ID: The Holocaust

WHEN: 1933-1945 (Specifically intensified during WWII era)

Perpetrators: Nazi Party led by Adolf Hitler, SS (Schutzstaffel), collaborators across Europe.
Victims: Primarily Jews, but also Roma (Gypsies), disabled people, homosexuals, political dissidents, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and others deemed “undesirable” by the Nazi regime.

A genocide perpetrated by Nazi Germany during World War II in which approximately six million Jews were systematically murdered. This involved:

Discrimination and Persecution: Gradual stripping of rights, property, and citizenship through laws and decrees.
Ghettos: Confinement of Jews in overcrowded and unsanitary areas in occupied territories.
Einsatzgruppen (Mobile Killing Squads): Mass shootings of Jews and other targeted groups, primarily in Eastern Europe.
Concentration Camps: Initial imprisonment of political opponents and “undesirables,” later expanded into forced labor and extermination camps.
Extermination Camps: Specifically designed for mass murder, utilizing gas chambers (especially Auschwitz-Birkenau).
“Final Solution”: The Nazi plan to exterminate the Jewish people.

Unprecedented Human Tragedy: The Holocaust represents the systematic murder of millions based on race, religion, and other discriminatory factors.
Shaped Post-War World: Led to a greater understanding of human rights and the importance of preventing genocide.
Nuremberg Trials: International trials held to prosecute Nazi leaders for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Creation of the State of Israel: Increased support for Zionism and the establishment of a Jewish state in 1948.
International Law and Conventions: Influenced the development of international laws regarding genocide, human rights, and war crimes.
Impact on American Society: Increased awareness of prejudice and discrimination. Led to debates about immigration policies and America’s response during the war. Sparked soul-searching about the role of bystanders in the face of injustice.