5. occupation Flashcards
background to the occupation of poland:
-poland was created at the end of WW1
-before this it had been part of germany
-the nazis saw it as their right to take their land back
-after invading in oct 1939 the nazis divided the country & began to remove all polish control and culture
-they considered the poles to be racially inferior
eastern general plan (occupation of poland)
-many native poles were moved into the general government region
-it was governed by a nazi who introduced a rule of terror and set about destroying culture, education and leadership
-30,000 of the most talented people in poland were arrested, many were tortured and murdered
-1.5 million poles were deported to work in labour camps
-poles were forced to wear a P on their arm
-from 1940, many polish citizens were expelled
-500,000 ethnic germans settled in their houses & land
warsaw ghetto
-ghettos were enclosed areas that isolated jews
-hundreds were set up in oland, the largest being the warsaw ghetto (completed nov 1940)
-by early 1941 the ghettos had 445,000 jewish inhabitants (a third of warsaw’s population, they lived in 2.4 per cent of the space
-the poor conditions led to disease and death
-over 140,000 died in the ghetto’s three year existence
liquidation of the ghetto (poland)
july 21st 1942
-the nazis began the mass deportation of inhabitants to the treblinka death camp
-300,000 had perished in the gas chambers
-in april 1943, the surviving inhabitants started a final battle against the nazis
-it was unsuccessful and by mid-may the ghetto was destroyed
where is poland?
east
where is the netherlands?
west
the occupation of netherlands (invasion)
may 1940
-the nazis invaded the netherlands
-after 4 days of ground fighting the luftwaffe began a bombing campaign
-fearing continued destruction, the dutch government surrendered
the beginning of occupation (netherlands)
1940
-the nazis saw the dutch as sharing the same racial background as germans and therefore were treated very differently to the poles
-education system was kept the same -civil servants could keep their jobs if they wanted to
-there was general compliance with the regime
turning point of the occupation of the netherlands
-1942-41
-in feb, the first 425 jewish men were rounded up for deportation
-dutch communists decided to retaliate with a strike
-the nazis responded violently: nine were killed and hundreds were arrested
-after the first death sentences were issued against the dutch people
intimidation & violence in the netherlands
-in 1943, the nazis began to deport jews
-76% of dutch jews were deported
-with severe shortages of workers in germany, the nazis announced they would take dutch ex-soldiers to work as forced labourers
-strikes erupted across the country and the nazis responded brutally -dutch resistance developed
-20,000 resistance members were arrested
-most were sent to cc camps
-2000 were executed
late 1944 to 1945 in netherlands
-the exiled dutch govt called for railway strikes-
-30,000 rail workers went into hiding, causing transport shortages
-food shortages meant 20,000 dutch people died of starvation
-on may 5th the netherlands was liberated by the canadians
occupation of france in north
-swastika flags draped over buildings
-germans plundered food & other supplies causing severe shortages
-strict censorship
-night curfew
-100s of workers taken to germany for forced labour
-those who refused went into hiding
-over 70,000 jews wee deported today
death camps
occupation of france in free zone
-french allowed to govern & collaborated with germans
-everyday life was same as north
-less german control
occupation in the east v west
west:
-relatively humane
-whilst daily life wasn’t pleasant & all jews were persecuted, the nazis did not attempt to exterminate entire western populations
-however, they did react brutally towards resistors
-citizens of occupied countries were forced to work for the nazis
east:
-brutal and cruel
-the nazis viewed the east as living space for germany
-to do this the nazis believed the east needed to be ‘cleansed’ of non-aryan populations
-jews and slavic populations were especially targeted
-when germany invaded the soviet union in 1941, einsatzgruppen followed the German army with the orders to kill every Jew they found
-labourers from the east were essentially slaves, and endured terrible conditions
-about 2 million poles were forced into slave labour
accommodation
working with the nazis to help them rule
collaboration
obeying nazi rule
resistance
opposing the nazis
perpetrator
someone who actively takes part in committing a crime
the utasa
-extreme right wing political party
-inspired & encouraged by the nazis to build their own cc camps
-they killed 25,000 jews
the devlag movement
-wanted stronger ties with nazi germany
-helped the nazis recruit members to the waffen-SS & had 50,000 members by 1943
denmark
-the danes were allowed to keep their government in return for establishing favourable relations
-production & trade was redirected towards germany
-in return laws against the jews were rejected
france
-the ‘french Resistance took action against nazi occupation
-published underground newspapers & provided intelligence to the allies
-in june 1944, the french interior force was formed to help the allies push out the nazis
latvian auxillary
-in latvia, the SS created the latvian auxiliary security police
-the group took up the job of purging all internal enemies by killing jews and communists
-the group alone murdered 26,000 jews (half the Jewish population of latvia)
bielski partisans
-4 brothers who escaped a polish ghetto
-100s of men, women & kids joined
-at peak there were 1236 members
-lasted 2 years in forests
-completed sabotages on nazis
chetnicks
-serbian nationalists
-agreed to work w the nazi forces that invade yugoslavia
delegatura
-polish gov escaped to london in 1939
-made delegatura, secret polish state
-in august 1944, the poles staged an uprising in warsaw that lasted 2 months
-uprising was crushed by nazis
how did jews get to camps?
-jews were told they were being ‘evacuated’ to the east
-the aim was hide their intention to avoid mass panic
what happened to jews on arrival at camps?
-all possessions would be confiscated for use by the nazis
-arrivals were then sorted
-the majority were sent straight to the gas chambers disguised as shower blocks
-some jews were selected as workers
what happened to jews who were selected as workers?
-their head is shaved
-a identification number is tattooed on to their arm and were issued with a striped uniform
-the workers were used to complete tasks to keep the camps running, for example transporting bodies to the crematoria and checking bodies for valuable items like gold teeth
-few of those selected for work survived more than a few months
-when they were to sick or weak go work, they were killed
-others were selected to be subjects for medical experiments
the first solution (jews)
-jews forced to leave the country
-jews beaten & humiliated by being forced to scrub the pavements & get rid of pro-austrian graffiti
-mass looting & aryanisation of property first done by individuals, then SS
-persecution led jews to consider emigration, which the nazis encouraged
the second solution (jews)
-ghettos = enclosed districts that isolated
jews, separated jews from non-jews
-largest ghetto = warsaw (3m high walls with barbed wire )
-by march 1941, the warsaw ghetto held 445,500 jews
-1/3 of the city’s population was in 2.4% of the area
-on average, 15 ppl shared a small apt,
conditions lead to death & disease
-in autumn 1941, 900 cases of typhus
-in 3 years of ws ghetto, over 140,00 died
the final solution (phase 1)
-men who carried out the mass murders in the east belonged to einsatzgruppen: mobile killing units consisting of ss men, police & auxiliary units
-the einsatzgruppen rounded up jews & communists
-men, women & children were taken to secluded areas (often woods) forced to dig large pit, they were lined up at the edge of the pit & shot
the final solution (phase 2)
- chelmo
-jews were being murdered by exhaust fumes in vans because more jews could be killed without the risk of traumatising the ss - autumn 1941
-operation reinhard, extermination of all jews in general gov was agreed to and more death camps were created - jews are deported from ghettos
-they arrive at ‘train stations’
-they are stripped of clothes & possessions
-gassed in chambers that looked like showers
-slave labourers removed bodies & burnt/ buried them
4.to stop mass panic
-jews were tricked into thinking they were being resettled in the east
how were people murdered in auschwitz?
-mass murder using zykon b gas
why was auschwitz II made?
auschwitz was overrun
how were jews transported to auschwitz?
in cattle trucks/trains with no water & no toilets
