Holocaust Glossary and Timeline

Allied Powers The nations fighting Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy during World War II, primarily Great Britain, the Soviet Union and the United States.

Axis Powers The Axis powers, originally Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy, extended to Japan when it entered the war.

Antisemitism Dislike or hatred of the Jews.

Aryan Term used by the Nazis to describe northern European physical characteristics (such as blonde hair and blue eyes) as racially “superior”.

Auschwitz-Birkenau The largest and most notorious concentration, labor and death camp where 1.6 million died; located near Oswiecim, Poland. Concentration Camp Camps in which Jews were imprisoned by the Nazis, located in Germany and Nazi- occupied Europe. There were three different kinds of camps: transit, labor and extermination. Many prisoners in concentration camps died within months of arriving from violence or starvation. Crematorium Ovens built in concentration camps to burn and dispose of the large number of murdered bodies Dachau Himmler’s model camp located outside Munich, opened March 20, 1933; initially designed to hold political prisoners.

Final Solution Term used by the Nazis to describe their plan to annihilate the entire Jewish population of Europe. Fuhrer German word for "leader," it was adopted by Adolf Hitler as his title after Hindenburg’s death.

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Gas Chambers Large, sealed rooms (usually with shower nozzles) used for murdering prisoners of concentration camps; many people were led into gas chambers with the belief they were going in to take a shower. Gestapo The secret state police of the German army, organized to stamp out any political opposition.

Ghetto A section of a city where Jews were forced to live, usually with several families living in one house, separated from the rest of the city by walls or wire fences, and used primarily as a station for gathering Jews for deportation to concentration camps.

Hitler Youth Was a Nazi youth auxiliary group established in 1926. It expanded during the Third Reich. In January 1933, the Hitler Youth had only 50,000 members, but by the end of the year this figure had increased to more than 2 million. By 1936 membership in the Hitler Youth increased to 5.4 million before it became mandatory in 1939. The German authorities then prohibited or dissolved competing youth organizations.

Kristallnacht / Crystal Night “The Night of the Broken Glass.” On this night, November 9, 1938, almost 200 synagogues were destroyed, over 8,000 Jewish shops were sacked and looted, and tens of thousands of Jews were removed to concentration camps. This pogrom received its name because of the great value of glass that was smashed during this anti-Jewish riot. Riots took place throughout Germany and Austria on that night.

Nazi Name for members of the NSDAP, National Socialist Democratic Workers Party, who believed in the idea of Aryan supremacy.

Nürnberg Laws or Nuremberg Laws Anti-Jewish laws enacted in 1935; included denial of German citizenship to those of Jewish heritage and segregation of them from German society; also established “degrees of Jewishness" based on family lines.

Pogrom An organized, state-sponsored attack on a group of people.

SS Schutzstaffel; the German army’s elite guard, organized to serve as Hitler’s personal protectors and to administer the concentration camps.

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Swastika Once an ancient symbol used to ward off evil spirits, the Nazis adopted it as their official symbol. Third Reich The Third Empire; name given to the Nazi regime in Germany; Hitler boasted that the Third Reich would reign for 1,000 years. Historically, the First Reich was the medieval Holy Roman Empire, which lasted until 1806. The Second Reich included the German Empire from 1871-1918.

Treaty of Versailles Peace treaty ending the First World War, in 1919. Created many of the issues of bitterness between European countries and, especially, a feeling of resentment by Germans. 4 Terms: 1. Germany had to apologize for WWI 2. Germany had to pay 428 Billion in damages 3. Germany had to disband their army 4. Germany had to give up land outside of Germany

Weimar Republic: The German republic, and experiment in democracy (1919-1933), was established after the end of World War I.

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Timeline: 1914-1919: WWI 1919: Treaty of Versailles signed 1926: Hitler Youth is started 1929: Anne Frank is born on June 12 in Frankfurt, Germany

1930-1932: The National Socialist German Workers’ (Nazi) party begins its rise to power. The Nazis proclaim the superiority of the German “master race” and blame Jews for the German defeat in World War I and for the troubled economy.

1933: The Franks leave Germany for Amsterdam. January 30: The Nazi party leader, Adolf Hitler, becomes chancellor of Germany. March 10: The first concentration camp is established by the Nazis, at Dachau, Germany. April: The Nazis pass their first anti–Jewish law, banning the public employment of Jews. 1934: August 2: Paul von Hindenburg, president of the Weimar Republic of Germany, dies, opening the door for the tyranny of Adolf Hitler, whom he had appointed chancellor in 1933. Immediately, Hitler stated, "The Reich Government has enacted the following law which is hereby promulgated. Section 1. The office of Reich President will be combined with that of Reich Chancellor. The existing authority of the Reich President will consequently be transferred to the Führer and Reich Chancellor, Adolf Hitler. He will select his deputy. Section 2. This law is effective as of the time of the death of Reich President von Hindenburg.".

1935: September 15: The Nuremberg Laws are passed, denying Jews German citizenship and forbidding marriage between Jews and non-Jews.

1936: October 25: Germany and Italy form an alliance (the Axis). The German Gestapo, the state secret police, was placed above the law 1938: November 9-10 “The Night of Broken Glass”

1939: September 1: Germany invades Poland; World War II begins. France and Great Britain declare war on Germany two days later.

November 23: Yellow stars were forced to be worn by all Jewish people over the age of ten

1940: September 27: Japan joins the Axis.

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1941: December: The United States enters the war on the side of the Allied nations (including Great Britain, the Soviet Union, and other countries) after Japan attacks the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor.

1942: January: The “Final Solution” is secretly announced at a conference of Nazi officials: Europe’s Jews are to be “exterminated,” or murdered. Construction of death camps begins in Poland. Millions of people (Jews and non-Jews) will die in those camps.

June 12: Anne Frank receives a Diary for her birthday July 6: The Franks go into hiding after Margot receives an order to appear for deportation to a labor camp in Germany. The Van Pels family joins them one week later.

1944: June 6: D-day. Allied forces land in Normandy, in northern France, and launch an invasion of Western Europe.

August 4: Nazi police raid the Secret Annex; the occupants are sent to concentration camps.

1945: January: Auschwitz was liberated by the Soviets. Soviets were first liberation troops to enter concentration camps.

April 4, 1945: Camp Ohrdruf was liberated. It was the first Nazi concentration camp liberated by the U.S.A. **Mrs. Carbone’s Grandpa Tony was one of these soldiers at Camp Ohrdruf!

April 11, 1945: US forces liberated the Buchenwald concentration camp near Weimar, Germany, a few days after the Nazis began evacuating the camp.

April 30, 1945 Hitler Died

May 8: (V-Day) The war in Europe ends with Germany’s unconditional surrender to the Allies.

September 2: Japan surrenders after the United States drops atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. World War II ends one week later.

December: President Harry Truman loosened the restrictions on immigration into the US of persons displaced by Nazi regime

1948: The Displaced Persons Act gave Jews in Germany Visas to the U.S. The State of Israel was established and gave Jewish displaced persons and refugees a new home

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