The Holocaust Flashcards
What was the Holocaust?
The Holocaust was the systematic mass murder of Jewish people and other minorities by Nazi Germany and its collaborators during the Second World War
How many people were killed during the Holocaust?
Approximately 17 million people in total, including 6 million European Jews
Who did the Nazis target along with Jews?
Sinta and Romani Peoples
Ethnic Poles and Slavs
Homosexuals
People with Physical or Intellectual Disabilities
Political Opponents
What does the word ‘Holocaust’ mean?
Sacrificed by Fire
What differentiates the Holocaust from other genocides?
The level of planning and organisation by German authorities
What were the three stage of the Holocaust?
1 - Removal of Rights
2 - Segregation
3 - Extermination
What was the impact of Germany’s defeat in the First World War?
The Treaty of Versailles placed the blame for the First World War with Germany, and forced them to pay severe reparations
This led to Germany entering a severe economic depression in the post-war era
What was the name of Hitler’s autobiography, and when was it published?
‘Mein Kampf’ (My Struggle) - 1925
When did Hitler and the Nazi party come to power?
1933
What were the Nuremberg Laws, and when were they passed?
In 1935, Hitler’s government passed the Nuremberg Laws
The laws restricted the freedom of Jews to marry non-Jews and denied them citizenship
What was Kristallnacht, and when did it occur?
On the night of the 9-10 of Novermber, 1938, there was a series of coordinated attacks on Jewish synagogues and businesses in Germany
Known as Kristallnacht (Night of Broken Glass), it saw 1000 synagogues burnt, the looting of Jewish stores, and the arrest of 30,000 Jews
What were ghettos and when were they established?
Ghettos were sections of cities which the Nazis used to confine Jews and other ‘undesirables’ and isolate them from the wider population
Many were established across Europe from 1939-40, the largest being the Warsaw ghetto
Who was Heinrich Himmler?
Heinrich Himmler was the Chief of the SS police, and was often considered Hitler’s deputy
He was responsible for the formation of the Nazi death squads and the extermination camps - indeed, it is believed that many ideas involving the Holocaust were actually Himmler’s
What was the Final Solution and when was it determined?
The Final Solution was Nazi Germany’s plan for the genocide of all European Jews
It was formulated in January 1942 at the Wannsee conference in Berlin
What were the three types of concentration camps that the Nazis operated?
Prison Camps
Labour Camps
Extermination Camps
What happened at labour camps?
Prisoners were often worked to death through hard physical labour such as mining and road building
How many extermination camps were there?
6, all located in Poland
Which was the largest extermination camp?
The largest extermination camp was Auschwitz-Birkenau, a camp where the Nazis systematically killed approximately 960,000 Jews
Who was Dr Josef Mengele?
Dr Josef Mengele was an SS officer and physician at Aushwitz
He performed many deadly human experiments on prisoners, gaining the nickname ‘The Angel of Death’
When did Hitler commit suicide?
30th of April, 1945
When did Germany surrender?
Germany unconditionally surrendered on the 7th of May, 1945
What is narrative history?
Narritive history tells the story of events, normally relying on chronology to move the narrative forward
National histories often use a narrative approach
What is a biography?
A biography examines history throgh the lens of the life of a particular person (or sometimes a group)
Bigraphies can be about how individuals impacted history, or about how history impacted individuals
What is social history?
Social histories emerged in the 1960s as a reaction to the mainstream historical focus on great events and individuals
Social history gives a stronger focus to the experiences of the broader population, creating a ‘history from below’
What is cultural history?
Cultural history (the most popular type of history practiced today) combines social history, intellectual history, and anthropology
What view of history does Richard Evans take?
Richard Evans takes a long-term view of German history
When did the Germans invade Namibia?
1884
Which groups did the Germans fight their genocidal war against?
Between 1904-1907, the Germans operated a genocidal war against the Hereo and Nama peoples
What was the result of the German genocidal war in Namibia?
The genocide resulted in the Hereo population being reduced from 80,000 to 15,000 and half of the 20,000 Nama people being killed
What happened to the surving tribespeople after the genocidal war?
They were moved into special labour camps where they were exterminated by labour
The Germans called them ‘concentration camps’ - the first time that they had used the term
What laws did Germany introduce in 1905?
Racial hygenie programs which banned mixed race marriages
What does the term ‘Rassenschade’ mean?
Racial Defilement
What group did Christopher Browing focus his investigation on?
Reserve Police Batallion 101, that served in Poland from 1942-1944
How does Browning defend his narrow approach?
He claims that, at the time, murderous behaviour became a part of everyday life and that mass murder was no longer exceptional
What theories does Browning present to explain the behaviour of Batallion 101?
Wartime Brutalisation
Ideological Indoctrination
Racism
Conformity
Acceptance of Authority
What is David Irving’s basic argument?
That if an event has not been documented in an archive, it did not take place
For Irving, the absence of an explicit document indicating that Hitler ordered the deliberate murder of millions means that there was no intent on Hitler’s part to do so
What are archives?
Archives are places where public records and other historical documents are kept
What is oral history?
The collection and study of historical information using sound recordings of interviews with people who remember past events
What is the importance of reconstructed sites?
They can allow both historians and the public to gain insight and historical understanding of the experiences thos people endured
What is the importance of archaeology?
Archaeologists are able to uncover items that help with our understanding of past cultures
