Genocide 1939-1945 Flashcards
What was the German word which translates as ‘annihilation’ used by Hitler in a speech?
Vernichtung
How many Jews came into contact with the Nazis when they invaded Poland?
3 million
Where were the first ghettos created?
Krakow, Warsaw and Lublin
What happened in September 1939 to the Jews?
A curfew was put on them - later they confiscated all radios
What were Jewish ration books stamped with in 1940?
a capital J - stopped them claiming restricted goods e.g. leather
What was a significant method to marginalise the Jews from September 1941?
All Jews had to wear the star of David
When did German Jews lose their German citizenship?
April 1943
Who ordered the deportation of Jews out of the parts of Poland that were incorporated with the Reich?
Himmler
When was the order for deportation given?
October 1939
In January 1940 what were the Jews used for?
Slave Labour
What was the main problem with the Final Solution?
Where they could remove the Jews to
Who suggested the French island of Madagascar as the destination for deportation?
Richard Heydrich (member of SS)
How many Jews were under German control to be removed?
3.25 million
Why is the deportation plan considered to be a plan of annihilation?
A small island cannot contain the whole European Jewish population - most people would’ve died in transportation or from starvation
What was the Madagascan plan dependent on?
German control of the high seas
What did the invasion of USSR in June 1941 increase?
the number of Jews under German control
What kind of war did they claim it was against Russia?
A racial war
Which group did they allow to exterminate Jews in 1941?
SS Einsatzgruppen (their job was to kill Jews)
How many months later had 700,000 Jews been murdered?
8 Months
Why was this method of extermination reconsidered?
It was impractical and very emotionally difficult for men shooting other men for days on end.
What policy was the destruction of the Jews a consequence of?
Lebensraum
Why could the Nazis not deport the Jews East of the Urals?
It meant they had to capture the USSR first
What was Hitler’s initial idea for the Jews?
They could be used as pawns with America in negotiations
Why did Hitler’s view on the future of the Jews change?
1) In August 1941 Stalin ordered the deportation to Siberia of 600,000 ethnic Germans (lived in Volga for ages)
2) September 1941 Roosevelt ordered the US Navy to shoot any German warships considered threatening on sight
How were the Gauleiters involved in the progression to Jewish extermination?
They wanted the Jews out of their Gau, so would have them deported to other Gauleiters’ areas
Which Nazi official demanded permission to take more radical action against the Jews in his area?
Arthur Greisser - the result of the competition among leaders for Hitler’s approval - more extreme solutions sought
On which date did Hitler and Himmler meet for lunch and discuss deportations?
16 September 1941
How does Kershaw describe the importance of this lunch?
‘the trigger to a crucial phase in the gradual emergence of a comprehensive programme for Genocide.’
How does war contribute to the mass killing of people?
1) Nazis come into contact with more Jews in occupied territories
2) Jews were being pushed further East into the hands of murderous SS
3) declaration of war with USA in December brings about the war mentioned in Hitler’s ‘prophetic speech’
What does Hitler decree on 18th December 1941 which brings the Final Solution closer?
He issues a decree that all Jews should be exterminated as partisans - before this point it was only Russian Jews
In October 1941 where did the police chief order the construction of a gas chamber to kill Jews unable to work?
in Lublin at a camp as Belzec
In December 1941 which new methods were used to kill Jews locally?
Car exhausts and gas vans
Who published the order that Jews could no longer emigrate from the Reich in 1941?
Gestapo chief Muller, but it was Himmler’s order.
Which article in Das Reich did Goebbels publish to stir anti-Semitic feelings?
‘The Jews are Guilty’
When is the Wansee Conference?
20th January 1942
Who chaired this meeting?
Richard Heydrich
Within a few hours what had they decided?
the extermination of 11 million Jews was to be done by gas chambers and this would be a coordinated approach
By spring 1942 which extermination camps were being constructed?
Sobibor, Belzec and Treblinka
Out of 3 millions Polish Jews how many survived the war?
4,000
By which year were Jews from all over Europe arriving at the camps?
1943
How many Jews in total are believed to have been killed?
6 million
Which company is an example who used slave labour from concentration camps?
IG Farben
At Auschwitz how many are believed to have been killed?
1 million
In March 1942 how did Goebbels describe the Final Solution?
‘fairly barbaric procedure’
What was the title of the directive which Himmler issued in 1938 concerning the gypsies?
‘The Struggle against the Gypsy Plague’ (ordering the registration of gypsies)
By 1939 what was happening to the gypsies?
they were sent to polish work camps and later in the war there were bouts of mass murder
How many gypsies are believed to have been systematically exterminated?
1/4 and 1/2 million
