20 - Polciies Towards The Jews 1940-41 Flashcards
When was the first Jewish ghetto set up?
Where was it?
February 1940
Łódź poland
When did Germany invade Western Europe
April-June 1940
When was the Warsaw ghetto established
October 1940
When did germany invade the Soviet Union
June 1941
What areas did Germany occupy by the summer of 1940
Part of poland, Norway, Holland, Belgium and a part of france
Where did Italy stand?
They joined the war on Germany’s side
What did hitler launch in June 1941
Why
The invasion of the Soviet Union
To eliminate communism and to facilitate the extermination of Germanys racial enemies
What did the german invasion of societ union lead to?
Took them by surprise
Germany now controlled the rest of poland, Ukraine, Baltic states and much of western russia.
This brought over three million soviet jews under german control
What tightening of restrictions did the war lead to for jews living in germany?
Radio sets confiscated and banned from buying them
Excluded from wartime rationing allowances
1941 had to have a police permit to travel
December 1941, all jews had to wear a yellow Star of David badge
What did the conquest of poland mean for jews?
Brought millions more jews under nazi control
Also gave nazis opportunity to develop policies to deal with them
When did the Nazis start setting up ghettos
During 1939-40
Name some other ghettos
Warsaw
Cracow
Lvov
Łódź
Bialystok (modern Ukraine)
Vilnius (modern Lithuania)
What was life in the ghettos like?
Overcrowded, unsanitary and harsh
Food, clean water and fuel were limited
Inhabitants had to do forced labour
Who was responsible for running the ghettos?
Jewish authorities under German supervision
Jewish councils of elders organised food distribution, allocation of rooms, regulation of new arrivals, policing of ghettos
What was restricted from entering the ghettos
Food and medical supplies
How did many jews die in the ghettos
Terrible conditions meant they died of hunger, diseases such as typhoid, typhus, tuberculosis or exhaustion
How many jews died in ghettos
Half a million jews
How were ghettos sealed?
Did people try and escape?
Brick walls and barbed wire
Any who tried to escape would be shot by police patrols
What were the einsatzgruppen?
(Special groups)
Temporary units comprising troops and police commanded by men from the Gestapo, the SD or the criminal police but under the overall direction of the SS
What did these special groups do following the invasion of the Soviet Union
Four special groups of 600-1000 men were sent in to eliminate communist officials, red army commissars, partisans and ‘Jewish Bolshevism intelligentsia’
How many people were the einsatszgruppen responsible for killing
Estimated 1.3 million jews
Shot and buried them in mass graves
Who supported the einsatzgruppen?
Police reserve units and by auxiliary units recruited from local populations in the occupied territories
