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Introduction to the Holocaust (One-Day Lesson)

This one-day lesson provides an introduction to the Holocaust by defining the term and highlighting the story of one Holocaust survivor, Gerda Weissmann.

Grade level:  Adaptable for grades 7–12 Subject:  Multidisciplinary Time required: Approximately 60 minutes Languages: English, Spanish

Lesson Plan and Teaching Materials

Lesson Plan (PDF)

Pre-modified Lesson to Accommodate Multiple Student Needs

Modified Lesson Plan (PDF)

Lesson for Students with Low-Incidence and Intellectual Disabilities

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This online lesson plan is compatible with learning management systems or web browsers for students to complete individually or as a class. You can use the PDF of the original lesson plan above as a guide. To use with your LMS, download the files below and follow your system’s instructions for importing files .

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This lesson is also available in Spanish.

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Overview of the Holocaust: Powerpoint with Images and Discussion Questions

This powerpoint provides all the images from the Overview of the Holocaust learning story , along with discussion prompts. This is also available as a Word document.

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Stories of the Holocaust

The holocaust, also known as the shoah, was the persecution and murder of 6 million jewish people and 5 million non-jewish minorities by the nazi regime. here we remember the suffering and loss - as well as the perseverance, survival and strength - of its victims., in collaboration with, remembering auschwitz, the first days of auschwitz, the first transport of prisoners from the tarnów prison, the roma in auschwitz, at least 23,000 romanis were detained in auschwitz during the operation of the cam, before they perished, the deportation of jews from zagłębie to auschwitz, tragic love at auschwitz, the story of edek galiński and mala zimetbaum, sonderkommando, the story of the work squad at the crematorium, traces of them remain..., stories from the death cells in block no. 11, the town known as auschwitz, stories that should never be forgotten, kindertransport, the stories of the 10,000 children evacuated to britain, the liberation of bergen-belsen, the conditions of the concentration camp in the last months of the war, they were children, the deportation and rescue of jewish children in paris, personal accounts of suffering and survival, “…until we meet again, safe and sound”, bianka hassel and her liberation from the theresienstadt ghetto, 19 kilometers from auschwitz, the story of the jewish community of trzebinia, poland, separated by war, stories of love and loss, “may he rot forever”, a german-jewish emigrant returns as a liberator in 1944/45, “does anybody have information…”, the long search for the marcuse family, hear first hand accounts, 70 stories of auschwitz, listen to the testimonies of 70 holocaust survivors, ben sonnenschein on building auschwitz, margaret kulik on arriving to auschwitz, ellis lewin on arriving at auschwitz, erna anolik on camp intake procedures, ella davis on arriving to auschwitz, victor schnell on arriving to auschwitz, tadeusz debski on arriving to auschwitz, tova friedman, one day in auschwitz, germany in the 1940s, learning what happened so the past may never be repeated, state of deception, the power of nazi propaganda, "the eternal jew", images of persecution, the young girl who became a symbol of the struggle against the nazis, the history of the frank family, the ancestors of the famous diarist, where anne frank grew up, how did the frank family come to live in amsterdam, a virtual tour of anne frank's home, artefacts that bear witness, anne frank’s marbles, roll of ‘yellow star’ fabric, forbidden for jews, anne frank's red and white checkered diary., various items that had been plundered from murdered jews, and were later secured by the soviet commission in the so-called camp extension, private papers of major w r williams (documents.3120), menorah used after liberation in bergen-belsen camp, male doll made after liberation in bergen-belsen camp (eph 10141), otto hutter's coat (uni 11908), pauline makowski's coat hanger (eph 3868), collecting and remembering, stolen objects from synagogues, prayer houses, jewish institutions, and private homes, stories of hope and survival against all odds, a stamp maker rescuing lives, how did linoleum flooring help save lives in 1944, a time to heal, the story of the children’s home in otwock, poland, the legacy of antanas babonas, selflessly taking risks to provide shelter to others, jan karski: humanity's hero, a young diplomat-turned-courier for the polish underground took on a mission of mind-boggling significance, “mazel tov”, the first bar mitzvah of 1945 in berlin, raphael lemkin and the quest to end genocide, the man who coined the term genocide, art and the holocaust, exploring 3 artworks whose stories are emblematic of art in the holocaust, ludwig meidner, work from the jewish painter that examines nazi persecution, after the war, survivors, refugees and new needs, the efforts to sustain tens of thousands of newly liberated jewish people, explore more, collections.

• Presentations

THE WHOLE BURNING 

Presentation by:, nathan allen, ariana byrd, in a testimony by nazi general, wilhelm bahr,, q:  "is it correct that you have gassed 200 russian pow's with zylon-b", a:  "yes, on orders.", german nazi officers were so brainwashed that they obeyed orders rather than thought out their actions..

Schutz-staffel

Founded in 1925, the “schutzstaffel,” initially served as bodyguards for adolf hitler, schutzstaffel is  german for “protective echelon,”, later they became one of the most powerful and feared organizations in all of nazi germany., "my name is adolf eichmann", at long distances, with missiles, without ever seeing what you’d done to them, hiroshima..., my defense, i vas a soldier..., do you people think yourselves better, because you burned your enemies, hitler advocated for the weimar republic's destruction. , he came to power as chancellor and delegated himself the supreme leader of germany. , created the nazi party as well as strengthened a common enemy for the country to stand against. .

Germany, Japan, and Italy all contained ideas of antisemitic people. 

Of the the three, germany was the most  clear about its anti-jewish mission. , "...the personification of the devil as the symbol of all evil assumes the living shape of the jew. " -adolf hitler (mein kampf).

German Citizens

The nazi government was very careful with regards to the information that was made available to the public., the non-jewish germans were not directly affected by the nazis' actions toward the jews. , hitler was a great leader as far as most germans were concerned. he made sure that the public was content using tax breaks and social benefits., martin niemöller, nazi protester, states...., first they came for the socialists, and i did not speak out— because i was not a socialist., then they came for the trade unionists, and i did not speak out—  because i was not a trade unionist., then they came for the jews,, and i did not speak out—  because i was not a jew., then they came for me—, and there was no one left to speak for me..

Allied powers

The allied powers included:  u.s., britain, france, ussr, australia, belgium, brazil, canada, china, denmark, greece, netherlands, new zealand, norway, poland, south africa, yugoslavia)  , it is documented that the united states did not do enough to help the german jews, with the information that was obtained. , isolationism, xenophobia, antisemitism, and an economic depression all lead to strict immigration quotas in the u.s., journalist freda kirchwey, editor in  chief  of the nation, (1943) writes , .

Many assume that jews did not do enough to resist the events of the holocaust. 

When you are a minority that is persecuted by the vast majority, often times, no amount of resistance is enough. , lack of resources combined with blatant antisemitism rendered any resistance by jews a useless cause.  .

Who is to blame?

We believe that the nazi party and the schutzstaffel is to blame for most of the events in the holocaust., these groups, lead by hitler, were so influential in germany and could do anything they wanted. , the mass murder was ultimately carried out by these two groups.  .

By nathan981

ASSIGNING BLAME

More from nathan981

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For Teachers

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Explore the ID Cards to learn more about personal experiences during the Holocaust

Timeline of Events

Explore a timeline of events that occurred before, during, and after the Holocaust.

• Introduction to the Holocaust
• How Many People did the Nazis Murder?
• What is Antisemitism?
• German-Soviet Pact
• The Nazi Olympics Berlin 1936
• Anne Frank Biography: Who was Anne Frank?
• Warsaw Uprising
• World War I

The Holocaust: A Learning Site for Students

This content is available in the following languages.

Organized by theme, this learning site presents an overview of the Holocaust through historical photographs, maps, images of artifacts, and testimony clips. It is a resource for middle and secondary level students and teachers, with content that reflects the history as it is presented in the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum’s Permanent Exhibition. 

Browse 9 articles about the rise of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party in Germany. Learn about how the Nazis took control of the police and turned Germany into a dictatorship; used propaganda and censorship to implement a racist ideology; and implemented brutal policies as Germany annexed and occupied parts of Europe.

Article: Nazi Rule

Article: Hitler Comes to Power

Article: The Nazi Terror Begins

Article: SS Police State

Article: Nazi Propaganda and Censorship

Article: Nazi Racism

Article: World War II in Europe

Article: The Murder of People with Disabilities

Article: German Rule in Occupied Europe

Jews in prewar germany.

Browse a series of 9 articles about Jewish life in Germany and Europe before 1939. Learn about antisemitism and international attitudes toward Jews. Also, read about how the Nazis implemented antisemitic laws and organized state-sponsored violence and discrimination against the Jews of Germany. Each article includes three key dates related to its main topic.

Article: Jews in Prewar Germany

Article: Jewish Life in Europe Before the Holocaust

Article: Antisemitism

Article: The Boycott of Jewish Businesses

Article: The Nuremberg Race Laws

Article: The "Night of Broken Glass"

Article: The Evian Conference

Article: Voyage of the St. Louis

Article: Locating the Victims

The "final solution".

Browse a series of 8 articles on the Nazi plan to deliberately murder European Jews. These articles explain how the Nazis implemented the “Final Solution” by establishing ghettos and killing centers in occupied Poland; deploying Einsatzgruppen (special action squads) to commit mass shootings; and the organization of mass deportations of Jews to ghettos and killing centers. 

Article: The "Final Solution"

Article: Ghettos in Occupied Poland

Article: Life in the Ghettos

Article: Mobile Killing Squads

Article: The Wannsee Conference and the "Final Solution"

Article: At the Killing Centers

Article: Deportations

Article: Auschwitz Camp Complex

Nazi camp system.

Browse a series of 8 articles on the history of the Nazi camp system. Learn about the different types of camps operated by the Nazi regime; who was incarcerated in these camps and why; what happened to the prisoners of the camps at the end of the war; and about the Nuremberg Trials established to bring Nazi perpetrators to justice.

Article: Nazi Camp System

Article: Prisoners of the Camps

Article: "Enemies of the State"

Article: Forced Labor

Article: Death Marches

Article: Liberation

Article: The Survivors

Article: Nuremberg Trials

Rescue and resistance.

Browse a series of 7 articles on rescue and resistance. Learn about how some Jews survived the Holocaust despite the inhumane conditions created by the Nazis during the Holocaust. Read about people who tried to rescue Jews; resistance groups who opposed the Nazi regime and occupations; and Jews who revolted against Nazi oppression in the Warsaw ghetto and in killing centers.

Article: Rescue and Resistance

Article: Rescue in Denmark

Article: Jewish Partisans

Article: The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising

Article: Killing Center Revolts

Article: The War Refugee Board

Article: Resistance inside Germany

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We would like to thank Crown Family Philanthropies, Abe and Ida Cooper Foundation, the Claims Conference, EVZ, and BMF for supporting the ongoing work to create content and resources for the Holocaust Encyclopedia. View the list of donor acknowledgement .

Classroom Presentations and In-Service Training for Educators

Choose from presentations designed for 90-minute blocks. They can easily be adapted to any classroom format. The topics have also been divided into separate presentations for different level abilities of students. Scroll down for list of in-service presentations.

To Schedule a Presentation or Professional Training In-Service Workshop, email Tom White .

Classroom Presentations

Middle School

The Rise of the Nazis: 1933-1939

This presentation will focus on the origins and rise of the Nazis; the accession to political power; the human rights violations and antisemitic policies. How do human rights violations escalate without being checked and what is the responsibility of individuals when facing such violations? A major focus will be how we create the ‘other’ and how to be an Upstander in the face of a perpetrator or bully. An ideal introductory presentation for high school and middle school dealing with the issues of personal and social responsibility and resisting bullying behavior.

Pre-presentation reading assignments:

• Student Worksheet: Rise of the Nazis – for Middle School Students
• The Power of You!
• Follow Up Lesson: Ideas for follow up discussions dealing with prejudice, bigotry, or biases.

Choices: Letting others Be

This 45-minute presentation asks students to consider who tells you to hate and why? What happens to you? What happens to the target? Using Anne Frank and Martin Luther King (both born in 1929) students are presented with the choice to care about others and build compassion by confronting the past. The presentation is shaped around an April 1944 diary entry by Anne: “If only I can be myself”. Why is it difficult to let people be themselves, to just be?

Number the Stars: Danish Rescue (Elementary School)

This presentation is designed for elementary students reading Number the Stars . We will discuss in general terms the history and relative advantages of Denmark during the Nazi era and explore the rescuers and the rescued. We will also touch upon some of the Danish complicity with the Nazis and examine “goodness” as a human, not national trait. It will place the story and its characters within the broader context of events in Denmark during the war. It gives a general account of the history of the escape and rescue of Danish Jews while exploring the Jewish Foundation for the Righteous’ 8 traits of an “Upstander.” (Grades 5-8)

High School

Judaism & Historical Anti-Judaism

For classes such as World Perspectives I, Western Civilization, Intro to Holocaust, or Sociology, this presentation gives an overview of the history of Judaism and its religious traditions, ideas, and values. The roots of historical anti-Judaism are also traced, from antiquity to the European Middle Ages. This is a good starting point for any study of the Holocaust.

• Handout: Judeophobia and Judaism in the Ancient World –
• Timeline: Christian Antisemitism
• Student Worksheet: Judeophobia and Judaism in the Ancient World
• Worksheet for presentation: Antisemitism

Antisemitism: When One Hate Rises They All Do

How do we identify, resist, and respond to antisemitism, racism, hate and Islamophobia? Using IHRA’s working definition of antisemitism we will identify sources and expressions of hate that are destructive and self-destructive and reasons for its recent surge. We will explore what it means to embrace democratic values and norms as a tool of resistance and resiliency. Rather than assign labels, we will explore models of appropriate responses and our obligation to reject anti-democratic and hate-driven behavior. We will highlight how white supremacists and terrorists are globally connected and pose a direct threat to democracy.

Antisemitisms: Hate as Identity

Antisemitism is a dynamic and durable force of hate. It is toxic to democracy and potentially lethal to its targets - especially when expressed as conspiracy fantasies. This presentation explores the origins of antisemitism utilizing Rabbi Jonathan Sak’s metaphor of a “mutating virus” to explore antisemitism as a psychological construct of an “other”. How do issues of identity (individual and collective) allow the cultural expression of antisemitism? How do trauma and fear feed antisemitic anxieties and identities? We will trace the development of antisemitic ideas from its Christian roots of anti-Judaism to modern antisemitism. This presentation broadly examines the difficult relationship between Judaism and Christianity and Christianity’s wrestling with its own assumptions and traditions while facing the darkness of the Holocaust. We will wrestle with current manifestations of antisemitism from Nazi Germany to the QAnon conspiracy fantasies.

• Handout: Judeophobia and Judaism in the Ancient World
• Worksheet for presentation: Antisemitisms
• Follow-up to presentation: Evaluating Modern Antisemitism
• Download Essay: Antisemitisms: Facing the Longest Hatreds in a post Holocaust World

QAnon Conspiracy Fraud

QAnon emerged in 2017 and has gone from being a fringe conspiracy to one embraced by political leaders. What is the QAnon fraud? We will explore this new transmission and expression of The Protocols of the Elders of Zion by examining its antisemitic roots and mainstream appeal. What are the characteristics of conspiratorial thinking? How and why can people accept and justify these frauds? Why do conspiracy theory frauds threaten democracy? How do they damage and mislead? How do we recognize and respond to the threat and talk to somebody who embraces it?

Traveling and Studying in Israel

This presentation developed from trips to Israel and will serve as a fun travelogue illustrating the geography, culture, and history of Israel. Particular focus will be given to the Old City of Jerusalem as well as Jewish, Christian and Muslim holy sites. Additionally, we will visit the landscapes of the Galilee, Masada and the Dead Sea, as well as the Jordanian and Lebanese borders. The presentation will end by highlighting the work and mission of Yad Vashem (Israel’s Holocaust Martyrs’ and Heroes’ Remembrance Authority).

Heeding the Warning Signs: Antecedents and Precursors to the Holocaust

How the Holocaust was not just possible, but permissible? How did the Nazis utilize the preexisting building blocks of mass atrocity (antisemitism, discrimination, homophobia, racism, sexism, misogyny, appeal of authoritarianism) to become a mainstream political party with “moral authority” within German society? While obsessed with “the Jews”, the Nazi persecution of many groups helped them to utilize natural social processes of group identification and turn them on a genocidal path. In the cases of these minorities, professionals and many segments of society became invested with the questions thrust before them and wrestled – through growing frustration – to imagine more radical solutions…from sterilization to deportation to… Nazism existed and was attractive precisely because its ideology “made sense” to many Germans and held emotional appeal by tapping into: symbolic expression and cultural meaning; morality; national pride; redemption; and enemy-making in times of trauma and confusion. We will also explore U.S. connections to Nazi race policy in order to become more alert that when “others” in our midst are targeted or marginalized, we all risk losing our freedom.

Strongmen: Authoritarian and Fascist Leaders

Facing the growth of anti-democratic movements, white supremacy, and strongmen how do we perceive and confront the threat? What do strongmen have in common? What is in their toolbox and playbook as they seek to destroy democratic norms? How can democracies continue to show resiliency? This presentation examines how strongman emerge in times of perceived crisis (times of change, trauma, and perceived threats to “masculinity”) and utilize violence, attacks on truth, and misogyny to gain power. How is muscular, militant, and virile “masculinity” used to bludgeon democracy? Embracing the values of American democracy, we explore the corrupting and dysfunctional nature of strongman politics and the practical historical responses that reinforce democratic resilience.

Rise of the Nazis: The Plot to Destroy Democracy (1919-1933)

Extremism is a symptom of democratic decline. Did the Nazis come to power through coercion and/or consent? How was Hitler, a constant failure, rescued by those who wished to use him? How did he become chancellor? We will trace Hitler’s failures, personality, and myths while exploring his changing political tactics. We will examine the inability of opposition parties to unify against Nazism. Close attention will be focused on how Article 48 (Presidential rule by decree) enabled a small group of anti-democratic, conservative and nationalist politicians and aristocrats to wield extraordinary power in a plot to destroy the Weimar Republic. We will explore their fatal mistake of rescuing Hitler from failure in order to champion their conservative and nationalist agendas. Once they agree to naming him chancellor, Hitler and the Nazis will dismantle the Republic within five months utilizing the Reichstag Fire, the election of March 1933, the Enabling Act, paramilitary violence, and an appeal to populist nationalism. Timeline 1932-1937

Student Worksheet

• Characteristics and Appeal of Fascism

Destroying German Democracy From Within: Failure and Limitations of Democratic Institutions (1933-1938)

What happens when the judiciary sides with or accommodates to an authoritarian leader? Hitler was a consistent failure, rescued throughout his political career by conservatives and nationalists. They believed the system would hold him in check. They consistently underestimated him. Hitler had a great contempt for law, but came to see the benefits - especially with the need to persuade a variety of German conservatives - to progressively remove human rights from those he perceived as dangerous threats to his idea of the German volk. This presentation examines how some conservatives overcame their general sense of unease to help the Nazis destroy democracy and build a police and terror state; how target groups are created, how professionals and institutions “buy in”; how the police and the judiciary support the expansion of Nazi power; the struggle between the states, judiciary, and SS over control of policy; the development of and role played by the concentration camp system; and the state security police apparatus. We will explore how mass atrocity not only became possible, but permissible.

• Student Worksheet: Discrimination and Law in Nazi Germany
• Student Worksheet (45 minute version): [Discrimination and Law in Nazi Germany]

White Purity, Eugenics Ideology, and Lethal Medicine

How did an elitist, antidemocratic, race-based, antisemitic ideology became popular and get implemented in the U.S. before Hitler came to power in Germany? How does eugenics emerge from the progressive movement and Jim Crow? What is the connection to and impact on Nazi race policy and mass murder? What are the connections and differences between American and Nazi German eugenics practices? How was Nazi race law, marriage law, forced sterilization, the Nuremberg Laws, children’s “euthanasia”, the T4 Euthanasia program, and the Holocaust a byproduct of eugenic ideas and American precedents? How does the medical profession come to perceive their patients as threats and justify their actions as moral and necessary? How can eugenics history help to confront the threat of racism and white supremacy?

The United States and the Ongoing Problem of Nazism and Nazi Germany

Exploring democratic resiliency in the face of fascist fear. President Roosevelt was able to rescue liberal democracy in an uncomfortable partnership with the Southern Democratic Party that combined progressive ideas with Jim Crow racism. We will contrast Hitler’s leadership with FDR’s and explore how FDR’s “missionary generation” responds to the threat of Nazism. Policy decisions are presented in context of the unfolding events between 1933 and 1938 and the growing need to respond to international provocations. Topics covered include: U.S. immigration policy and the quota system; U.S. attitudes of pacifism, isolationism, racism, xenophobia and antisemitism; Supporters of fascism in the U.S.; America First; anti-lynching legislation and political realities; the Evian Refugee Conference, the German American Bund; Charlie Chaplin; and the failed Wager-Rogers kindertransport bill. How does the past help us find resiliency in the struggle to preserve democracy?

• Student Worksheet: The United States and the Problem of Nazi Germany
• Suggested Reading: Early Warning: Identifying Potentially Genocidal Political Movements
• Timeline: The U.S. and Nazi Germany (Years of “Peace” 1933-1941)
• Post Presentation Activity: The St. Louis Crisis
• Echoes and Reflections on-line St. Louis activities
• The Wagner-Rogers Bill: Debate

Learning From the Past: Facing Difficult History in the U.S. and Germany

How did American racism influence German race policy and how does German encounter with its Nazi past help Americans confront their difficult history of slavery? What do cultures of defeat (the Confederacy and post WW I German society) have in common? How did the creation of the “Lost cause” myth distort the history of the Civil War and facilitate a different re-enslavement of black Americans? This presentation explores implicit and explicit bias that leads to racism. Racism will be a central theme of the presentation as we explore how leaders manipulate it to the detriment of most. We will explore the second Civil War (the War against Reconstruction) and how its ideology of racism has influenced the American experience. We will explore the for-profit convict labor system that helped entrench a new form of slavery and Hollywood’s subtle and not-so-subtle embrace of both racism and the southern myth of the “Lost cause.” As antisemitism, racism, Nazism, and the KKK have re-emerged as significant societal factors we must confront this difficult history as we explore the implications for the future.

By highlighting examples of leadership and the influence of targeted minorities in enhancing democratic values, we explore how to utilize this history to promote competencies for democratic citizenship.

Elie Wiesel: Trauma, Remembrance, and Hope

This presentation explores the power, necessity, obligations and challenges of “remembering.” Using Wiesel’s text, Night, we will explore how traumatic memory is held and expressed. We will trace the life of Elie Wiesel from his birth in Sighet, Romania; his early, formative years; the unfolding situation in Hungary and Europe; the round-up of his family and deportation to Auschwitz; the fate of his family; and his post war experiences. We will discuss Night as a stylized, constructed memoir that begins Wiesel’s wrestling with his experience and explore how his life continued after Auschwitz in a journey of hope against despair. How can Wiesel and books like Night help us build resiliency?

Live, do not despair. What do we want our students to learn when teaching Night?

“Such is the miracle: A tale about despair becomes a tale against despair.” Open Heart, p, 73.

I often hear that teachers and students are apprehensive or hesitant to teach or read Elie Wiesel’s Night. Perhaps that is because we believe that our role is to point out that evil exists in the world. True. But if this is our only focus, we will live in a “gloom and doom” curriculum. What is left to teach except despair and hopelessness?

I would like to suggest that we teach Night not to only have our students encounter the history of the Holocaust, but to also learn to live fuller and more productive lives. Wiesel’s writing of his stylized, constructed memoir was a beginning for him, not an end. He writes a counter-narrative of protest that attempts to frame or hold the devastation of the world of his childhood, but through the eyes of a Hasidic boy. It is a witnessing story that serves as a new beginning, a breaking away from the bleakness of 1944-1945. Wiesel’s writing of Night served as a springboard to life – to a vocation, to tremendous deeds, to discover how to live as a Jew in the post Holocaust world. I would offer that rather than try to avoid the trauma or even to dwell in it, we should use the text to inspire our students to find ways of contributing to the world now grounded in deeper knowledge.

To do this, I would suggest that it is pedagogically imperative to pair Night with Wiesel’s 2013  Open Heart . Facing open heart surgery Wiesel explores, in a very short text, what it means to open his heart. Pairing these two texts will illustrate that Wiesel was not frozen in time, a captive to despair. Life went on and Wiesel found joy, fulfillment and purpose through family and teaching. Open Heart can be used to open up Night and allow students wrestle with the text as Wiesel does. How does Open Heart inform us about his journey?

The first line begins with a date. The date is suggestive, June. Deportations to the “kingdom of Night” from Wiesel’s hometown of Sighet took place in May. We live with trauma and as anniversaries arrive in our lives we are always conscious of it. In Chapter 5, Wiesel reflects on what happened in the camps and gives us more insight into his relationship with his father. In chapter 8 he clings to life and all that the future may hold. Throughout this book Wiesel offers short reflections on his son; his father; his family; wrestling with despair; writing Night and his 50 other works; of embracing a Jewish identity; and asking if his life has contributed to the world. Though he rarely ever talks about his mother and sisters (some things must always remain private and personal) he does mention them in Open Heart. He also comes to a moment of healing with his father.

And so, I encourage you not to avoid the trauma, but by witnessing it, we use it to inspire responsibility. Wiesel employs us to never give up and never despair. “Because I remember, I despair. Because I remember, I have the duty to reject despair.” There is enough in Open Heart that will inspire reflection and open up new thoughts and possibilities both in reading Night and in living a life well lived. Students will see Wiesel in new ways, ‘fencing with the shadows, but always having the song.’

This power point presentation traces the life of Elie Wiesel from his birth in Sighet, Romania; his early, formative years; the historical context of Hungarian history; the round-up of his family and deportation to Auschwitz. We will discuss Night as the beginning, not end, of Wiesel’s encounter with the Shoah by exploring the text through his Hasidic roots and identity. We will explore Night as a counter-narrative; a constructed memoir; a crafted testimony; a matzeva (marker/gravestone) about the limits of witnessing and “surviving survival.” And yet, by studying the Shoah and Wiesel’s writings we will encounter his hope that the spark for goodness must be ignited within us.

Student Worksheet: Elie Wiesel

Anne Frank: To Be Free, to Be Myself

Who was Anne Frank and why are we focused on her tragedy? This presentation raises questions about how we think about Anne and why. Do we see her story as one of triumph and affirmation or a challenge? Anne’s Jewish identity was initially hidden when the diary was published. Why did her identity as a Jew need to be hidden again? Anne’s diary reveals growth and introspection in the midst of building pressure. How does Anne’s voice, shifting into an awareness of others, become, as she hoped, “useful” as we face the challenges of today? How do we resist evil while maintaining our moral core? Drawing on the diary and Anne’s experiences we will challenge our own prejudices and ask difficult questions of ourselves. Special attention is given to the memories of Hannah (Goslar) Pick, Anne’s childhood friend (whose January 2007 interview will be used). The life and decisions of the Frank family (such as emigration and going into hiding) are placed within the context of the Nazi era. Otto Frank’s failed attempt to get his two children (Margot and Anne) into the United States begins a discussion of refugee policy and the villainization of immigrants and refugees. This presentation also traces the fate of those hiding in the Secret Annex. How can we draw on the example of the rescuers and of the Franks themselves to honor Anne’s April 1944 wish, “If only I can be myself”? Why is it so hard for us to let others be?

• Student Worksheet: Anne Frank

Civil Society Between Darkness and Light: Danish Escape and Rescue

An exploration of the German occupation of Denmark, the Danish resistance, the rescue operation to Sweden, and the postwar reintegration of Jewish refugees. What factors shaped Danish attitudes towards its Jewish neighbors? Was the Danish government collaborating or merely cooperating? Why was the summer of 1943 the turning point? What was different about Nazi policy in Denmark? What vital role and example did Sweden provide? A particular focus will be on the fishing village of Gilleleje and those rescued and others captured and sent to Theresienstadt. Two child survivor testimonies recorded in October 2015 (Ole Philpson and Tove Udshott) will be utilized. By examining Denmark’s unique experience and its testament to civil society before, during, and after the Holocaust, we raise questions about how to improve civic responsibility and build stronger democracies.

France Under Nazi Occupation: Memory, Myth, and Misogyny

Exploring the traumatic history of France during World War II, this presentation explores collaboration, the Holocaust, resistance, and memory. How is “collaboration” defined, who defines it, and why? What role did contentious politics and ideological divides play in Vichy collaboration and the Holocaust? How does memory continue to be a battleground between the right and the left? How does gender shape interpretations of the past? What was unique about the French experience? Why did a greater percentage of its Jews survive the Holocaust? Topics covered include: the ongoing political conflict between left and right; the defeat of France in 1940; antisemitism; Vichy collaboration; French resistance; French police roundups; “Vél d’Hiv” roundup; French prisoners of war; Volunteer and forced labor in the Reich. How does this examination of a difficult past help us to confront our own difficult and traumatic history?

The Holocaust: “The Twisted Road to Auschwitz”

This presentation focuses on the cascading radicalization and evolution to genocide that took place from 1939-1945. We explore how Nazi policy incrementally evolved and adapted over time in the complex face of changing political, military, and social circumstances. Specific attention will be placed upon the Nazi racial laboratory of Poland 1939-1940. Topics to be covered include: Nazi ideology and the unfolding war situation; the influence of location; emerging role of the SS; the difficulties and failures of implementing emigration policy and demographic engineering; the failure and complicity of the Wehrmacht; T 4 Program; ghettos; General Plan Ost and the Commissar Order; the Wannsee Conference; the Einsatzgruppen and the “Final Solution.” By exploring individual initiative of “working towards the Führer” we will examine the “moral universe” created by willing perpetrators. (For advanced classes.)

(For advanced classes.)

• Student Worksheet: The Holocaust (1941-1945)
• The Holocaust: A Summary

Fr. Patrick Desbois Investigates the Forgotten Holocaust

The power of place: encountering auschwitz.

“There is one thing worse than Auschwitz itself…and that is if the world forgets there was such a place.” - Henry Appel, Auschwitz survivor

How does one encounter the killing site of Auschwitz? What can we learn? How do we “remember”? Based upon visiting Auschwitz I and II in November 2014 with the Auschwitz Institute for Peace and Reconciliation (AIPR) this presentation explores how ordinary people commit extraordinary evil. Weaving together archival images from a project by two Nazi photographers from the lab/identification service project in Auschwitz with pictures from the 2014 trip, we will explore the process of genocide and the “moral universe” the perpetrators created. We will explore the deliberate structures created to serve the needs of the SS, architects and businessmen in exploiting and destroying human beings. We will make room for mourning, refusing to normalize our outrage, and ask, “Where do we go from here?”

• Over Auschwitz: 70 Years Later November 2014
• Spielberg’s “Auschwitz
• How Steven Spielberg Discovered His Calling
• Drone video shows scale of Auschwitz
• KSC Equinox Story
• International Holocaust Remembrance Day: 70 Years After Liberation
• Windham World Affairs Council Presentation

The Human Problem of Genocide

April is Genocide Awareness and Prevention Month in the State of NH. What is required to recognize, deter and prevent genocide? What is genocide? When do processes become part of a genocidal momentum? How do we prevent the escalation? How do we identify moments in the process where intervention (any type) can change the momentum? What can we do to make a difference? We will discuss the U.N. Genocide definition; genocide risk factors and warning signs. We will explore proactive and reactive responses. We will also wrestle with the tension between the moral imperative to act and the principles of nonintervention and state sovereignty. This presentation seeks to empower students to make such attitudes and behaviors culturally unacceptable.

• Student Pre-reading Assignment: The Eight Stages of Genocide
• Classroom Handout: Genocide
• Student Handout: Human Problem of Genocide

Bosnia-Hercegovina: Remembering Genocide

As the Soviet Union collapsed in the 1990s, Yugoslavia unraveled in the face of Serbian and Croatian nationalism. Slobodan Milošević and Serb nationalists took advantage of the situation to embark upon a project of creating a “Greater Serbia” as Croatia sought to expand into a “Greater Croatia.” The wars unleashed “ethnic cleansing” and genocide. What forces were at play to enable another series of European mass atrocity crimes? How did the shadow of WW II influence nationalists? What role did the United States, the United Nations, and the European Community play in enabling these crimes? What can we learn about the process of genocide and our responsibility to intervene and prevent? This presentation explores the multi-ethnically informed city of Sarajevo and Bosnia; the unfolding process of genocide; nationalist ideologies; Islamophobia (which continues to limit understanding, responsibility, and justice); the challenge of memory and remembrance; and how the Dayton Peace Accords created a corrupt, enthno-nationalist partitioned Bosnia.

Cambodian Genocide (1975-1979)

Examining the risk factors for violent and genocidal violence we examine the collapse of Prince Sihanouk’s Cambodia in the context of the U.S. involvement in the war in Vietnam. How did governmental corruption, class warfare, and the violence of war contribute to the rise of the Khmer Rouge? Who were the Khmer Rouge and how did they conduct genocide? What are genocide’s early warning signs and how do we make a transition to peace in a post genocidal society?

Hiding and Passing: Background for Europa, Europa

This power point traces the life and times of Solomon Perel in preparation for showing the film “Europa, Europa.” Using events and images from his early life through the end of the war (including photographs of himself, the places, and other characters portrayed in the movie) this presentation addresses such issues as: Factors in deciding to hide or pass as a non-Jew; the dangers and difficulties in hiding or passing; and the difficulties and personal impact of hiding or passing.

• Student Worksheet: Europa, Europa

Between Dignity and Despair: Jewish Life in Germany 1933-1938

Using Marion Kaplan’s work, this presentation deals with gender. “Along the stations toward extinction … each gender lived its own journey.” Using images and memoirs, the focus here is on the role of everyday Germans, on a daily level in the social death of their neighbors. Often overlooked is the initiative of ordinary Germans in complying with the new tone of the government without serious legislation being passed in the early stages of the regime. Also misunderstood is that the mixed messages being sent did not make the so-called “writing on the wall” clear until 1938. A comparison of the male and female German Jewish experience will reveal the difficulties in accurately assessing the dangers facing this small minority of Germans.

• Student Worksheet: Between Dignity and Despair

Professional Development and In-Service Workshops

Teaching the holocaust & genocide: remembrance, education, building resiliency.

Genocide is an extraordinary event, but the product of ordinary human behavior. How and why must we confront the past? This workshop provides guiding thoughts to navigate difficult issues utilizing frameworks for civic education that promotes competencies for democratic citizenship. What should we teach and how should we teach it? The methodological considerations we explore can be applied to any social studies or English curriculum. We will examine process, choice, and prevention. We will explore the pedagogical and contemporary challenges and considerations facing today’s classroom teacher. How do we confront the past to build resiliency, create safe spaces, while paying attention to escalating violence towards an “other”?

The Camera as Weapon: Deconstructing Nazi Images for Media Competency

Photojournalism, not just print journalism, became a respected arbiter of “fact” with the liberation of the camps. Do photos still have the same impact and what are potential pitfalls in using them? Photographs do not merely capture or illustrate the historical past, they interpret it. How do we construct and deconstruct narratives? A potential pitfall in teaching about the Holocaust is using Holocaust imagery without ever teaching students how to evaluate and decode those images. Nazi photographers were designated as “weapons” of the Nazi effort and their images continue to have power to shape the narrative in ways that serve the perpetrator. We must recognize that the photographs are part of the process of genocide. We must critically evaluate this evidence as much as we do written or oral material. This workshop uses a series of competency expectations such as: recognizing perspective; intentionally; social, political context; elements of composition; expanding the frame; and asking, who took the photograph and why? Applying these competencies today will help students interpret propaganda, discuss historical comparisons and contrasts, and develop media literacy. Students will be able to deconstruct imagery while developing a sense of the “moral universe” perpetrators operate in. Teaching materials

Teaching Anne Frank: Resistance and Keeping the Moral Core

How do we “remember” and teach about Anne Frank? What are the contexts and pitfalls to be aware of? How do we keep our moral integrity when dealing with Anne as “symbol” and icon? How do we avoid teaching the diary as fairy tale or fable? The life and decisions of the Frank family (such as emigration and going into hiding) are placed within the context of the Nazi era. Otto Frank’s failed attempt to get his two children (Margot and Anne) into the United States is highlighted. This presentation also traces the family’s history after their betrayal in the Secret Annex. How can we draw on the example of the rescuers and of the Franks themselves?

Teaching Elie Wiesel: Trauma, Remembrance and Hope

How does one approach Elie Wiesel’s work and witness in the classroom? This workshop presents Night as a constructed memoir, a crafted testimony; a matzeva (marker/gravestone) about the limits of witnessing and “surviving survival”. We will discuss Night as the beginning, not end, of Wiesel’s reencounter with the Shoah by exploring the text through his Hasidic roots and identity. By studying the Shoah and Wiesel’s writings we will encounter his hope that the spark for goodness must be ignited within us. How does Night help us to “hold” someone else’s traumatic memory? How will reading this book make me a better person? How will Night allow us “to fence with the shadows, but always have the song”? This workshop looks at the construction of Night; the questions it raises; its Hasidic framework; and how to teach it as the beginning of a journey against despair and towards resiliency.

New Hampshire’s Holocaust and Genocide Education Mandate:Building Resiliency Through Education

Recognizing that hate, bigotry, and antisemitism are toxic for democracies NH requires social studies classes (beginning Fall of 2022) to utilize existing curricula to implement Holocaust and genocide education. What is this requirement exactly and what are some best practices and frameworks to help meet the minimum standards? This session will define crimes of mass atrocity (war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide); explore guidelines; discuss how to compare and contrast mass atrocity; present available resources; opportunities for professional growth; discuss lesson planning and rationales; utilize competencies for democratic citizenship; and explore ways education can enhance civic responsibility and democratic values.

Printable List of Presentations and In-Service Workshops

Tom White is available at a moment’s notice to discuss issues, to sit on panels, to engage in question and answer sessions.

To Schedule a Presentation or Professional Training In-Service Workshop

Contact Tom White

Tom White Coordinator of Educational Outreach 603-358-2746 [email protected]

Contact the Cohen Center

Cohen Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies Keene State College 
229 Main Street
 Keene, NH 03435-3201 ☎ 603-358-2490

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42 Best Holocaust-Themed Templates for PowerPoint & Google Slides

With over 6 million presentation templates available for you to choose from, crystalgraphics is the award-winning provider of the world’s largest collection of templates for powerpoint and google slides. so, take your time and look around. you’ll like what you see whether you want 1 great template or an ongoing subscription, we've got affordable purchasing options and 24/7 download access to fit your needs. thanks to our unbeatable combination of quality, selection and unique customization options, crystalgraphics is the company you can count on for your presentation enhancement needs. just ask any of our thousands of satisfied customers from virtually every leading company around the world. they love our products. we think you will, too" id="category_description">crystalgraphics creates templates designed to make even average presentations look incredible. below you’ll see thumbnail sized previews of the title slides of a few of our 42 best holocaust templates for powerpoint and google slides. the text you’ll see in in those slides is just example text. the holocaust-related image or video you’ll see in the background of each title slide is designed to help you set the stage for your holocaust-related topics and it is included with that template. in addition to the title slides, each of our templates comes with 17 additional slide layouts that you can use to create an unlimited number of presentation slides with your own added text and images. and every template is available in both widescreen and standard formats. with over 6 million presentation templates available for you to choose from, crystalgraphics is the award-winning provider of the world’s largest collection of templates for powerpoint and google slides. so, take your time and look around. you’ll like what you see whether you want 1 great template or an ongoing subscription, we've got affordable purchasing options and 24/7 download access to fit your needs. thanks to our unbeatable combination of quality, selection and unique customization options, crystalgraphics is the company you can count on for your presentation enhancement needs. just ask any of our thousands of satisfied customers from virtually every leading company around the world. they love our products. we think you will, too.

Widescreen (16:9) Presentation Templates. Change size...

Theme featuring black and white image of razor wire security fence backdrop

Slide deck enhanced with holocaust stone carving

PPT theme featuring holocaust memorial in berlin backdrop

Slides having closeup of burning candles isolated on black background

Presentation design consisting of model of prison guard tower photograph taken from inside the prison

Slide set with death walk holocaust sculpture at dachau

Slide set having sing at wwii prisoner camp aushwitz saying you should stop or you will die

Slide set having model of prison guard tower photograph taken from inside the prison

Slides featuring closeup of burning candles on black background

PPT layouts consisting of cat and ferret in gas masks ecology concept background

Presentation having small fortress theresienstadt with cemetery terezin czech republic backdrop

PPT theme consisting of holocaust memorial in berlin

Theme with young woman wears a gas mask to send or retrieve her mail this concept represents a poison pen letter or sending or receiving bad news tampered mail id fraud a nuclear holocaust and more

PPT theme enhanced with young woman wears a gas mask to send or retrieve her mail this concept represents a poison pen letter or sending or receiving bad news tampered mail id fraud a nuclear holocaust and more

PPT theme enhanced with ecocatastrophe braird on the cracky soil toxic smoke background

Slides consisting of young woman wears a gas mask to send or retrieve her mail this concept represents a poison pen letter or sending or receiving bad news tampered mail id fraud a nuclear holocaust and more

Theme consisting of young woman wears a gas mask to send or retrieve her mail this concept represents a poison pen letter or sending or receiving bad news tampered mail id fraud a nuclear holocaust and more

Presentation theme consisting of composition from a burning candle rood glass with water and breads backdrop

Presentation theme featuring cat and parrot in gas masks ecology concept background

Theme featuring holocaust written on a blackboard

Slide set with berlin germany at the holocaust monuments backdrop

Slides consisting of safety fence of barbed wire against the blue sky background

Slides featuring double dome of the berlin synagogue germany

Slides featuring small fortress theresienstadt terezin czech republic backdrop

Presentation design enhanced with high voltage sign at a german wwii prisoner camp

Slide set featuring death walk holocaust sculpture at dachau

Presentation having old jewish cemetery

PPT theme with hasidic jews walking in front of propaganda panels jerusalem israel backdrop

Theme consisting of silhouette of hasidic jew standing in front of blazing riot fires jerusalem israel

Presentation theme with closeup of burning candles on black background

Presentation theme featuring burning candle isolated on black background backdrop

Presentation theme with small fortress theresienstadt terezin czech republic

Slides enhanced with closeup of a ragged jewish badge and a yellowish piece of paper with the text in memory written in it on a gray rustic wooden surface

Theme featuring hasidic jews walking in front of propaganda panels jerusalem israel background

PPT theme with jewish cemetery

Presentation enhanced with lock

PPT theme having safety fence of barbed wire against the blue sky background

PPT layouts featuring safety fence of barbed wire against the blue sky

Slide deck consisting of closeup of burning candle isolated on black background

Presentation theme featuring golden colour jewish chandelier menorah

More holocaust templates for powerpoint and google slides:.

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Holocaust Memorial Day Trust

Learning from genocide – for a better future

HMD Presentation

This presentation introduces what is marked on Holocaust Memorial Day (HMD) and can be used at your activity.

Including quotes from individuals affected by the Holocaust, Nazi persecution of other groups and the genocides which followed in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur, this presentation can help people at your activity learn more about HMD. 

You could show this on a loop on welcome screens as people arrive or circulate it by email to staff. 

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History of the Holocaust Thesis Defense

It seems that you like this template, history of the holocaust thesis defense presentation, free google slides theme and powerpoint template.

There are times when it's necessary to talk about dark chapters of our history, but those who do not know history are bound to repeat the same mistakes. No need to cite the topic of this template, so it's best if we focus on the design. It's completely editable, divided into sections to cover all parts of a dissertation, and has several illustrations of candles. World War II was a sad period and we need to strive in order to avoid a third one.

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THE HOLOCAUST

OBJECTIVES:

• DEFINE THE TERMS HOLOCAUST AND GENOCIDE.
• DESCRIBE ANTI- JEWISH POLICIES PASSED BY THE NAZIS IN THE 1930’S.
• IDENTIFY AND DESCRIBE HITLER’S “FINAL SOLUTION” PROGRAM.
• DESCRIBE THE CONCENTRATION AND DEATH CAMPS USED IN WW II.

DEFINTIONS:

• A PROGRAM OF MASS MURDER
• THE ANNIHILATON OF ENTIRE RACE OF PEOPLE

HOLOCAUST STATISTICS

PROGRESSION OF DISCRIMINATION TOWARDS JEWS

• The NAZI party and Adolf Hitler seized power in 1933 and slowly began their program against the Jews of Germany
• In 1933 there were 566,000 Jews living in Germany.
• Each new year in Germany led to harsher policies directed towards the Jews.
• NAZIS boycott Jewish businesses
• issue decree that defines non-Aryans
• Hermann Goering creates the GESTAPO
• first concentration camps are built
• Dachau - 3/22/33
• Jews are not allowed to have national health insurance
• the SS (Schutzstaffel) is formed
• Hitler becomes Der Fuherer and receives a 90% approval rating from the people

1935- Nuremberg Race Laws

• SS Deathshead division is created to guard camps
• Heinreich Himmler is appointed Chief of the German Police
• Olympic games in Berlin, Jews treated better - briefly.
• Jews are not allowed to teach Germans
• not allowed to be accountants or dentists
• “Eternal Jew” exhibit opened in Germany
• this promoted stereo-types of Jews and warned Germans
• Nazi troops enter Austria
• League of Nations considers helping Jews fleeing Hitler, but no country will take them
• Jews are not allowed to practice medicine

1939-KRISTALLNACHT

• Night of Broken Glass
• Jewish stores, shops and synagogues burned down
• Took place because a German official was killed in Paris by a Jew
• November 9, 1939
• Reinhard Heydrich is ordered to speed up emigration of Jews
• The St. Louis is turned away from the US.
• Jews must hand over all gold and silver.
• Nazi troops seize Czechoslovakia
• 350,000 Jews

POLAND 1939

• Sept. 1, 1939 Nazis invade Poland
• 3.35 million Jews
• Hans Frank becomes governor of Poland
• Forced labor decree issued and all Jews must wear yellow stars

“I ask nothing of Jews except that they should disappear”

• German Jews are deported to Poland
• Ghettos of Lodz, Krakow and Warsaw are sealed off.
• Total of 600,000 Jews
• These ghettos will be liquidated starting in 1942

German soldiers rounding up Jews to be placed in ghettos

• Nazis invade the Soviet Union
• Jewish population of 3 million
• Hitler issues infamous “Commissar Order”
• SS Einsatzgruppen follow advance of German Army

“Liquidate all Communist officials you encounter!

Einsatzgruppen

• SS “Special Action Groups” organized in early years of war by Reinhard Heydrich
• Heydrich organized 4 large groups (A,B,C,D) in Soviet Union
• Competition between group leaders to see who could kill the most Jews
• 1,300,000 Russian Jews killed by end of war by these “mobile killing units”

EINSATZ AREA OF OPERATIONS

Wannsee Conference

• Heydrich was ordered by Hermann Goering to prepare a “final solution” to the Jewish question
• Heydrich organized a meeting with 15 top Nazi officials in Berlin = Jan. 20, 1942
• Nazis would attempt to exterminate the entire Jewish population of Europe, an estimated 11 million persons

Reinhard Heydrich

• Nicknamed “The Blond Beast” and “Hangman Heydrich”
• second in command of Gestapo and SS
• principle planner of the Final Solution
• Brigadier General in SS at the age of 30

Heydrich and Final Solution

• “Europe would be combed of Jews from East to West”
• “Madagascar Plan”
• ordered Einsatzs to round up and kill Jews in occupied countries
• leader of RSHA

Heydrich assassinated 1942

• Czech underground agents bombed his car
• SS hunted down and killed 1000 suspects
• Czech town of Lidice was liquidated
• Hilter called him “The man with the iron heart.”

172 men shot in village of Lidice in retaliation.

FINAL SOLUTION

• “Now judgement has begun and it will reach its conclusion only when the knowledge of the Jews has been erased from the earth!” Nazi Newspaper
• there were 3 phases of the Nazi plan to wipe out the Jewish population of Europe

Phase 1 = Shooting

• Jews were rounded up and told they were to be relocated
• They were taken to the woods and were shot one by one
• their bodies were buried in mass graves

Phase 2 = Gas Vans

• Again, Jews were rounded up and told they were to be relocated in vans
• The vans were equipped so that the van’s exhaust was piped back into the van

700,000 Jews killed in Vans

Problems with Phases 1,2

• The Nazis encountered several problems with the executions and gas vans
• First, they were both taking to much time
• Second, resources such as gas and munitions were becoming scarce
• Third, soldiers involved were beginning to have psychological problems with what they were doing.

Phase 3 = The Camps

• Nazi leaders decided to drastically speed up the Final Solution
• there were two different types of camps:
• CONCENTRATION CAMPS
• EXTERMINATION CAMPS
• Jews from all over occupied Europe were to be brought here.

CONCENTRATION

• 100 of these in Nazi-occupied Europe
• prisoners used for forced labor
• prisoners usually lasted less than 1/2 year
• communists, homosexuals, criminals, social-democrats, artists.
• First camp was opened in 1933, right after Nazis came to power

RAVENSBRUCK

• Camp for women only
• run by German women who were criminals
• prisoners worked on remodeling furs
• 50,000 killed
• 14,000 rescued by Swedish diplomat

Count Folke Bernadette negotiating for prisoners

THERESIENSTADT

• Most humane camp
• well connected Jews and war veterans
• Jews married to Aryans could pay to go to this camp
• Red Cross inspected this camp, good rating
• stop over on the way to Auschwitz

Jewish band playing for Red Cross inspection team

EXTERMINATION

• Started out as ordinary concentration camps
• later modified with gassing installations for use on humans, now “DEATH CAMPS”
• two sub-groups:
• 1) Majdanek and Auschwitz, Birkenau
• 2) Operation Reinhard camps and Chelmno
• “NAZIS GET CLOSE TO CREATING HELL ON EARTH!!!”

Jews from the Lodz ghetto in Poland sent here

First death camp built = 1941

First to use Gas Vans on Jews

CAMPS IN POLAND

• Established in 1941 as a POW camp
• started its part in the Final Solution in 1942
• Jews, Poles and Soviet POW’s sent here
• had two gas chambers to exterminate
• Started operations in January 1940 (Poland)
• Himmler chose Auschwitz as the place for the Final Solution
• had 4 gas chambers/crematories by 1943
• mass killings with Zyklon B gas
• commanded by Rudolph Hoess
• recorded 12,000 kills in one day

THE SS AT AUSCHWITZ

ORDERED TO TAKE ALL POSSESSIONS FROM JEWS

TEETH WITH GOLD

PILES OF GLASSES

GAS USED TO KILL VERMIN. IT WAS INEXPENSIVE COMPARED TO GAS. DROPPED FROM CEILINGS

MEDICAL EXPERIMENTS

• Sterilization of men and women
• endurance of pain to high and low temperatures and pressure
• experiments on twins to increase number of multiple births to Aryan women
• injections of phenol to kill patients
• Dr. Mengele attempted to sew children together to make Siamese twins

EXTRACTED HUMAN ORGANS

EXPERIMENTS ON CHILDREN IN AUSCHWITZ

OPERATION REINHARD

• Largest single massacre of Holocaust
• March 1942-November 1943
• named after Reinhard Heydrich
• carried out at three camps, run by the SS
• every Jew that arrived at one of the camps would be dead in 2 hours.
• Total of 1,700,000 Jews killed
• JEWS FROM LUBIN GHETTO- POLAND
• OPERATIONS STOP DECEMBER 1942
• CAMP WAS DISMANTLED AND PLOWED OVER AND PLANTED ON
• 3 GAS CHAMBERS
• ESCAPE OF 300 JEWS AND SOVIET POW’S
• ONLY 50 LIVE
• GAS CHAMBERS SHUT DOWN AFTER ESCAPE
• JEWS FROM WARSAW GHETTO
• 10 GAS CHAMBERS
• LOCATED EAST OF WARSAW
• BODIES WERE BURNED IN OPEN PITS
• AUGUST 1943

Camp Totals

STATISTICS BY COUNTRY

Jewish population before , Jewish population after Holocaust