The Holocaust in Europe During the Second World War

History - Year 8

If you study this subject, you need to be spending 2 hours per week on this subject. You should use your time to research and investigate the topics mentioned below:

You MUST prioritise the following things:

You have been emailed a workbooklet by the school. This has information and tasks to work through about the topic you would be completing in school – The Holocaust in Europe during the Second World War. Read through the pack carefully and follow the instructions fully. A summary of what to do is below.

• Read through the information you have been provided with on the The Holocaust. Make a note of any new words you encounter and their definitions. • Complete at least 4 tasks on the menu, the chillies show how challenging each task is. • Those with a * next to them do not need the internet to be completed. • WARNING—Only use the suggested websites for research!

Websites that will help your research or provide you with subject related quizzes: https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/zkfk7ty/revision/1

Name: Due:

The Holocaust: Year 8 Home Learning

WARNING: The Holocaust is a sensitive topic and there are many inaccurate or upsetting websites. Only use the websites and videos suggested in this booklet.

TEACHER FEEDBACK : DO NOT COMPLETE

Excellent. “I am actively involved and go above and beyond”

Good. “I complete work on time and to a good standard”

Inconsistent. “My work is sometimes below my potential , late or

Incomplete”

Poor. “My work is not completed or missing” THE HOLOCAUST

WHAT DO WE MEAN BY THE TERM ‘HOLOCAUST’? The word ‘Holocaust’ comes from ancient Greek: ‘holos’ means ‘completely’ and ‘kaustos’ means ‘burnt’. The word was first used to de- scribe religious sacrifices. For this reason, some people have objected to the term ‘Holocaust’ and prefer to use the Hebrew word ‘Shoah’, which means ‘catastrophe’. “The Holocaust was the murder of approximately six million Jews by the Na- zis and their collaborators. Because Nazi discrimination against the Jews began with Hitler’s accession to power in January 1933, many historians con- sider this the start of the Holocaust era. The Jews were not the only victims of Hitler’s regime, but they were the only group that the Nazis sought to de- stroy entirely.” Yad Vashem, Jerusalem, Israel The Rise of the Nazis to Power in Germany Hitler and the Nazi Party rose to power due to the social and political cir- cumstances that characterized the interwar period in Germany. Many Ger- mans needed someone to blame for their defeat in WW1. For centuries, Jewish people have been targeted and once more, they were seem to be at the root of the defeat. In the 1930s, Germany’s Jews – some 500,000 people – made up less than one percent (0.8%) of the German population. Nazi anti-Jewish policy functioned on two primary levels: legal measures to expel the Jews from society and strip them of their rights and property whilst at the same time engaging in campaigns of incitement, abuse, terror and violence of varying proportions. There was one goal: to make the Jews leave Germany. Hitler became Chancellor in Janurary1933 by March the first concentration camp was opened. This was more of a prison camp but was the model for the networks of concentration camps later established. In September 1935, The Nuremberg Laws were passed, stripping Jews of their citizenship and marriage between Jews and Non-Jews was banned. Another key point in the violence against Jews was Kristallnacht (night of broken glass) 9-10th November 1938. This was when violent riots erupted. The shop windows of Jewish businesses were smashed, the stores looted, hundreds of synagogues and Jewish homes were burnt down and many Jews were physically as- saulted. Some 30,000 Jews, were arrested and deported to Concentration Camps,

The beginning of World War II, on September 1, 1939, marked a new phase in German policy toward the Jews.

The Ghettos When the Nazi’s invaded Poland in September 1939 it was decided that any Jews living in towns or villages would be transferred to join larger pop- ulations of Jews in the bigger cities. This is where the Ghetto’s began. Ex- amples of Ghettos include: Lodz, Warsaw and Theresienstadt. The Jews were only permitted to take a few personal items with them into the ghet- to and in the process of being forced in their houses were removed and taken away from them. The Ghetto’s were extremely crowded and often lacked enough toilets, clean water and electricity. Food rations were also not good enough. Starvation and dis- ease increased in the ghettos with many of the inhabitants becoming ill or dying.

The Final Solution The mass murder of the Jews began with the German invasion of the Sovi- et Union in June 1941. The name ‘final solution’ refers to the codename for the plan to murder all Jews within reach.

The Jews were either transported from camps, or forced to gather at rail- road stations. It was from here that they were transported to work camps and extermination camps. The Jews of Europe were systematically murdered in the extermination camps as part of the Final Solution. There was also the use of the Einsatzgruppen. They were mobile killing squads that were a part of the SS. Members were chosen for their fanatical belief and absolute commitment to Hitler. They murdered approx. 1.5 million Jews.

Concentration Camps The first concentration camps in Germany were set up as detention centres for so-called ‘enemies of the state’. Initially, these people were primar- ily political prisoners such as communists, but this soon expanded. Inmates in concentration camps were also usually subject to forced labour. Typi- cally, this was long hours of hard physical labour, though this varied across different camps. Many camps worked their prisoners to death. Approxi- mately one million people died in concentration camps over the course of the Holocaust.

Extermination Camps Extermination camps were used by the Nazis from 1941 to 1945 to murder Jews. To implement the ‘Final Solution’, the Nazis established six purpose built extermination camps on Polish soil. The most notorious being Ausch- witz. The selection process The holocaust selection process refers to who was chosen for forced labour and who was sent to gas chambers upon arrival of concentration camps such as Auschwitz Those who were less likely to be deemed as fit to work by the death camp’s acting physicians were as follows; All children under the age of 16, later brought down to 14 years old in 1944, Pregnant women, the handicapped, both physically and mentally, the elderly and the sick. Prisoners who were brought over to the camps and fell under any of these categories were typically sentenced to death by the gas chamber. On average, it is thought that around 20% of prisoners brought to the extermination camps were selected for forced labour, with the remaining victims killed in the gas chambers.

Later Stages of the War In the later stages of the war, as the Germans were retreating on all fronts, they murdered some of the Jewish forced laborers who remained in the ghettos that had been converted into labour camps. The Germans deported the rest to the extermination centres that were still functioning, such as Auschwitz, or to labor and concentration camps in the Reich on death marches during which many of the inmates were either murdered or died of starvation and exhaustion.

Resistance to the Holocaust The largest and longest lasting of these rebellions took place in the Warsaw ghetto. “It is impossible to put into words what we have been through. What happened exceeded our boldest dreams. The Germans fled twice from the ghetto… My life’s dream has come true. Defence in the ghetto has become a fact.“ - Mordechai Anielewicz, Warsaw Ghetto, April 1943 After liberation many of the survivors quickly enlisted in the Allied forces that continued to fight against Nazi Germany. Approximately 1.5 million Jews fought in World War II in the Allied armies, in the partisan units, in the underground movements and in the ghettos. To date (2017), Yad Vashem has recognized 26,513 Righteous from 51 countries and nationalities. These include the people who helped Jews during the events of the Holocaust. Examples include; hiding Jews in their home, Providing false papers and false identities and smuggling and assisting help in their escape. Key individuals include: Sir Nicholas Winton— established an organisation that rescued 669 Children Oskar Schindler—saving the lives of 1,200 Jews during the Holocaust by employ- ing them in his enamelware and ammunitions factories

Choose your learning Complete at least 4 tasks on the menu, the chillies show how challenging each task is.  Those with a * next to them do not need the internet to be completed. WARNING—Only use the suggested websites for research!

Create a Museum Research and create Challenge Exhibition plan on a fact file on the 3 fol- the Holocaust. lowing ghettos; Lodz, Warsaw, Use the information Theresienstadt. provided and use What did they do? the following web- How many people? sites: What happened to Holocaust Explained them ? Yad Vashem Use: Holocaust Explained Yad Vashem Mastering Research and create Watch the following Using both the Eva.Stories a biography on one video on Instagram and the re- of the following peo- https:// search answer the follow- ple. vimeo.com/56898216 ing question. Try to aim for  Sir Nicholas Win- 2 PEE chains. ton Holocaust and  Oskar Schindler Football Do you think social media  Dr. Adélaïde is a good way to Hautval Write 3 things you remember the Holocaust?  Ludwig Worl have learned.

Advancing Research the Read through the in- Read and research the re- exhibition on ‘Last formation and create al Eva. letters from the Holo- a list of keywords with caust’ on the Yad definitions. * The Diary of Éva Heyman – Vashem website. on the Yad Vashem web- Read through 2 ex- site. amples.

Developing Using the information Research the Yad Watch the Eva.Stories on given, Vashem exhibition on Instagram. create a timeline of Children of the Holo- key events of the caust. Eva was a real person and Holocaust * the posts are based on her Select 3 items to write diary. about.