Holocaust Flashcards
Katzmann’s report
September 1941 by SS General Otto Katzmann, commander of Einsatzgruppe C
His group was one of the ones that operated in Ukraine (killing Jews and communists with mass shootings)
The Report talked about the mass shootings of jews:
- The execution methods (firearms, public locations)
– How many Jews and others (communists) were killed
- - - 100 thousand were killed by his group
- How they were killed, transported, gathered in large groups
Katzmann’s report emphasizes the efficiency and pride the Nazis took in the systematic elimination of Jews and other targets, revealing the horrors of the Holocaust in the occupied Soviet territories.
Aktion “Ernfest” or “Harvest Festival”
Nazi operation in October 1943 to kill the Jews in the Lublin District (the General Government in Poland)
The goal was to exterminate the remaining Jews who were not yet killed or deported from the area.
The mass killing of 30k to 40k Jews in 2 days
- The biggest mass killing in Poland
The name “Harvest Festival” was a deceptive euphemism used by the Nazis to disguise the operation’s true purpose.
The event was a part of the ongoing Final Solution, which sought the complete extermination of the Jewish population.
Blue police
Polish Police force that was created by the Germans during the Occupation of Poland
Enforcing nazi policies (deportations, raids, etc)
Pre-war police, that are very efficient
Police of a small population (they know each other, and know where prisoners are hiding)
They were conducting their operations, killing and taking their money without telling the Germans in 1943
These murderers regained their position in society, in rare cases, they had to undergo some cases
- Blue police have the blood of thousands of jews
Einsatzgruppe A
One of 4 mobile killing units formed by the Nazis
Mass killings of Jews, communists, and partisans in Nazi territories
Einsatzgruppe A was formed in 1939, under the command of Reinhard Heydrich
Worked during the invasion of the Soviet Union (Operation Barbarossa)
Executions through shootings in remote locations (forests, ravines, etc)
Executed tens of thousands of people, using mass shootings
Responsible for some of the first large-scale massacres in the Holocaust
Group on the east front to kill jews on the back line
Moved just behind the front line, from north to south
This part of the holocaust is called the holocaust by bullets, will never know how many ppl died - but estimate 1.1 - 1.5 million jews.
Chelmno
Nazi extermination camp in 1941, in Poland
First camp to use gas vans to murder jews
Murdered 150k to 200k people before its closing in 1943
Buried the jews in mass graves
Explains the Nazi regime’s method of mass murder
Emmanuel Ringelblum
1900-1944
Jewish Historian
Hid underground
Documenting the Warsaw ghetto
Sees the end coming so he digs all the traces of ghetto life and death, so they are not found.
- Buried in 3 locations, hope that after the war someone can make it public
Testimonies become one of the most important in the study of the Holocaust
Hofle telegram
Gerhard Hofle, SS officer overseeing Operation Reinhard (Treblinka, Sobibor, Belzec)
One of the most important pieces of evidence in Holocaust history because it provides detailed information about the mass extermination of Jews during Operation Reinhard
The document contains a list of figures that track the number of Jews deported from various ghettos and killed at the Operation Reinhard death camps.
Updates on the progress of the death camps at Treblinka, Sobibor, and Belzec
Aryanization
The process of forcibly removing Jews and non-Aryans from positions of power, businesses, and property. Aryans were considered by the Nazis to be the “racially superior” group, typically ethnically German or other Northern European groups, whom the Nazis believed should dominate Europe.
Robbing the Jews
Jewish businesses seized
- You lose your house, will become the property of the German state, and be sold at auctions
- Transfer of jewish wealth
Aryans bought houses, socks, shoes, paintings - everything (they made money)
- Germans and jews lost everything when they came back
Jewish-owned businesses were either seized or forced to sell cheaply to non-Jews.
Jews were often excluded from jobs or professions, and their assets were confiscated or taken by the Nazis.
Aryanization: exclusion of jews from economic life and participation of jews (112)
Chaim Rumkowski
Jewish Leader, head of the jewish council of the lodz ghetto
Controversial
He tried to protect the ghetto by making it economically useful to the Nazis through forced labor.
He is most known for his infamous “Give me your children!” speech in which he offered up the most vulnerable Jews to the Nazis in order to save others.
- Wanted to help the Germans so they would not hurt people even more (talk about how some people see this as him saving himself)
Rumkowski’s actions have been heavily criticized, with some seeing him as a tragic leader trying to protect his people, while others view him as a collaborator who betrayed his community.
Wannsee Conference
Leader: Reinhard Heydrich, planner of the Final Solution.
Purpose: Not to decide on the killing, but to refine details of execution.
Location: Berlin, January 20, 1942.
Key points:
- Discussed target numbers of Jews to be exterminated (including those already dead from starvation or other killings).
- Germany’s global ambition: Plan to dominate and exterminate Jews beyond its borders, including in the US.
- Discussed foreign affairs messaging to explain actions to occupied populations.
- Mentioned the T4 program (euthanasia of mentally ill), which was used as a model.
- Extermination camps (like Vernichtungslager) were being developed to replace mass shootings (which led to psychological tolls on soldiers).
- Auschwitz: First used to kill Soviets, then Jews.
- Goal: Make the genocide more efficient and set the stage for the largest mass murder in history.
Kielce Pogrom
Context:
- Post-war Kielce: After the war, returning Jews were given buildings to live in, often serving as transit points while they sought visas to emigrate.
- The atmosphere was full of fear and insecurity, with many Jewish survivors still hoping to leave Poland.
Trigger Event:
- In 1946, an 8-year-old boy went missing for two days, picking cherries in his village without telling his parents.
- When the boy returned, he claimed he had been kidnapped by Jews and hidden in their cellar.
- The boy pointed at a local Jewish man, accusing him, but the accused man denied it, stating there were no cellars in his house.
- The boy’s story spread, and rumors quickly circulated, including accusations that Jews were kidnapping Christian children for rituals, stoking anti-Semitic hysteria.
Escalation:
- The rumors sparked a growing mob, which gathered outside Jewish homes.
- The army and military were called in but sided with the mob rather than protecting the Jews.
- Jews in the building were shot as the mob surged forward.
- The Jewish residents believed that the military would protect them, but instead, they joined the attackers.
Violence:
- The Milicja (Polish police) helped the mob by dragging Jews out of their homes and throwing them into the crowd, where they were brutally killed.
Oneg Shabbat
The Oneg Shabbat Archive was a secret project led by Emanuel Ringelblum and a group of Jewish intellectuals in the Warsaw Ghetto during World War II.
They documented the experiences of Jews under Nazi occupation, gathering testimonies, documents, and personal accounts of daily life, atrocities, and resistance.
The group buried these materials in milk cans, hoping they would be discovered after the war.
The archive remains one of the most important historical records of the Holocaust, preserving the memory and experiences of the Jewish community during that time.
Protocols of the Elders of Zion
A forged document that was used to spread anti-Semitic conspiracy theories. It falsely claims to be a record of a secret meeting in which Jewish leaders discuss their plan for global domination.
Created in Russia in 1903
Played a significant role in fostering hate and discrimination against Jews in the early 20th century and continues to influence anti-Semitic movements today
Righteous Among the Nations
A term used to honor non-Jews who risked their lives to save Jews during the Holocaust, despite the extreme danger posed by Nazi occupation and anti-Semitic laws. It is a designation given by the State of Israel to individuals who acted selflessly to protect Jews from the Nazis and their collaborators, often at great personal risk.
Non-Jewish people who risked their safety, not taking money, to help Jews get to safety
Korherr Report
Purpose: To provide a statistical update on the Nazi efforts to exterminate the Jews and manage the Final Solution.
Content: The report included estimates of Jewish populations, numbers of Jews deported, killed, and those involved in forced labor, along with specific details about the methods of mass murder.
Key Role: While the report was a tool for Nazi propaganda, it later became a crucial document for understanding the full extent of the Holocaust and the organized nature of the Nazi genocide.
Arrow Cross
The Arrow Cross Party was a fascist, anti-Semitic political group that played a major role in the persecution and murder of Jews during the Holocaust in Hungary.
It collaborated closely with Nazi Germany, helping in the deportation of Jews to death camps and executing Jews in mass killings.
Particularly in Budapest, responsible for thousands of deaths
Sonderkommando
The Sonderkommando were Jewish prisoners who were forced to assist the Nazis in the operation of gas chambers, crematoria, and the disposal of bodies during the Holocaust.
Their tasks were among the most brutal and traumatic in the concentration camps, and many of them died either in the course of their work or through executions by the Nazis.
Adolf Eichmann
Organized the deportation of jews to extermination camps
Heydrich’s right-hand man
Chief of logistics, made sure things kept rolling master planner
His trial was crucial in revealing the bureaucratic nature of the Final Solution and the moral questions surrounding the Holocaust.
Was found hiding after the war, sentenced to death
His trial was televised
- Vehicle to make the holocaust known in the world, a lot of people saw it
- He was the face of the Holocaust
- People would talk about the Holocaust, not just about World War 2
- His face was everywhere
A Philosopher will write a book on his life called “The Banality of Evil”
- Says that Eichmann could not help himself, he needed to do this to survive
- We should not punish him for something he was told to do
- This is contested when a video of Eichmann resurfaces where he is talking about his success
- He was proud of his mission, a man of passion for the final solution
Odilo Globocnik
Austrian Nazi SS officer who played a significant role in the mass murder of Jews during the Holocaust.
A central figure in Operation Reinhard, overseeing the construction and operation of death camps like Treblinka, Sobibor, and Belzec.
Globocnik was responsible for the deportation and extermination of Jews, and his actions led to the deaths of hundreds of thousands.
He committed suicide in 1945 as Nazi Germany was collapsing, and was never tried for his war crimes.
Jewish fighting organization
Jewish Leaders start planning to fight
Some ghettos were important because they produced resources and goods for the German army (boots, uniforms, etc)
The organization starts in Ernest, inside the secondary ghetto:
- There was a powerful communist movement
The jewish council has no voice, no control anymore
The resistance was led by young people
The leader of the resistance is Mordechai Anielwicz
A lot of couriers were young blonde women - who could pass as Arian
- They put to task all the wealthy jews standing, put a gun to their heads, and raised several millions to purchase guns in black markets
He will send a desperate plea bc the resistance Polish sent barely any guns, no working guns
ChatGPT:
- Jewish resistance organizations during the Holocaust included armed groups like the ZOB (Warsaw Ghetto), the Bielski Partisans, and the Jewish Brigade in the Soviet Union and elsewhere.
- These groups fought against Nazi forces, often in guerrilla warfare, and sometimes provided sanctuary for Jews trying to escape death.
- Despite limited resources and facing overwhelming odds, these organizations became symbols of Jewish resilience and defiance during the darkest days of the Holocaust.
Joint
The Joint Distribution Committee (JDC)
American-based Jewish humanitarian organization that played a vital role during the Holocaust by providing relief to Jews suffering under Nazi occupation.
- Financial Aid, Medical Supplies, and Food for Jewish communities
- Crucial Role in rescuing Jews, helping them go to neutral countries
After the war:
- Helped with displaced people and refugee relief, and continued to aid the reconstruction of jewish life in Europe.
T4
Program to kill mentally challenged and physically disabled people, in operation for years
“Unworthy of life”
Operated from 1939-1941
Gas chambers, lethal injections, and starvation
Tens of thousands of people died from this
predecessor/ancestor
Bund
Jewish socialists movement advocated for jewish cultural autonomy and worker’s rights
Organized resistance in ghettos, underground movement
Helped with the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising
- To form and organize
- Smuggling
Mordekai Anielewicz
Leader of the ZOB, a jewish fighting organization in the Warsaw Ghetto
The resistance was led by young people
He will send a desperate plea bc the resistance Polish sent barely any guns, no working guns
He played a key role in organizing the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising in April 1943, where Jewish fighters resisted Nazi forces attempting to deport them to the Treblinka death camp.
Legacy = bravery, resistance
