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A Brief History of the HOLOCAUST a Reference Tool A Brief History of the HOLOCAUST A Reference Tool 2018 edition 5151, chemin de la Côte-Sainte-Catherine Montréal (Québec) H3W 1M6 Canada Phone : 514-345-2605 Fax : 514-344-2651 Email: [email protected] museeholocauste.ca/en Produced by the Montreal Holocaust Museum, 2012, 2016, 2018 Graphic design: Fabian Will and Kina Communication Picture credits: Montreal Holocaust Museum, except for p. 27, Pierre St-Jacques and cover page, p. 31 et 33, Randall Bytwerk. The material in this Guide may be copied and distributed for educational purposes only. Brief History of the Holocaust - A Reference Tool Table of Contents Montreal Holocaust Museum ...........................................................................4 Introduction .....................................................................................................5 Historical Context ...........................................................................................6 Pre-Holocaust Jewish Communities ..........................................................6 Rise of Nazism ..........................................................................................7 Adolf Hitler Comes to Power .....................................................................8 Racist and Antisemitic Ideology .................................................................9 World War II .............................................................................................10 Ghettos .................................................................................................... 11 Concentration Camps ..............................................................................12 The “Final Solution” and the Creation of the Death Camps ..................... 12 Jewish Resistance ...................................................................................14 Nazi Collaborators ...................................................................................14 Rescuers ................................................................................................. 14 Liberation ................................................................................................. 15 Displaced Persons Camps ......................................................................15 Pursuit of Justice: Nuremberg Trials ....................................................... 16 Pursuit of Nazi Criminals .........................................................................16 International Justice .................................................................................16 Holocaust Chronology ..................................................................................17 Table - Number of Victims ............................................................................25 Artefacts .......................................................................................................27 Glossary .......................................................................................................30 Selected Bibliography ....................................................................................34 3 Montreal Holocaust Museum 01 Montreal Holocaust Museum Facilities & Services: TO LEARN, TO FEEL, TO REMEMBER The Museum is located in the main lobby of 1 Cummings The Montreal Holocaust Museum educates people of all ages and Square backgrounds about the Holocaust*, while sensitizing the public to the universal perils of antisemitism*, racism, hate and indifference. Through its 5151, chemin de la Côte-Ste- Museum, commemorative programs and educational initiatives, the MHM Catherine, Montréal (Québec) H3W 1M6 promotes respect for diversity and the sanctity of human life. Phone: 514-345-2605 The museum’s collection is unique in Canada. It holds more than 12,900 Fax: 514-344-2651 items to date, many of which are historic documents, photographs and objects that belonged to Jewish families from Europe. The Museum acquires [email protected] new objects that document the life of Jewish communities before the war museeholocauste.ca and the Holocaust*. The Montreal Holocaust Museum tells the story of the Holocaust from the For Museum hours, group unique perspective of Montreal survivors. The Museum brings to life the tours and admission fees, human story of the Holocaust through survivor testimony, artefacts and please contact our reservation agent at (514) 345-2605, ext. historical archival material. Visitors learn the history of the Holocaust, and 3291. gain an understanding of events in Quebec, Canada and the world during that time. They are encouraged to consider the implications of prejudice, The Museum is accessible to individuals with reduced racism and anti-Semitism. mobility and/or hearing impairment. All films can be The exhibition tells the story of Jewish communities before, during and after viewed with French or English the Holocaust. It explores the terrible tragedy in which so many lives were subtitles. lost, and the horrors that were witnessed by the few who survived. Montreal became home to a large survivor population after the Second World War. As of 2018, approximately 4,000 survivors resided in the Montreal area. 4 Brief History of the Holocaust - A Reference Tool Introduction 02 The Holocaust was the systematic persecution and murder of 6 million Jews, Jewish man arrested by two organized by the Nazi State and its collaborators from 1933 to 1945. SS officers, during the Warsaw ghetto uprising. Poland, Circa In addition to committing genocide against the Jews, the Nazis committed 1943. genocide against the Roma and the Sinti. Other marginalized groups were also persecuted during this period: people with disabilities, homosexuals, Slavic people, political opponents, and Jehovah’s Witnesses. The Holocaust* was not an accident in history. Individuals, organisations and governments made choices that promoted and permitted discrimination, prejudice, hatred which ultimately, allowed mass murder to take place. Teaching history of the Holocaust* demands a high level of sensitivity and a keen awareness of the complexity of the subject matter. This guide provides background material to the Permanent Exhibition of the Montreal Holocaust Museum. Pre-visit preparation will reinforce your students’ ability to connect to the subject matter, as they encounter artefacts, photographs and Holocaust survivor video testimonies. This guide presents the history of the Holocaust* in five parts: Historical Context, Holocaust Chronology, Artefacts, Glossary and Bibliography. The definitions of terms followed by an asterisk (*) can be found in the glossary. As an educator, you can select the content that speaks to your students’ interests in order to ensure that their visit to the Montreal Holocaust Museum is a memorable one. 5 Montreal Holocaust Museum 03 Historical Background Samuel Rabitchek, his wife Ida, Pre-Holocaust Jewish Communities Mitzie Sicher and her husband Ernest stand in front of Samuel Jews have a long history in Europe. By 1939, they had lived in Europe for more Robitchek’s shop in the 1920’s. than 2,000 years. Czech Republic. The first evidence of a Jewish community in Germany dates back to the 4th century in the city of Cologne. The Jewish communities of Germany grew over the years and at times thrived both culturally and economically. At other times they endured extremely harsh decrees, defamation and ghettoization. By the 20th century, many Jews were well integrated into German society, and active in industry, commerce, arts, sciences and politics. Overall, they represented less than 1% of the German population (not more than 500,000 people). There was great diversity within the various Jewish communities, with respect to economic situation, level of education, political affiliation, and religious observance. There is not one sweeping definition that describes all pre- Holocaust Jews or Jewish communities. The first Jewish community in North America was established in 1654, when twenty-three Jews arrived in New Amsterdam (New York) expulsion from Brazil. Jews settled in Canada shortly thereafter and the first synagogue was founded in Montreal in 1768. Before the Second World War, there were about 131,000 Jews in Canada, primarily in Montreal, Toronto and Winnipeg. 6 Brief History of the Holocaust - A Reference Tool Rise of Nazism World War I (1914-1918) ended with the defeat of Germany by France, Great Britain, Russia and the United States. The Treaty of Versailles (1919), a peace agreement, forced Germany to accept moral and financial responsibility for the unprecedented destruction that had devastated Europe. Severe restrictions limited its armed forces, and the production and use of heavy weapons. Germany was ordered to pay reparations and to give up a significant part of its territory and all of its colonies. The Treaty was perceived by the Germans as unduly harsh, a belief that was later exploited by the Nazis*. Military and right-wing leaders propagated the idea that the German army had been betrayed by the Communists, liberals and Jews. This photograph shows a The Weimar Republic, a democratic parliamentary republic, was formed in Jewish shop destroyed during the pogrom of Kristallnacht. the midst of the post-war chaos. There was widespread economic turmoil This pogrom against the Jews in Germany throughout the1920s. Inflation and unemployment rose to was organized by the Nazis on unprecedented levels, and this led to political instability. Ultimately, the November 9th and 10th, 1938. Germans lost confidence in their government.
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