One reason for Kristallnacht was the power struggle between leading Nazis. Goebbels was out of favors with Hitler because of Goebbels’ affair with a Czech actress and he decided to win his way back into Hitler’s favor. He suggested to Hitler that Kristallnacht should take place to satisfy the hatred many Nazi Hardliners had for the Jews. Hitler agreed and decided to uses it to speed up the removal of Jews from German economic life. Other Nazi leaders, especially Goering and Himmler, disapproved and were irritated by the events of Kristallnacht.
After Kristallnacht the position of German Jews got rapidly worse. In 12th November 1938 much of the property damage on Kristallnacht was only rented by Jews from German owners. The Nazis ‘fined’ the Jews one billion Reich marks for the damage. On the 15th of November Jewish pupils were only allowed to attend Jewish schools. By December 1938 the remaining Jewish businesses were confiscated. Source says “Insurance claims by Jews of German nationality will be confiscated…” This shows that the Jews were being blamed for the event. On January 1939 all Jews had to add new first names- Sarah for women and Israel for men. Reich office for Jewish emigration was established to promote emigration “by every possible means”.
Source C is from a secret report of the Nazi Supreme Court on the event of Kristallnacht. The fact that the report is secret shows that the Nazis didn’t want to use it for publicity. Source C disproves the reason that the shooting in Paris caused Kristallnacht. The source says “that there had been anti- Jewish riots during which shops and synagogues had been set on fire. The Fuhrer had decided that such actions were not to be prepared or organized by the party, but neither were they to be discouraged”. This shows that the Nazis encouraged the persecution of the Jews despite the killing in Paris. Towards the end of the source it says, “The Reich Propaganda Director said that the Party should not appear in public to have started the disturbances, but that that in reality it should organize them and carry them out in secret”. This shows that the Nazis were going to attack the Jews in secret.
Source D is the decrees issued by Hermann Goering 12 November 1938. The source starts by saying “all damage of Jewish business or dwelling on 8, 9 and 10 November 1938, because of the indignation of the German people over the actions of the international Jews against National Socialist Germany must be repaired by the Jewish occupant or Jewish business. This statement shows that the Nazis blamed the Jews for the damage to their own property and they were made to pay for the damage. The source goes on to say “The cost of repairs will be borne by the owners of the buildings concerned. This meant that ordinary Germans wouldn’t be affected by the event. The source says “From 1 January, 1939, a Jew cannot be a businessman any longer. If any Jews are leading employees in business, they will be dismissed after six months. This also shows that Ordinary Germans would be affected. The Nazis were training the Germans to takeover Jewish businesses. Source e is from a letter written by a German Jew in February 1939. This was smuggled out of Germany and published by the German Freedom Party. The German Freedom parties were an organization which opposed the Nazis and helped the Jews. The source starts by saying “Two SS men came to my home to fetch me. When about twenty people had been collected we were put into a lorry and taken to police headquarters. One the way I saw Jewish shops which had been destroyed”. The fact that they were taken to the police headquarters shows that the Jews were outside the law. The source goes on to say “At the police station were line up in the yard. There were already hundreds there. Some had been there since early morning. This emphasizes the fact that the Jews were outside the law. Before the Holocaust the Nazis were able to attack the Jews in numerous ways because they weren’t protected by the war.
Between 1933-1939 the Nazis constantly persecuted the Jews through events such as Kristallnacht and laws such as The Nuremburg Laws. The Jewish lives were difficult but I They couldn’t have been prepared for what was about to take place.
2) Why did Nazis treatment of the Jews change from 1939-45?
Before 1942 the Nazis wanted to eliminate all the Jews in Germany. However during the war when they took over countries such as Poland they found many more Jews so they realized that they needed better methods of eliminated all Jews from Europe.
The Nazis initial methods were the Einsatzgruppen and the Ghettos. The Einsatzgruppen consisted of SS squad who rounded up Jews in each town and took them out into the nearby country and ordered them to dig a trench. The Jews were then shot and fell into the trench which became a mass grave. The Main reason why the Einsatzgruppen were not effective was because too much ammunition which should have been used for the war effort were being used to kill the Jews also the morale of the Nazi staff was dropping because of the shame of having to kill them face to face.
Another method which the Nazis used to eliminate the Jews was the ghettos. The ghettos were shut off from the rest of the city and were impossibly over-crowded. Food and water were cut off. Hundreds of Jews died there each day.
Source E is from a letter written by a German Jew in February 1939. This was smuggled out of Germany and published by the German Freedom Party. The German Freedom party were an organization which opposed the Nazis and helped the Jews. The source starts by saying “Two SS men came to my home to fetch me. When about twenty people had been collected we were put into a lorry and taken to police headquarters. One the way I saw Jewish shops which had been destroyed”. The Nazis used these sorts of attacks to scare the Jews out of the country. The fact that they were taken to the police headquarters shows that the Jews were outside the law. Around this time attacks like this was the main ways in which the Nazis tried to get rid of the Jews. The source goes on to say “At the police station were line up in the yard. There were already hundreds there. Some had been there since early morning. This emphasizes the fact that the Jews were outside the law.
Source F is a description of the actions of an Einsatzgruppe in 1941. This was written by a German builder. The source starts by saying “The people got off the lorries had to undress on the orders of an SS man, who was carrying a dog whip in his hand.” The fact that the SS man was ordering the people with a dog whip shows how low the Nazis thought the Jews were. Throughout the whole experience of being killed by the Einsatzgruppen the Jews remained strong. “Without weeping or crying these people undressed and stood together in family group embracing each other and saying goodbye.” This shows that even though the Jews had to go through a great ordeal of pain and suffering they still remained strong. The German Builder explains that he “…watched a family of eight. An old woman with snow white hair held a one year old baby. The father held a ten year old baby”. This shows that the Nazis didn’t see any shame in what they were doing and they didn’t mind killing innocent children. Next the source says “I walked to huge mass grave. There were about 1,000 bodies, so tightly packed that only their heads were visible. The people, completely naked climbed down steps and stopped at the spot indicated by the SS man. They lay down. Then I heard a series of rifle shots. I looked into the grave and saw bodies contorting.” The fact that there were 1,000 bodies would have meant that at least 1,000 bullets would have had to be used and this sort of killing were happening every day. This was a great problem for the Nazis because the ammunition which was being used by the Einsatzgruppen was needed for the war. This is when the Nazis realized that they needed a better solution.
They decided on “The Final Solution”. On 31 July 1941, Goering (the Economics Minister) ordered Himmler and Heydrich (an SS general) to carry out the “final solution “to the “Jewish Question” in Europe. Shooting (carried out by the Einsatzgruppen) and the ghettos were seen as inefficient ways of killing millions of people, so modern industrial methods were brought in. Six special deaths camps were built, with gas chambers capable of killing 2,000 people at once, and large ovens for disposing of the bodies. Auschwitz- with its railway links across the whole of Europe- was ready by the end of 1941.
Source G is from the minutes of a meeting of leading Nazis at Wannsee on 20 January 1942. The source starts by saying “In the course of the final solution, the Jews will be brought to the East for labour. Large labour gangs will be formed, with sexes separated, which will work on road construction.” The Wannsee committee was a discussion between the leading Nazis about the Final Solution. This is their first main discussion about the final solution. This shows that they were going to use the Jews for labour. They didn’t mean that the people who would work wasn’t going to die “…a lot of them will drop through natural wastage. The remainder will have to be dealt with accordingly.” This meant that the Jews who were fit enough to work would have been worked to death and the rest of the Jews would have been instantly killed.
Source H is from memoirs of Rudolf Hoess, who was commandant of Auschwitz camp. The source says “The railway carriages were unloaded one after another. After leaving their luggage the Jews had to pass in from of an SS doctor, who decided if they fit to work. Those fit enough were taken of in small groups. This demonstrates that the Jews who were fit would be used to work. They would help the war effort and most would have died of malnutrition. The Nazis tricked the Jews into a false sense of security. “In the undressing room Jewish prisoners told them that they were going to be bathed and delouse. After undressing they went into gas chamber which were furnished with showers and water pipes and looking like a real bath house.” The Nazis used this tactic to manipulate the Jews into thinking that they were going to a shower.
Rudolf Hoess says “I had visited the Treblinka camp was the Commandant used monoxide gas and I did not think his methods very efficient.” This shows that he wanted Auschwitz be an efficient killing machine. This shows that he felt no remorse for his victims. Therefore he “…used Zyklon B”. He developed Zyklon B which was originally used for delousing. “Another improvement…” he “…made was to build gas chambers that could hold 2,000 people.” He wanted to be able to kill as many Jews as possible and this was the “best solution”. The source says” The doors were screwed up and the gas released through vents in the ceiling.” It was a relief for the Nazi staff to be able to kill the Jews without having to watch them die. Towards the end of the source it says “Work then started on removing the gold from the teeth and cutting the hair from the women”. This shows that the Nazis valued the objects more than the Jews be it for economic reasons or morals this is very sickening.
Source I is a photograph taken in Auschwitz extermination camp. The people who are cremating the body look as if they are Jewish or German prisoners because they have striped uniforms. If they are Jewish then it is awful that they have to kill their own people. The body which is in the picture looks undernourished and skeletal. This shows that it was probably a Jew who was forced to work without know food. This source is very powerful because is symbolizes the horror of the camp and of the whole Holocaust. The people who are in the photograph do not look happy. This suggests that they are definitely not Nazis. However many Nazis wouldn’t have liked to be in their position. Therefore I cannot be certain who is in the picture.
Source J is a table showing the Number of Jews killed by the Nazis. It shows that 2,600,000 Jews were killed in Poland, 750,000 in USSR, 700,000 in Hungary, 500,000 in Romania, 180,000 in Germany, 104,000 in the Netherlands, 104,000 in Lithuania, 65,000 in France, 60,000 in Austria and 60,000 in Czechoslovakia. The reason why the largest amount of Jews amount of Jews who were killed were in Poland was because Auschwitz was built Poland therefore it was logical to kill the Local Jewish population. The reason why not as much Jews were killed in Germany was because when Germany were in the war they needed the Jew to help also they realized that there were more Jews in other countries therefore they decided to tackle them first.
The German skill in adapting the 20th century techniques of mass production was applied by the Nazis in engineering the "Final Solution." In 1941, the engineers of the "Final Solution" utilized these same principles to cheaply and efficiently murder millions of Jews and other "undesirables." The plants established to carry out this mass murder were the death camps.
Unlike concentration camps, death camps had no barracks to house prisoners, other than those for workers at the camps. In order to process the murder of thousands of people, great pains were taken to deceive the victims concerning their fate. Jews deported from ghettos and concentration camps to the death camps were unaware of what they were facing. The Nazi planners of the operation told the victims that they were being resettled for labour, issued them work permits, told them to bring along their tools and to exchange their German marks for foreign currency. Food was also used to persuade starving Jews onto the trains. Once the trains arrived at the death camps, trucks were available to transport those who were too weak to walk directly to the gas chambers. The others were told that they would have to be deloused and enter the baths. The victims were separated by sex and told to remove their clothes. The baths were in reality the gas chambers. The shower heads in the baths were actually the inlets for poison gas. At Auschwitz, the gas chambers held 2,000 people at a time. With the introduction of a cyanide-based gas called Zyklon B, all 2,000 occupants could be killed in five minutes. As a result of this technological "advancement," Auschwitz was able to "process" the death of 12,000 victims daily. Before the bodies were removed by workers with gas masks and burned in crematoria, the teeth of the victims were stripped for gold, which was melted down and shipped back to Germany. Innocent victims were exploited and desecrated to a degree unknown in human history.
Unlike the death camps of Treblinka, which were built and operated solely to kill Jews, the two death camps of Majdanek and Auschwitz also had a work camp attached. Upon arrival at these two camps, a selection was made at the train station concerning which Jews (about 10 percent of the arrivals) would be permitted to live and escape immediate gassing in the gas chambers. These "lucky" survivors were permitted to live only to the extent that they endured the physical and emotional trauma inflicted upon them. They were given a food ration that permitted them to survive for only three months. As they died from exhaustion, beatings, and starvation, they were replaced with newly arrived victims. Auschwitz was also used as the site for medical experimentation. Many of these experiments had little scientific value but were only exercises to discover how much torture a victim could endure until death. By the end of 1944, an estimated two-and-a-half million Jews had died at Auschwitz. More than a quarter of a million Gypsies also died there.
The primary reason that the Nazi treatment of Jews changed from 1939 and 1945 was the onset of World War II. Hitler had stated repeatedly that if a war were to break out in Europe, he would unleash tremendous suffering on European Jewry, whom he blamed for war-mongering. He made good on his promise.
The war itself was precipitated by Germany's invasion of Poland, which brought under the Third Reich's control a population of nearly 3 million Jews, who were immediately sent to ghettos or to concentration camps. The subsequent invasion of the Soviet Union by the Nazis in June 1941 brought even more Jews under Nazi control. This was when he realised that he had to kill even more Jews and knowing this eventuality beforehand, Hitler sent in four units called Einsatzgruppen, who were deployed specifically to kill civilian Jewish populations. However the Einsatzgruppen were unsuccessful because the ammunition was needed for the war. Therefore the Nazis realised that they needed a better solution. The decision in early 1942 on a "Final Solution" for European Jewry, led to the installation of gassing facilities at the already existing Auschwitz concentration camp and the building of other extermination camps in Poland. The "Final Solution" having been decided upon, the majority of Jews under Nazi control ended up in these camps. The chaos of the war on the Eastern Front provided the Nazis with the ability to carry out their extermination program in a relatively secret manner.
(3) In what ways did the Nazis try to eliminate all Jews in Europe in the Years from 1941 onwards?
From 1941 the Nazis began to change their policies to respond to a larger number of Jews. Before 1941 a method which the Nazis used to eliminate the Jews was the Einsatzgruppen. The Einsatzgruppen consisted of SS squads who rounded up Jews in each town and took them out into the nearby country and ordered them to dig a trench. The Jews were then shot and fell into the trench which became a mass grave, but as for Germany it was starting to cause more and more problems. There weren’t enough ammunition for the war so it wasn’t appropriate to use them on the killing of the Jews and Germany had to concentrate on the war rather than waste time and money on killing the Jews, which is why the Wannsee Conference was set up. At the conference
the decisions such as ghettoes being set up and ‘destructing through work’ were made.
Decisions that were made during the Wannsee Conference were imperative to the Jews living in Europe. Different Methods were going to be used on different kind of Jewish people. Such as the young and the fit would go through a process called ‘destruction through work’ which was a method planned to kill Jews by making them build other material that would also be used to kill other Jews such as Concentration Camps. Although The Ghettoes might seem like a place designed for the Jewish people to live in it was also a source for cheap labour and a concentration camp in disguise. The conditions were made so bad that the Jewish people would risk dying when trying to escape.
In the months following the Wannsee Conference, the Nazi party continued to carry out their plans for the "Final Solution." Jews were "deported" -- transported by trains or trucks to six camps, all located in occupied Poland: Chelmno, Treblinka, Sobibor, Belzec, Auschwitz-Birkenau, and Majdanek-Lublin.
The Nazis called these six camps "extermination camps." Most of the deportees were immediately murdered in large groups by poisonous gas. The Nazis used gassing as their preferred method of mass murder because they saw it as "cleaner" and more "efficient" than shooting. Gassing also spared the killers the emotional stress many squad members had felt shooting people face to face. The killing centres were, isolated areas, moderately well hidden from public view. They were located near major railroad lines, allowing trains to transport hundreds of thousands of people to the killing sites easily.
The deportations required the help of many people and all parts of the German government. The victims in Poland were already imprisoned in ghettos and totally under German control. The deportation of Jews from other parts of Europe, however, was a far more complex problem. The German foreign minister was successful in persuade German occupied nation to assist in the deportations.
The introduction of the Auschwitz extermination camp meant that the Jews could be killed efficiently. Unlike other death camps which were build solely to kill Jews, the Auscwitz death camp had a work camp attached.
