World War II (1931-1945)
Lesson 7 The Holocaust
World War II (1931-1945)
Lesson 7 The Holocaust
Learning Objectives
• Trace the roots and progress of Hitler’s campaign against the Jews.
• Explain the goals of Hitler’s “final solution” and the nature of Nazi death camps.
• Examine how the United States responded to the Holocaust.
World War II (1931-1945)
Lesson 7 The Holocaust
Key Terms
• Holocaust
• anti-Semitism
• Nazism
• Kristallnacht
• genocide
• concentration camps
• death camps
• War Refugee Board
Roots of the Holocaust
From the time he came to power, Adolf Hitler
had targeted Jews for persecution. By the end
of the war, the Nazis had murdered 6 million
Jews and 5 million other people they
considered inferior. In 1945, there was no
word for Hitler’s murderous plan of
extermination. Today, it is called the
Holocaust. We continue to remember this
tragedy and seek ways to prevent anything
like it from ever happening again.
Roots of the Holocaust
• Hitler’s Campaign Against the Jews
• The Violence of Kristallnacht
• Refugees Try to Escape
Roots of the Holocaust
This propaganda poster from 1935 glorifies the image of what the Nazis saw as the ideal Aryan youth.
At the same time, posters and comic books viciously caricatured people the Nazis considered “inferior.”
Roots of the Holocaust
Analyze Data Based on this timeline, did Hitler’s anti-Semitic campaign develop quickly or over time?
Hitler’s “Final Solution”
Since 1933, the Nazis had denied Jews the
rights of citizenship and committed acts of
brutality against them. These acts of
persecution were steps toward Hitler's 'Final
Solution to the Jewish question': nothing short
of the systematic extermination of all Jews
living in the regions controlled by the Third
Reich. Today, we use the word genocide to
describe such willful annihilation of a racial,
political, or cultural group.
Hitler’s “Final Solution”
• The First Concentration Camps
• The Nazis Build Death Camps
Hitler’s “Final Solution”
Analyze Maps How did the locations of death camps differ from the location of concentration camps?
Hitler’s “Final Solution”
Prisoners in Nazi concentration camps were identified by triangular color-coded patches. Some
prisoners might be forced to wear combinations of patches.
Hitler’s “Final Solution”
In this photograph, Nazi troops remove Jewish residents from the Warsaw ghetto after a failed uprising
in 1943. This has become one of the most famous images associated with the Holocaust.
Allied Response to the Holocaust
Could the Holocaust have been prevented?
Could western democracies—especially
Britain, France, and the United States—have
intervened to stop the slaughter of millions
of innocent people? There are no simple
answers. However, many people today
believe that the West could have done more
than it did.
Allied Response to the Holocaust
• Early Inaction
• The United States Takes Limited Action
• The Liberation of the Concentration Camps
Allied Response to the Holocaust
In 1939, the United States refused asylum to Jewish refugees on board the St. Louis. These children
were among more than 900 passengers who were returned to Germany.
Quiz: Roots of the Holocaust
Why were Jewish refugees on the ocean liner St. Louis turned away while trying to enter
the United States in 1939?
A. Many Americans felt that there were too few jobs for U.S. citizens at the time let alone
for people from other countries.
B. The United States did not want to worsen diplomatic relations with the Nazi regime.
C. The Nazis’ anti-Semitic propaganda campaign was popular amongst Americans as well.
D. The United States considered them enemy combatants because they came from an
Axis nation.
Quiz: Hitler’s “Final Solution”
The initial purpose of the Nazi concentration camps was supposedly to
A. protect German Jews from anti-Semitic violence.
B. provide the “Final Solution to the Jewish Question.”
C. transform “undesirables” into productive members of society.
D. process the forced deportation of German Jews to other countries.
Quiz: Allied Response to the Holocaust
Why did the Allies refuse to bomb railway lines to the Nazi death camps?
A. They were still unaware of the death camps’ existence at that point.
B. They felt it more prudent to use diplomatic means to shut down the camps.
C. They needed the railway lines to expedite the delivering of supplies to the front lines.
D. They felt it would divert too many resources away from their military operations
elsewhere.
