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Persecution Begins
Shortly after Hitler took power in Germany, he ordered all "non-Aryans" to be removed from government jobs. This order was one of the first moves in a campaign for racial purity that eventually led to the Holocaust. -
Nazi's Take Power
After taking power in 1933, the Nazi's had concentrated on silencing their political opponents-communists, socialists, liberals, & anyone else who spoke out against the government. Once the Nazi's had eliminated these enemies, they turned against other groups in Germany that included: Jews, Gypsies, Freemasons, Jehovah's Witnesses, & other Germans who Nazi's found to be unfit to be apart of the "master race" -homosexuals, mentally deficient, mentally ill, physically disabled, & incurably ill. -
Nazi's Persecution Increased
AS Nazi's tightened their hold for Germany, their persecution of the Jews increased. IN 1935, the Nuremburg Laws stripped Jews of their German citizenship, jobs, and property. To make it easier for the Nazi's to identify them, Jews had to wear a bright yellow star attached to their clothing; the worst is yet to come. -
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Kristallnacht "Night of Broken Glass"
Nazi storm troopers attacked Jewish homes, businesses, and synagogues across Germany. Windows were smashed and the streets were littered with shattered glass. 100 Jews were killed and hundreds more were injured. About 30,000 Jews were arrested and hundreds of synagogues were burned. Afterwards, Afterwards, the Nazi's blamed the Jews for the destruction. -
St. Louis
The German ocean liner, St. Louis, passed Miami in 1939. Although 740 of the liner's 943 passengers has U.S. immigration papers, the Coast Guard followed the ship to prevent anyone from embarking in America. The ship was forced to return to Europe. -
The Final Solution
In 1939, only about a quarter million Jews remianed in Germany, but, there were still millions in other European countries. Hitler was obsessed with a desire to rid Europe of its Jews; he imposed what he called the "Final Solution"- a policy of genocide, the deliberate and systematic killing of an entire population. A few groups targeted were Jews, Gypsies, communists, freemasons, Jehovah's WItnesses, and people with disabilities were targeted. Concentration camps were labor camps. -
Death Camps: Chelmno and Aushwitz
Chelmno- first death camp that began operating in Poland in 1941 before the meeting at Wannsee. There were six total death camps. Each camp had several huge gas chambers in which as many as 12,000 people each day could be killed. Auschwitz-the largest death camp. Prisoners were separated either those who were strong enough to work and those eho would die that day. -
The Final Stage
The Final Solution reached its final stage in early 1942. At a meeting held in Wannsee, Hitler's top officials agreed to a new phase of mass murder of Jews. Slaughter, starvation, and now, murder by poison gas. Starvation, beatings, overworked, hanging, lethal injections, and bullets killed Jews. Huge gas chambers killed as many as 12,000 Jews per day. The prisoners thought they were getting a shower. The bodies were thrown in pits, burned, or buried. The stench was always there though.
