Hitler said   made anti-Semitism explode in Germany. People believed the propaganda and more and more seats were claimed in the Nazi Party.

How did the Nazis persecute the Jews?

From 1933-38…

1933 was the beginning of the persecution of Jews in the sense that things were happening to them and changing in their lives. They were not allowed to do many things; they even had to sit on benches especially for Jews. If they did not follow these new rules they would be punished (usually violently). Jewish stores were boycotted and Jews were only allowed in certain stores. This was the initial start of the separation.

In 1934-35 all Jews were forbidden from joining the army and Jewish children were made to go to all Jew schools. This is a huge separation and specifically at this time German boys and girls were made to go to Hitler youth and BDM. This made German children doubly aware of the propaganda about the Jewish people. These children were fed lies so that when they grow up they will be Aryan and potentially Nazis.

In 1936 it was the berlin Olympic Games and was Hitler’s time to show off his country. He made many speeches and changed the appearance of Germany by putting up Nazi flag everywhere and speakers playing pro Nazi speeches and announcements.

1937 was the year Hitler made his speech about his feelings on Jews and other non-Aryan people. ‘This is probably the first time and this is the first country in which people are being taught to realize that, of all the tasks which we have to face, the noblest and most sacred for mankind is that each racial species must preserve the purity of the blood which God has given it’ this quote shows his desire for Germany, the rest of Europe and the world to be ‘pure’. After his speech the crowd cheered and appeared to agree with all that he has said.

1938 was when all Jews had to register their belongings. This was made less unusual by the anti-sematic propaganda being taken down; this also made Jews feel less uneasy about the unusual request.

From 1939-42 and what were the conditions like in the ghettos?

Jews were made to move into ghettos. These were for only Jews and the other people the Nazi’s wanted to separate from the Aryan population of Germany. These ghettos were surrounded by brick walls and fences, anyone who tried to escape would be killed. Food was scarce and jobs were the same. Many people lost all their money when buying overpriced food, some people threw food over the wall but were punished

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What did the Einsatzgruppen do?

The Einsatzgruppen were an elite fighting unit (not all German) much like the ss. except instead of controlling Jews in the ghettos the Einsatzgruppen were made to shot them point blank into a ditch. This method was ineffective due to the use of ammo (6 bullets per person) which was expensive. This was also very disturbing for those in the Einsatzgruppen because they would have to kill babies, children, women, old people and men all day! The Einsatzgruppen was led by Himmler and they would also run the concentration/extermination camps.

What was decided at the Wannsee confrence in 1942?

The Wannsee conference in 1942 was the birthplace of the final solution. Pardon to popular belief and assumption Hitler was not actually at the conference instead it was a bunch of head Nazi officers and people in high places In the Nazi party. It was therefore a joint decision. This makes it more difficult to blame a single person for the terrible things going on.

What was the final solution?

The final solution was the act of sending Jews and others to extermination camps to be killed. This was done in a quick and horrific way. Jews from all over Europe and from ghettos were sent to many camps dotted around Poland. Poland was chosen because it had good railway links and was mostly forest so no one could see what they were doing. The Jews were put on cattle carts on the trip to Poland and many died on the journey due to:

·        Suffocation

·        Disease

·        Hyperthermia (in the winter)

·        Heat (in the summer)

They then got off at what looked like a normal train station but was in fact situated in or very close to the extermination camps. There was flowers and even classical music to make it seem normal so that the prisoners would not panic. Another method of keeping them calm was letting other prisoners help them off the carts so that they would not be as scared if it was scary SS officers. They were then split into 2 lines for men and women who were then split into another 2 lines, healthy and able to work and unhealthy, elderly and children ( these people would be killed immediately) as would the healthy people but after they had been worked to death. They were killed in a devistation way, they were told they were having a shower and were made to tie their shoes together and fold their clothes so that they would be easy to find. They were then crammed into a small chamber and locked in from the outside. Zyclon B was then dropped in through shower heads in the roof. Zyclon B was initialling used to rid factorys of rodants but would kill hundreds in 10 minutes. They did this untill millions of people were dead. This was the final solution

 

Were Jews the only victims of the holocaust?

Jews were not the only victims of the holocaust, many people that the nazi party didn’t agree with were murdered. For example:

·        Jews

·        Political prisoners

·        Emigrants

·        Homosexuals

·        A socials

·        Gypsies

These people all had badges (shown below) to sew onto their clothes so that the germans knew who they were.