A Teacher’s Guide to the Holocaust-Victims
Posted By admin on October 18, 2021
Approximately 11 million people were killed because of Nazi genocidal policy. It was the explicit aim of Hitler's regime to create a European world both dominated and populated by the "Aryan" race. The Nazi machinery was dedicated to eradicating millions of people it deemed undesirable. Some people were undesirable by Nazi standards because of who they were,their genetic or cultural origins, or health conditions. These included Jews, Gypsies, Poles and other Slavs, and people with physical or mental disabilities. Others were Nazi victims because of what they did. These victims of the Nazi regime included Jehovah's Witnesses, homosexuals, the dissenting clergy, Communists, Socialists, asocials, and other political enemies.
Those believed by Hitler and the Nazis to be enemies of the state were banished to camps. Inside the concentration camps, prisoners were forced to wear various colored triangles, each color denoting a different group. The letters on the triangular badges below designate the prisoners' countries of origin.
This photo shows a chart of the prison badges used in concentration camps.
At first, the Nazis boycotted Jewish businesses for one day in April 1933. Then legislation excluded Jews from certain professions. The Nuremberg Laws created very detailed Nazi definitions of who was Jewish. Many people who never considered themselves Jewish suddenly became targets of Nazi persecution.
The world accessible to German Jews narrowed. Jews were no longer allowed to enter cinemas, theaters, swimming pools, and resorts. The publishing of Jewish newspapers was suspended. Jews were required to carry identification cards and to wear Star of David badges. On one night, Nazis burned synagogues and vandalized Jewish businesses. The arrests and murders that followed intensified the fear Jews felt. Next, Jewish children were barred from schools. Curfews restricted Jews' time of travel and Jews were banned from public places. Germany began to expel Jews from within its borders.
Germany's invasion of Poland in late 1939 radicalized the Nazi regime's policy toward Jews. Hitler turned to wholesale death of the European Jewish population. He swept Jewish populations into ghettos in eastern Europe. Simultaneously, mobile squads killed millions. The next step was to send Jews to squalid concentration and death camps. Approximately six million died for one reason: they were Jewish.
More information about Jewish victims of the Holocaust, with links to other Web sites and documentary materials.
Although the Nuremberg Laws did not specifically mention them, Roma were included in the implementation of the statutes. Like Jews, they were deprived of their civil rights. In June 1936, a Central Office to "Combat the Gypsy Nuisance" opened in Munich. By 1938, Sinti and Roma were being deported to concentration camps.
The fate of the Romani peoples paralleled that of the Jews after the beginning of World War II: systematic deportation and murder. First, western European Roma were resettled in ghettos. Then they were sent to concentration and extermination camps. Many Roma in the east--Russia, Poland, and the Balkans--were shot by the Einsatzgruppen. In total, hundreds of thousands of Sinti and Roma were killed during the Holocaust.
Further information about the Sinti and Roma, a photo, and links to other Web sites.
It is often forgotten that Christian Poles and other Slavs, notably Ukrainians and Byelorussians, were also primary targets of Nazi Germany hatred during World War II. To the Nazis, the Slavs were considered Untermenschen,or subhumans, and nothing more than obstacles to gaining territory necessary for the superior German race. This philosophy is apparent in Hitler's statement, "The destruction of Poland is our primary task. The aim is not the arrival at a certain line but the annihilation of living forces...."
The combination of a Nazi genocidal policy and the Nazis' thirst for more living space resulted in disaster for Polish, Ukrainian, and Byelorussian populations. Millions of Slavs were deported to Germany for forced labor. Intelligentsia, consisting of teachers, physicians, clergy, business owners, attorneys, engineers, landowners, and writers, were imprisoned in concentration camps or publicly executed. Tens of thousands of Ukrainians were executed by mobile killing squads, or Einsatzgruppen.
Those who were sent to camps had to wear badges, of course. There was not one badge designation for Poles and other Slavs. Rather, a Polish or Slavic person was categorized as a criminal, asocial, political prisoner, and so on.
Millions upon millions of non-Jews were slaughtered in the Slavic countries.
Further information about the Nazi treatment of the Polish people.
In 1933, the Roman Catholic Church signed a concordat or agreement with the new Nazi government, recognizing the legitimacy of the Third Reich. The Protestant Church was united into a single Reich Church under one bishop. In September 1933, Martin Niemller, a pastor of a fashionable church in Berlin, set up a Pastors' Emergency League which led to the formation of the anti-Nazi Confessional Church. This church wrote a memorandum to Hitler attacking the government's anti-Christian campaign, policies of antisemitism, and terrorizing tactics. Hitler responded with a crackdown on members of the Confessional Church. Hundreds of dissenting clergy were arrested, many were imprisoned, and also executed.
Further information about the Nazi treatment of political prisoners and dissenting clergy.
In 1934, forced sterilization programs sterilized 300,000 - 400,000 people, mainly those in mental hospitals and other institutions. Propaganda was distributed which helped build public support for these government policies. Persons who were mentally ill or physically disabled were stigmatized, while the costs of care were emphasized in propaganda campaigns.
In 1939, a Nazi "euthanasia program" began. This term is used as a euphemism for the Nazi plan to murder those with physical or mental defects. Unlike the sterilization program, the "euthanasia" program was conducted in secrecy. "Operation T4" was the code term used to designate this killing project.
As word leaked out about the "euthanasia" program, some church leaders, parents of victims, physicians, and judges protested the killings. Hitler ordered the end of Operation T4 in August 1941. However, the murders continued in a decentralized manner. Doctors were encouraged to kill patients with disabilities by starvation, poisoning, or injection.
Further information about the Nazi treatment of persons with physical or mental disabilities.
The Nazis did not tolerate the Jehovah's Witnesses' refusal, which was based on religious principles, to salute flags, to raise their arms to "Heil Hitler,"or to serve in the German army. The group was banned by national law in April 1935. Those Witnesses who defied the ban on their activities were arrested and sent to prisons and concentration camps.
Marked with purple triangular badges, the Witnesses were a relatively small group of prisoners in the concentration camps, numbering several hundred per camp. If Jehovah's Witnesses within the camps signed documents renouncing their religious beliefs, they would be freed. Very few, even in the face of torture, signed the declarations. In all, about 10,000 Jehovah's Witnesses were imprisoned in concentration camps. Of these, approximately 2,500 to 5,000 died in Dachau, Belsen, Buchenwald, Auschwitz, and other camps.
Further information about the Nazi treatment of the Jehovah's Witnesses.
Some homosexuals spent time in regular prisons, and an estimated 5,000-15,000 were sent to concentration camps. Even within the confines of the camps, homosexuals were mistreated and tormented by other inmates.
The Nazi regime claimed its concern about homosexuality related to keeping the Aryan birthrate high. German and Austrian gays were subject to arrest and imprisonment, but in German-occupied countries, Nazis did not deport homosexuals and send them to camps.
Memorial photographs, Web links, and a bibliography related to homosexual victims of the Third Reich.
Asocials were another category of people that Nazis deemed undesirable, and necessary for eradication. Nazis targeted numerous vagrants, prostitutes, alcoholics, and others who were considered unfit for society.
Interactive quiz on victims.
Lesson plans, discussion questions, term paper topics, reproducible handouts, and other resources for teaching about victims are available here.
| Victims| Perpetrators| Bystanders| Resisters| Rescuers| Liberators| Survivors| Children|
A Teacher's Guide to the HolocaustProduced by the Florida Center for Instructional Technology,College of Education, University of South Florida 1997-2013.
More here:
A Teacher's Guide to the Holocaust-Victims
- Michigan GOP faces backlash for tweet tying gun reform to Holocaust - CNN - March 25th, 2023
- The Holocaust: Facts, Survivor Stories, Documentaries & More - PBS - March 14th, 2023
- An apology to the victims of the Holocaust for the silence of my great-uncle Subhas Chandra Bose - Scroll.in - March 14th, 2023
- Rare Marilyn Monroe footage preserved by Holocaust survivor who escaped Nazis with help of Superman publisher - Fox News - February 19th, 2023
- A Timeline of the Holocaust | My Jewish Learning - January 21st, 2023
- British parliament member booted from Conservative Party after comparing COVID-19 vaccination to Holocaust - JTA News - Jewish Telegraphic Agency - January 12th, 2023
- Trump Meets With White Supremacist And Holocaust Denier Nick Fuentes ... - January 2nd, 2023
- Online Bookstore: Books, NOOK ebooks, Music, Movies & Toys - November 23rd, 2022
- Fact check: Poster was once sold at U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum - November 23rd, 2022
- Two new movies, Till and U.S. and the Holocaust, help us connect the dots between Jim Crow and fascism - Andscape - November 23rd, 2022
- Villager Maggie Wacker recently donated her fathers diary to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum - The Villages Daily Sun - November 23rd, 2022
- The Holocaust | Facing History and Ourselves - October 27th, 2022
- Kanye was invited to tour a Holocaust museum. Would it have worked? - eJewish Philanthropy - October 27th, 2022
- Sisters who survived Holocaust die days apart in Alabama - October 19th, 2022
- How one Colorado Republican shaped what students will learn about the Holocaust - Chalkbeat Colorado - October 19th, 2022
- Holocaust-surviving lawmaker opens Italy's Senate, even as the far-right takes office - NPR - October 19th, 2022
- Child Survivor of the Holocaust - aish.com - Aish.com - October 19th, 2022
- The moral corruption of Holocaust fiction - The New Statesman - October 19th, 2022
- Historian: Holocaust Comparisons Are Frequent In US Politics - Texas A&M University Today - October 8th, 2022
- 'Hidden child' Holocaust survivor to speak at S&T - Missouri S&T News and Research - October 8th, 2022
- Powell-Heller Conference explores before, during and after the Holocaust - Pacific Lutheran University - October 8th, 2022
- It's Yom Kippur. What is the holiday? How is it observed? | Opinion - Pennsylvania Capital-Star - October 8th, 2022
- Eastern Michigan University to host "The U.S. and the Holocaust" documentary webinar - Oct. 13 - EMU Today - October 6th, 2022
- S&T professor to give a talk on liberation of concentration camps - Missouri S&T News and Research - October 6th, 2022
- On the Anniversary of the Massacre at Babyn Yar: Joint Statement from Special Envoys for Holocaust Issues Condemning Russian Actions in Ukraine - U.S.... - October 2nd, 2022
- Ken Burns Turns His Lens on the American Response to the Holocaust - The New Yorker - September 23rd, 2022
- 'Shadowland' Could Be a Sequel to 'The U.S. and the Holocaust' - TIME - September 23rd, 2022
- A life of remarkable resolve - The story of Shaul Ladany, survivor of the Holocaust and Munich massacre - ESPN - September 23rd, 2022
- The U.S. and the Holocaust - Eight, Arizona PBS - September 23rd, 2022
- US Response to the Holocaust Explored in New PBS Documentary - WTTW News - September 23rd, 2022
- Iranian presidents remarks on the Holocaust spark outcry in Israel - PBS NewsHour - September 19th, 2022
- The U.S. and the Holocaust. Revisiting America's Role | THIRTEEN - New York Public Media - MetroFocus - September 19th, 2022
- Stand against Israel's attack on Palestinian human rights organisations - rabble.ca - August 30th, 2022
- Japhetites - Wikipedia - August 25th, 2022
- Common sense is not so common! You'll never believe the stupid answers and quotes given by these stars! - The Daily Post-Athenian - August 25th, 2022
- Biden meets with Holocaust survivors at memorial in Jerusalem - ABC News - July 14th, 2022
- Holocaust: Meeting the last witnesses to the Vl d'Hiv roundup, 80 years on - FRANCE 24 English - July 14th, 2022
- 'The Jewish Experience': Films find multiplicity of cultures - Rutland Herald - July 10th, 2022
- New archway brings recognition to Jewish cemetery in South Haven - Herald Palladium - July 10th, 2022
- Libya sees rebirth of traditional jewelry craft once taught by Jewish artisans - The Times of Israel - July 10th, 2022
- Why an Orthodox Jewish organization welcomed the end of Roe v. Wade - JTA News - Jewish Telegraphic Agency - July 10th, 2022
- Jewish Population of the World - June 30th, 2022
- Good Within Bad - The Jewish Press - JewishPress.com - June 30th, 2022
- From Loneliness To Oneness: The Endless Expansion of Self - The Jewish Press - JewishPress.com - June 30th, 2022
- What's The Real Purpose Of Aleinu? (Part II) - The Jewish Press - JewishPress.com - June 30th, 2022
- Cambridge to mark Refugee Week and Holocaust Memorial Day at free civic event on Sunday 26 June - Cambridge City Council - June 26th, 2022
- Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff Visits USC Shoah Foundation - University of Southern California - June 14th, 2022
- Opinion | Russia's Missiles Are Burning the History of Ukraine's Babyn Yar Ravine - The New York Times - June 14th, 2022
- Guildhall exhibitions focus on emigration and exile ahead of Refugee Week - Leicester News - June 14th, 2022
- 80 years ago Anne Frank started her diary, a landmark of world literature - FRANCE 24 English - June 13th, 2022
- About Us - A world that remembers the Holocaust | IHRA - June 8th, 2022
- Turning on the Light - UofSC News & Events - SC.edu - June 8th, 2022
- Dov Forman Wants You to Know His Great-Grandmothers Holocaust Story - The New York Times - June 8th, 2022
- Summer TV 2022: 27 Shows to Watch - The New York Times - June 4th, 2022
- www.mdjonline.com - May 25th, 2022
- Come to This Court and Cry by Linda Kinstler review when Holocaust memories fade - The Guardian - May 25th, 2022
- Three Brothers Bakery in Houston Is a Story of Survival - Texas Monthly - May 25th, 2022
- Lessons in hate from the Holocaust to Buffalo - Harvard Gazette - May 20th, 2022
- KY Rep. Thomas Massie voted 'no' on measure condemning antisemitism - Courier Journal - May 20th, 2022
- Professor's Portrait Captures the Resilience of a Holocaust Survivor - University of Denver Newsroom - May 16th, 2022
- The Holocaust | Holocaust and Genocide Studies | College ... - May 6th, 2022
- Holocaust Photos: 44 Heartrending Images Of Tragedy And ... - May 6th, 2022
- My Great-Uncle, The Holocaust's First Jewish Victim - The Atlantic - May 6th, 2022
- Days of Remembrance: Determination, Hope and Honor | Article | The United States Army - United States Army - May 6th, 2022
- What Happened at the 1941 Babi Yar Massacre? - History - May 6th, 2022
- UNESCO | Building peace in the minds of men and women - April 20th, 2022
- Holocaust Remembrance Day event set Sunday - Oakridger - April 20th, 2022
- Holocaust survivor freed from Auschwitz writes symphonic poem that will be performed Wednesday at Carnegie Hall - CBS New York - April 20th, 2022
- Ukrainian Holocaust survivors flee war again this time to Germany - NPR - April 16th, 2022
- The Holocaust Memorial Undone by Another War - The New Yorker - April 16th, 2022
- Holocaust survivor Elizabeth Sandy will speak at URI on April 28, Holocaust Remembrance Day - University of Rhode Island - April 16th, 2022
- Marvin Chomsky, Director of Roots and Holocaust, Dies at 92 - The New York Times - April 16th, 2022
- Holocaust Awareness Week features talk by Holocaust survivor - Source - February 28th, 2022
- Alderwoman Coggs: On the reemergence of America's Black Holocaust Museum - WisPolitics.com - February 28th, 2022
- Invasion of Ukraine brings back memories of the Holocaust, VB rabbi says - WAVY.com - February 28th, 2022
- Traveling exhibit sheds light on the Holocaust during visit to north central Florida - WUFT - February 17th, 2022
- Holocaust victims opera stored for years in trunk gets premiere at last - The Guardian - February 17th, 2022
- We cheapen the grief of the Holocaust by conjuring Nazi tyranny it must stop | Opinion - NorthJersey.com - February 17th, 2022
- New York police investigating 2 alleged assaults against Jews - The Times of Israel - February 11th, 2022
- Teen Charged With Hate Crime In Attack On Man In Brooklyn - CBS New York - February 11th, 2022
Comments