Holocaust Terms (Test 3/27)

Question 1

Antisemitism

Answer 1

Opposition to and discrimination against the Jews.

Question 2

Aryan

Answer 2

Nazi racial theory, a person of pure German “blood” - blonde hair, blue eyes, fair skin.

Question 3

Assimilation

Answer 3

The process of becoming incorporated into mainstream society.

Question 4

Auschwitz

Answer 4

A complex consisting of concentration, extermination, and labor camps in Poland. Largest concentration camp.

Question 5

Bergen Belsen

Answer 5

Nazi concentration camp in northwestern Germany. Anne Frank died here.

Question 6

Buchenwald

Answer 6

Concentration camp in North Central Germany.

Question 7

Dachau

Answer 7

Concentration camp in Germany.

Question 8

Concentration Camp

Answer 8

Prisons used without regard to accepted norms of arrest and detention. Essential part of Nazi systematic oppression.

Question 9

Crematorium

Answer 9

A place in the concentration camps, where the Nazis would burn the dead bodies of the Jewish people.

Question 10

Death marches

Answer 10

Forced marches of prisoners over long distances and under intolerable conditions. Usually performed from one ghetto/concentration camp to another ghetto/concentration camp.

Question 11

Dehumanization

Answer 11

The Nazi policy of denying Jews basic civil rights, such as practicing religion, education, and having adequate housing.

Question 12

Final Solution

Answer 12

A Nazi euphemism for the plan to exterminate the Jews of Europe.

Question 13

Gas chambers

Answer 13

Large chambers in which people were executed by poison gas.

Question 14

Genocide

Answer 14

The deliberate and systematic destruction of racial, political, cultural, or religious groups.

Question 15

Gestapo

Answer 15

Secret State Police - used brutal methods to investigate and suppress resistance to Nazi rule within Germany. After 1939, expanded operations into Nazi-occupied Europe.

Question 16

Ghetto(s)

Answer 16

Established in poor sections of a city, where most Jews from the city and surrounding areas were forced to reside. Often surrounded by barbed wire or walls,. Characterized by overcrowding, malnutrition, and heavy labor.

Question 17

Hitler, Adolf

Answer 17

Nazi party leader 1919-1945. German Chancellor 1933-1945. Called “Fuhrer” by the Nazis.

Question 18

Holocaust

Answer 18

Derived from Greek, which means a sacrifice totally burned by fire. Refers to the systematic planned extermination of roughly six million European Jews and millions of others by the Nazis between 1933-1945.

Question 19

Kapo

Answer 19

A concentration camp inmate appointed by the SS to be in charge of a work gang.

Question 20

Kristallnacht

Answer 20

The Night of the Broken Glass. November 9, 1938, approximately 200 synagogues were destroyed, over 8,000 Jewish shops were sacked and looted, and tens of thousands of Jews were removed to concentration camps. Received its name because of the great value of glass smashed during this antisemitic riot.

Question 21

Mengele, Joseph

Answer 21

“Angel of Death” - SS physician at Auschwitz-Birkenau. Carried out “selections” of prisoners upon arrival at camp, and performed cruel experiments on prisoners.

Question 22

Nazi

Answer 22

Platform based on militaristic, racial, antisemitic, and nationalistic policies. Partly based upon political propaganda, mass rallies, and demonstrations.

Question 23

Pogrom

Answer 23

An organized and often officially encouraged massacre of, or attack on, Jews. (Derived from two Russian words, which mean “thunder”)

Question 24

Propaganda

Answer 24

False or partly false information used by the government or political party intended to sway the opinions of the population.

Question 25

Star of David

Answer 25

A six-pointed star which is a symbol of Judaism. During the Holocaust, Jews throughout Europe were required to wear these on their sleeves or fronts and backs of their shirts and jackets.

Question 26

Swastika

Answer 26

An ancient symbol appropriated by the Nazis as their emblem.

Question 27

Zyklon B

Answer 27

Pesticide used in most of the gas chambers in the death camps.

Question 28

Kaddish

Answer 28

Jewish prayer for the dead.

Question 29

Fuhrer

Answer 29

German for “leader” - Adolf Hitler’s title as the dictator of Nazi Germany.

Question 30

Shoah

Answer 30

A biblical Hebrew word meaning catastrophe or destruction, used to refer the murder of six million Jews under Hitler.

Question 31

SS

Answer 31

Abbreviation for “Schutzstaffel,” which means “protection unit.” Were specially chosen Nazi troops, loyal to Hitler and assigned to tasks such as mass shootings and running the death camps.

Question 32

Synagogue

Answer 32

Jewish house of worship.

Question 33

Einsatzgruppen

Answer 33

Mobile killing squads, made up of SS and German police, charged with mass killings of Jews and other “enemies of the state” in eastern Poland and the Soviet Union.

Question 34

Deportation

Answer 34

Forced transfer of Jews to ghettos, concentration camps, and death camps during the holocaust.

Question 35

Selection (appropriate to the Holocaust)

Answer 35

System of separation of those entering concentration camps, deeming those able to “work” in one category, and those too young, old, or sick in another category. Usually happened upon arrival to concentration camps, and randomly throughout blocks.

Question 36

Barracks/Blocks

Answer 36

Where those in concentration camps would sleep; known for harsh, uncomfortable, tight, and unsanitary conditions.