Vocab Flashcards
Adolf Hitler
elected chancellor of Germany in 1933, known for the initiation of the Holocaust
Allies
the countries (USA, Great Britain, Soviet Union ) opposed to the Axis powers (Germany, Italy, Japan) during WII
Aryan
the name of a prehistoric people of Europe and India, the Nazis asserted the unscientific notion that ancient Aryans had founded civilization and were racially superior and that Germans were the modern-day Aryan, or master, race. The Nazis believed that the Aryans were tall, blond-haired, and blue-eyed.
Auschwitz
the largest and most well-known concentration camp, located in Poland
Bar mitzvah
the ceremony inducting Jewish boys into adulthood and religious responsibilities on their thirteenth birthdays
Birkenau
a portion of the concentration camp at Auschwitz where the bulk of the prisoners were housed and killed. Also known as the “death camp” portion of Auschwitz.
Black Shirts/ SS
uniformed police organized in 1925 as Hitler’s personal guard, and later developed into elite units of the Nazi party to operate the concentration camps.
Boycott
a protest in which a group of people refuse to purchase a product or service, in order to express their disapproval or force a change.
Brown Shirts/SA-
aka storm troopers; uniformed guards organized in the 1920 byt ht eNazi party ti intimidate its opponents
Buchenwald
one of the first major concentration camps in Germany
Chelmno
the first death camp established in Poland
Communists
people who believe that personal property should be abolished, and that someday workers will govern themselves.
Concentration camp
prison where enemies of the German government, like Jews, Gypsies, homosexuals, and political opponents, were gathered, or concentrated, involuntarily.
Crematoria
ovens used to burn the bodies of death-camp victims
Dachau
first concentration camp, established in Munich, Germany, in 1933
D-Day
June 6, 1945, the Allied invasion of Nazi-occupied Europe, this invasion marked the beginning of the Germans eventual defeat of WWII
Death camp
camps built for the specific purpose of mass murder
Declaration of Human Rights
a national law, written and enforced by the United Nations, that outlines the rights of all humans
Displaced person’s camp
compound administered by the Allies at the end of WWII where former concentration-camp inmates, or “displaced-persons”, lived, often for several years, many displaced persons’ camps were former concentration camps
Evian Conference
meeting in Evian, France, in 1938, of delegates from 32 nations, including the USA and Great Britain, to discuss Jewish refugees, no country offered to take in the masses of Jews wishing to escape the Nazi persecution
