The Holocaust- From a Distance

The Holocaust

Warning: This is a very difficult topic, and this page may not be appropriate for children, however I feel that this is an important topic to discuss.

The Holocaust.  What a difficult topic to discuss.  Generally speaking, the Holocaust was the mass extermination of people that the Nazis saw as unfit. Eleven to seventeen million people perished at the hands of the Nazis.  These are not just numbers, but these 11-17 million were living, breathing, human beings. 

Hitler and his top Nazis didn't kill millions of people with their own, bare hands.  The "Final Solution" to the "Jewish problem" was developed by Heinrich Himmler and approved by Hitler.  This "solution" was the extermination camps.  These camps were designed specifically to kill people hours after their arrival. 

The largest group that Hitler targeted were the Jewish people.  6 million Jews were killed during this genocidal act.  Hitler was a strong anti-Semite and publicly blamed the Jews for all of Germany's troubles, which united many Germans against a common "enemy."  Hitler's oppression of Jews began in 1933 with boycotts against Jewish stores and banning Jews from universities.  Later, Jews were forbidden to marry with Germans, forbidden to vote and hold office, and more. 

Kristallnacht, the Night of the Broken Glass, happened on November 9, 1938.  On this terrible night, thousands of Jewish homes, businesses, and synagogues were destroyed.  30,000 Jews were sent to concentration camps.  In 1941, German Jews were forced to wear a yellow star on their back.  Then, the Jews sent to live in ghettos, then shipped off to concentration, work, and extermination camps.

But Hitler didn't just try to kill Jews.  Hitler also targeted homosexuals, Gypsies (Romani), Germans suffering disabilities, Communists, and other people Hitler considered a threat.  Even children were killed and sent to concentration camps.  The Holocaust was an unspeakable tragedy, a dark time for mankind.

Sources:

Mystery of History Volume 4

http://www.ushmm.org/museum/exhibit/online/kristallnacht/frame.htm

First picture courtesy of: http://www.349amw.afrc.af.mil/shared/media/photodb/photos/090419-F-0000Z-019.jpg

Second picture of: http://www.martinfrost.ws/htmlfiles/camp_children1.jpg