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The Nazis Take Power
After gaining power, the Nazis concentrated on silencing all of their political opponents - communists, socialists, liberals, and anyoneelse who spoke out against the government. -
Hitler's persecution begins
Hitler ordered all Aryans out of government jobs. First step in the campaign for racial purity. -
Nuremburg Laws
These laws were passed in 193 and they stripped Jews of their German citizenship, jobs, and property. Jews had to wear a bright yellow star of David on their clothing so they could be identified. -
Period: to
Kristallnacht
Kristallnacht, or the night of broken glass, was when Nazi storm troopers attacked Jewish homes, businesses, and synagogues across Germany.Around a hundred jews were killed and more than a hundred were injured. Some 30,000 jews were arrested and hundreds of synagogues were burned. Jews were blamed for the destruction. -
The final solution
Hitler imposed his final solution, the act of genocide where he killed all of an entire population. He believed Aryans were the supreme race and killed gypsies, freemasons, Jehovahs witnesses, jews, homosexuals, mentally ill, mentally disabled, physically disabled, physically ill. -
St. Louis
The ship St. Louis passed Miami in 1939. Although 740 of the 943 passengers had immigration papers the coast guard followed them until they left so no one could leave for America. The ship returned to Europe where over half of the passengers were killed in the Holocaust. -
Death camps
The Germans built six deaath camps in Poland, the first at Chelmno, which began operation in 1941, before the meeting at Wannsee. Each camp had huge gas chambers where 12,000 could be killed a day. When prisoners arrived at Auschwitz, the largest of the death camps, they were paraded by SS doctors who would seperate those who could work from those who would die that day. Both groups were told to leave belongings, promised they would get them later. -
Methods of Killing
Those destined to die wre told to undress for showers, given pieces of soap, and led into the chambers. They were then gassed. This was sometimes accompanied by cheerful music played from an orchestra of prisoners. The bodies were first buried in huge pits. The smell became bad so they set up crematoriums or burned the bodies in pits. Many were shot and hanged, or killed in science experiments.
