Persecution of the Jews (during WWII) Flashcards
When Germany invaded Poland in 1939, how did the Nazis deal with the millions of Polish Jews?
They rounded them up and put them in walled off sections of the major cities. These areas were called ghettos.
What were ghettos like?
Awful. People were cramped together in dirty houses. Disease and hunger were rife.
In ghettos, how were the old and young Jews treated differently?
The young were put to work; the old were left to starve and die.
When did the killing of Jews really begin?
In 1941 - when the German army invaded the Soviet Union. As they pushed easterwards, 3 million Russian Jews came under their control.
Who would carry out the killings in 1941?
The Einsatzgruppen (SS death squads)
What were Jews in Germany forced to wear from 1941?
The Star of David
What happened at Wannsee on the outskirts of Berlin in early 1942?
Hienrich Himmler, the head of the SS and Gestapo, met with senior Nazis (although not Hitler).
They decided on the ‘Final Solution’ - to systematically exterminate all Jews under German control.
After Wannsee, what began to be built?
Slave labour camps and death camps at places like Auschwitz and Treblinka
In the death camps, who were killed immediately?
The very young, the sick, or the old - anyone who could not work.
How were the able bodied used at the camps?
They were put to work
Approximately how many Jews were killed in the Holocaust?
6 million
Which other groups were murdered in the death camps
- Political opponents
- gypsies
- Jehovah’s Witnesses
- Russian and Polish prisoners of war (PoWs)
Who was Gad Beck?
A man who led the Jewish resistance in Berlin
How many groups of Jewish resistance fighters were there?
28 known groups (although there may have been more)
How many concentration camps saw armed uprisings?
5
