MODULE 8 – LESSON 1

THE HOLOCAUST

Supporting Jewish Schools

EVIAN CONFERENCEA SPEAKER AT THE EVIAN CONFERENCE

Page 1

This is a photograph from the Evian Conference that was held in Evian, France July 6–15, 1938. The speaker pictured here, Myron Taylor, was an American diplomat who attended the conference at the request of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The conference discussed the possibility of the represented countries accepting Jewish refugees from Germany and Austria.

MODULE 8 – LESSON 1

THE HOLOCAUST

Supporting Jewish Schools

EVIAN CONFERENCEEVIAN CONFERENCE FACT SHEET

Page 2

• The Evian Conference was convened by US President Franklin D. Roosevelt and took place in Evian, France from July 6 to 15, 1938. The conference was attended by delegates from 32 countries including Great Britain, France and Canada.

• The goal of the conference was to find a solution for the problem of Jewish refugees from Germany and Austria. Countries were asked to accept these refugees.

• No country was willing to accept refugees, except for the Dominican Republic which agreed to do so in exchange for money.

• The Intergovernmental Committee on Refugees (ICR) was established to help refugees, but no money was allocated to the committee. The message sent from the Evian Conference was that the world was not willing to help Jewish refugees from Europe.

• Even though it was viewed as a success by many at the time, the conference did not result in countries opening their doors to Jews looking to emigrate.

MODULE 8 – LESSON 1

THE HOLOCAUST

Supporting Jewish Schools

MURDER BY EINSATZGRUPPEN52,000 JEWS KILLED IN KIEV POGROMS

Page 3

MODULE 8 – LESSON 1

THE HOLOCAUST

Supporting Jewish Schools

MURDER BY EINSATZGRUPPENDIGGING GRAVES

Page 4

This is a photograph of Jews digging their own graves before being shot by German soldiers. With the invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941, special murder squads called Einsatzgruppen followed with the purpose of murdering Jews. The activities of the Einsatzgruppen resulted in the murder of between 1.5 and 2 million Jews.

MODULE 8 – LESSON 1

THE HOLOCAUST

Supporting Jewish Schools

BOYCOTT OF JEWISH BUSINESSES

Page 5

This is a photograph that was taken in Berlin, Germany on April 1, 1933 at the start of the Nazi boycott of Jewish-owned businesses. Members of the SA (Sturmabteilung, the Nazi paramilitary group) put up posters on the windows of Jewish shops with the words: “Deutsche! Wehrt Euch! Kauft nicht bei Juden!” (Germans defend yourselves! Don’t buy from Jews.)

MODULE 8 – LESSON 1

THE HOLOCAUST

Supporting Jewish Schools

BOYCOTT OF JEWISH BUSINESSES AND ACTIVITIES

Page 6

From the collection of the National Library of Israel

MODULE 8 – LESSON 1

THE HOLOCAUST

Supporting Jewish Schools

WANNSEE CONFERENCEHITLER ORDER TO EXTERMINATE JEWISH POPULATION CONFIRMED

Page 7

From the collection of the National Library of Israel

MODULE 8 – LESSON 1

THE HOLOCAUST

Supporting Jewish Schools

WANNSEE CONFERENCEWANNSEE CONFERENCE FACT SHEET

Page 8

• The Wannsee Conference was held in Wannsee, a suburb of Berlin, on January 20, 1942. It was chaired by Reinhard Heydrich with the participation of 15 government officials.

• After the invasion of the Soviet Union, the Nazis stepped up their efforts to murder Jews in mass shootings. However, this method wasn’t killing Jews quickly enough, so the Nazis started planning how to exterminate Jews on a larger scale and in a more organised manner.

• The Wannsee Conference was convened to discuss the logistics and coordination of the “Final Solution to the Jewish Problem,” which included the creation of a network of extermination camps, where more than 1.7 million Jews were murdered by the end of the war.

MODULE 8 – LESSON 1

THE HOLOCAUST

Supporting Jewish Schools

Page 9

GHETTOS IN POLANDNAZI-INSPIRED POLISH PRESS HITS GHETTO STATE PROPOSAL

MODULE 8 – LESSON 1

THE HOLOCAUST

Supporting Jewish Schools

This is a photograph taken in 1942 of the Warsaw ghetto. Although not the first ghetto, the Warsaw ghetto, with more than 400,000 people forced to live in an area of 3.4 square kilometres, was the largest ghetto in Poland. As seen in the photograph, the Warsaw ghetto (and many other ghettos) were surrounded by fences and barbed wire and patrolled by soldiers.

The first ghetto in Poland was established on October 8, 1939, a short time after Germany invaded Poland. The Nazis designated certain sections of the cities as Jewish areas, ghettos, and forced Jews living in other areas to leave their homes and businesses and move to the ghettos. Ghettos were generally characterised by their overcrowded, unsanitary and poverty-ridden living conditions. In each ghetto, the Germans appointed a committee of Jews called the Judenrat to make sure that their policies were implemented. Being on the Judenrat was an extremely difficult position, and its members often faced terrible moral dilemmas.

Page 10

GHETTOS IN POLANDWARSAW GHETTO

MODULE 8 – LESSON 1

THE HOLOCAUST

Supporting Jewish Schools

Page 11

DEATH MARCHESWITNESS TELLS OF DACHAU DEATH MARCH

The Palestine Post, 20 November 1945

From the collection of the National Library of Israel

MODULE 8 – LESSON 1

THE HOLOCAUST

Supporting Jewish Schools

Page 12

DEATH MARCHESMEMORIAL TO DEATH MARCH

This is a memorial that was created to remember the thousands of Jews who were killed during the Dachau death march in May 1945. Death marches were long, forced marches of prisoners which took place under horrendous conditions and resulted in the deaths of many Jews. Most of the death marches took place towards the end of World War II, as the Nazis began to empty concentration camps ahead of their defeat at the hands of the allied troops. Prisoners were marched from camps in Eastern Europe towards German territory. Many people died of starvation and exhaustion or were shot along the way. The death marches, especially those that took place when the Nazis were on the brink of defeat, show their determination to murder as many Jews as possible.

MODULE 8 – LESSON 1

THE HOLOCAUST

Supporting Jewish Schools

NUREMBERG LAWSNAZIS ISSUE DETAILS OF NUREMBERG LAWS

Page 13

From the collection of the National Library of Israel

MODULE 8 – LESSON 1

THE HOLOCAUST

Supporting Jewish Schools

NUREMBERG LAWSCHART OF NUREMBERG LAWS

Page 14

This chart illustrates one of the laws that was enacted in 1935 by the Nazi regime in Germany. Categories were established to define a person’s status based on their grandparents’ background. For example, a person with three or four Jewish grandparents was defined as Jewish, a person with one or two grandparents was a “crossbreed” and a person with no Jewish grandparents was considered “of German blood” or Aryan.For the first time, the law of the land incorporated the antisemitic theory that Jews were a separate race that needed to be separated from the German (Aryan) population. The new laws established a racial and not a religious definition of who was a Jew. Even Christians whose ancestors were Jewish were still defined as Jews according to their race. Other laws included Jews losing their German citizenship and being barred from serving in the army.

MODULE 8 – LESSON 1

THE HOLOCAUST

Supporting Jewish Schools

Page 15

WARSAW GHETTO UPRISING5,000 DIE IN WARSAW GHETTO SIEGE

The Reform Advocate, 11 June 1943

From the collection of the National Library of Israel

MODULE 8 – LESSON 1

THE HOLOCAUST

Supporting Jewish Schools

WARSAW GHETTO UPRISINGGREAT SYNAGOGUE IN WARSAW

Page 16

The Great Synagogue of Warsaw was opened in 1878 and was, at the time, the largest in the world, seating 2000 people. The synagogue was blown up by SS General Jurgen Stroop on May 16, 1943 as the final act in the destruction of the Warsaw ghetto. General Stroop described the event in detail and pride in his book, Conversations with an Executioner:

After prolonging the suspense for a moment, I shouted: “Heil Hitler” and pressed the button. With a thunderous, deafening bang and a rainbow burst of colors, the fiery explosion soared toward the clouds, an unforgettable tribute to our triumph over the Jews. The Warsaw Ghetto was no more. The will of Adolf Hitler and Heinrich Himmler had been done.

MODULE 8 – LESSON 1

THE HOLOCAUST

Supporting Jewish Schools

WARSAW GHETTO UPRISINGBURNING BUILDINGS IN THE WARSAW GHETTO

Page 17

This photograph, taken during the Warsaw ghetto uprising (April 19–May 16, 1943) shows a block of buildings being burnt to the ground. Mass deportations from the Warsaw ghetto began in July 1942, on the day before Tisha B’Av, a day of grief and mourning in the Jewish calendar. The deportation of 265,000 people left the ghetto population greatly reduced. Among those remaining were those who saw no choice but to fight against the German authorities. Anticipating further deportations, the residents of the Warsaw ghetto dug bunkers and underground tunnels so that they could fight more effectively against the German authorities. On April 19, 1943, the night of the Passover seder, the Germans returned to find the streets empty as the residents were hiding in bunkers. The Jewish fighters then launched an ambush against the Nazis and continued fighting for almost a month. During the uprising, the Nazis burned down the ghetto, building by building, in an attempt to force the Jews out of their hiding places. Ultimately, many of the outnumbered and out-armed group of resistance fighters were killed, and approximately 42,000 Jews were deported to extermination camps. The Warsaw ghetto uprising, which stands out for the participation of all of the ghetto’s residents and the ability to launch a serious attack against thousands of German soldiers, has become a symbol of Jewish resistance during the Holocaust.

MODULE 8 – LESSON 1

THE HOLOCAUST

Supporting Jewish Schools

AUSCHWITZ II BIRKENAU OPENSENTRANCE TO BIRKENAU

Page 18

This is a modern-day photograph of the entrance to Birkenau, the death camp on the Auschwitz camp complex which was opened in October 1941. At least 1.3 million people were brought to Auschwitz, of whom approximately 1.1 million were murdered. When Jews were brought to Auschwitz-Birkenau, they were immediately divided into two groups: the able-bodied who were selected for forced labour and the rest who were sent directly to the gas chambers.

MODULE 8 – LESSON 1

THE HOLOCAUST

Supporting Jewish Schools

AUSCHWITZ II BIRKENAU OPENS1,715,00 JEWS KILLED BY NAZIS IN

TWO DEATH CAMPS IN SILESIA

Page 19

The Reform Advocate, 7 July 1944

From the collection of the National Library of Israel

MODULE 8 – LESSON 1

THE HOLOCAUST

Supporting Jewish Schools

KRISTALLNACHT POGROMSCHRONOLOGY OF CRISIS

Page 20

From the collection of the National Library of Israel

MODULE 8 – LESSON 1

THE HOLOCAUST

Supporting Jewish Schools

KRISTALLNACHT POGROMSSHOPS AFTER KRISTALLNACHT

Page 21

This photograph, taken on November 10, 1938 in Berlin, shows broken shop windows and people, presumably the Jewish shop owners, cleaning up after the Kristallnacht (Night of Broken Glass) pogrom, which took place during November 9 and 10, 1938. Despite being made to look spontaneous, the pogrom was organised by Nazi officials. During the two days of violence, approximately 30,000 Jewish men were rounded up and taken to concentration camps. Hundreds of synagogues and Jewish institutions were destroyed along with Jewish-owned businesses and homes. After Kristallnacht, the Jewish community was ordered to pay one billion Reichsmark in compensation for the damage. Many anti-Jewish laws were also passed in the days following Kristallnacht.