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The Persecution Begins
Shortly after Hitler took power in Germany, he ordered all "non-aryans" to be removed from government jobs. This was one of the first moves in a campaign for racial purity that lead to the holocost. Jews were not the only target in the Holocost, but were the center target. -
Silencing Social Opponents.
During this time after Hitler had taken power, the government tried to silence their political opponents, such as communists, socialists, liberals, and anyone who spoke against the government. Gypsies, freemasons, and Jehovah's witnesses were all considered enemies of the government. -
Nuremberg Laws
In 1935, the Nuremberg Laws were passed. These laws stripped Jews of their German citizenship, jobs, and property. To make it easier for German soldiers to identify them, they were forced to wear a yellow Star of David on their clothes. -
Kristallnacht
These 2 days (November 9th and 10th) became known as Kristallnacht, meaning "The Night of Broken Glass". Nazi storm troopers attacked jewish homes, businesses, and synagogues across Germany. The main streets of the city were covered in shattered glass. around 100 Jews were killed, and hundreds more injured. About 30k Jews were arrested and hundreds of synagogues were burned. -
Plight of St. Louis
Official indifference to the plight of Germany's Jews was evidence in the case of the ship in St. Louis. This German ocean liner passed Miani in 1939. ALthough 740 of the liner's 943 passengers had US immigration papers, the Coast Guard followed the ship to prevent anyone from disembarking on America. The ship was forced to return to Europe -
The Final Solution
Hitler began implementing his Final Solution in Poland with special Nazi death squads. His solution was genocide, which is the systematic killing of an entire population. Hitler's elite nazi "security squadrons" rounded up Jews (men, women, children, and babies) and shot them on the spot. Other groups were gypsies, freemasons, Jehovas witnesses, and homosexuals.Jews were ordered into dismal, overcrowded ghettos. In these ghettos were concentration camps, or labor camps with poor work conditions. -
Death Camps
These camps had a new method for genocide, because overwork, starvation, and other methods weren't fast enough. This method was the gas chamber. Chelmno was the first camp and could kill 12,000 per day. Auschwitz was the biggest one of the death camps. Prisoners were divided by eye as to which ones would die. They were then told to undress for a shower. They went into the chamber and were poisoned by cyanide gas that was pushed through the vents in the room. -
The Final Stage
In early 1942, the primitive idea of poisoning the prisoners with cyanide gas was officially put into action. The death camps, being a success with Chelmno and Auschwitz, were then built in more places and put into use immediately. The bodies were originally put in huge pits, and others were then sent to crematoriums, where they were burned in a pit. Gassing wasn't the only method of killing being used either, as others were still shot, hung, or injected with poison.
