-
Hitler's "Final Solution"
The Nazis had concentrated on silencing their political opponents-communists, socialists, liberals, and anyone else who spoke out against the government -
The Persectuion 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. -
Jews Targeted
The Nuremberg Laws stripped jews of their German citizenship, jobs, and property. To make it easier for the nazis to identify them, Jews had to wear a bright yellow star of david attached to their clothing. -
Period: to
Kristallnacht
This became known as Kirstallnacht or "Night of Broken Glass." Nazi storm troopers attacked Jewish homes, businesses, and synagogues across Germany. -
The final solution
Obsessed with a desire to rid Europe of its Jews, Hitler imposed what he called the "Final Solution"- a policy of genocide, the deliberate and systematic killing of an entire population. Jews in communities not reached by the killing squads were dragged from their homes and herded onto trains or trucks for shipment to concentration camps, or labor camps. -
The Plight of the St. Louis
Official indeffernce to the plight of germany's Jews was in evidence in the case of the ship St. Loius. This German ocean liner passed Miami in 1939. Although 740 of the liner's 943 passengers had U.S. immigration papers, Coast Guard followed the ship to prevent anyone from disembarking in America. -
Mass Exterminations
Each camp had several huge has chambers in which as many as 12,000 people could be killed a day -
The Final Stage
As deadly as overwork, starvation, beatings, and bullets were, they did not kill fast enough to satisfy the Nazis. The Germans built six death camps in Poland. The first, Chelmo, began operatinf in 1941- before the meeting at Wannsee. Each camp had several huge gas chambers in which as many as 12,0000 people could be killed a day.
