In 1939, Hitler began transporting the Jews into Ghettos. The ghettos were pats of Germany that was conserved away form the rest of the country. This was done by walls and fences. The ghettos were very overcrowded therefore the conditions the Jews had to face were very unhygienic and dirty. The walls made sure that no-one was able to cross to visit the Jews and vice versa. Anyone who tried to cross was killed. Ghettoization happened because the Nazis didn’t want the Jews to mix with the Germans and polluting their society, additionally the Nazis wanted to seen superior and in control to the Jews.
The change from normal persecution to ghettoization and extermination happened because of the outbreak of war. It was also because even in Germany Hitler and the Nazis had occupied dozens of Jews and had to transport them elsewhere. This could be related back to Hitler’s prior involvement in making a master race; therefore he did not want Jews polluting the German society making them stay away from it - Aryanization. Because of this the Jews were sent to Ghettos and liquidated away from the other races. Also in 1939, Germany invaded Poland, which had a larger population than in Germany: a figure of 3 million Jews. This caused the big change throughout the methods used previously because the impact of war made the Nazi treatment of the Jews worsen. Source E: a letter written by a German Jew in 1939 shows how thousands of Jews were collected hastily from their homes by the Nazis I order to liquidize them to the Ghettos and then finally the concentration camps in the quickest way possible-“... we formed into a procession of about 2,000…”.The Nazis couldn’t keep spending money on the Jews as they would need it for the war, this lead to the Jews being used for slave labor in the concentration camps. Other reasons for the change in the tactics used were the ideology of the Nazi leaders. Hitler didn’t want the Jews getting in his way of winning the war; he also thought that they were likely to halter the Nazis ability
After invading Russia with their population having 5 million Jews, there was a change of tactics. Beforehand the tactics were using the Einsatzgruppen: mobile killing squads controlled by the SS and arranged by Himmler. The Einsatzgruppen took over the German occupied territory and shot 1 million Jews. Einsatzgruppen came directly to the home communities of Jews and massacred them. Source F: the descriptions of the actions of the Einsatzgruppen by an eyewitness account form a German Builder, written in 1941 show how the use of the Einsatzgruppen was systematic: they shot Jews, made them dig graves, this portraying that they were organized with what they did, however the only unreliability in the source is the fact that no resource is given to back up the information giving proof that it was in fact used continuously.
These methods were found inefficient and the conference at Wannsee was what gave the ongoing idea of a final solution. This came to be known as the genocide of the Jewish race. The pressure that the war had given made the solution to the inefficiency of the previous methods and the huge amounts of Jews under Nazi control more urgent to solve. Full extermination of the Jews had been decided. The Jews were transported out of the Ghettos into the concentration camps using methods of deception saying that they would receive their way into freedom. The Jews in Poland and European Jews were gathered and sent there. And thereafter the Jews were killed through concentration camps.
Other reasons for the change in the treatment throughout the years were the growing power of the Nazis. Hitler had introduced his ideas earlier. From the treatment he gave to the Jews in 1933 people had already begun to think that the Jews were actually an inferior race. As the Nazis grew in power and the war was drawing in, the pressure made by the war gave them all more power than before. All the factors earlier collided with the previous tension of what should be done with the Jews and what persecution should be used. The war was the most important factor but this also influenced the Nazis actions. If they had not invaded the countries they wouldn’t have had all the Jews on their hands. A decision of what should have been done gave many lower ranking Nazis a great amount of power; SS Chief Heinrich Himmler received all the responsibility of the precautions that would be taken in the dominated Soviet areas. Himmler had the authority to eliminate any threats made towards the Nazis or the German rule. Later on, another Nazi leader was given the authority to make preparations to operate a solution for the Jewish question in hand. Analyzing what role they had throughout the time, it can be said that the final solution was what made the treatment of the Jews change from bad to horrific. The destruction was planned; however the means used toward the end were not intended from the start.
Ensuingly, after the German invasion of Russia, the SS and the mobile killing squads started substantial killing operations, intended to eliminate entire Jewish communities. The killing squads and the SS murdered a figure of 2,700,000 Jews in the operations. Altogether the final solution killed its victims by either: asphyxiation: by poisoning them by poisonous gases, by shooting, or means of working the Jews to death: destruction through work. An estimate of six million Jewish men, women, and children were killed during the .
Overall, the treatment of the Jews changed over time. New rules and vents came into place and these were the main cause of the change of the treatment towards the Jews. Since Hitler became chancellor in 1933, he had a view on how he wanted the Jews to be treated. It was all hugely based on his ideology of the German race being superior and the Jewish inferior. He believed at first that he didn’t want them in his society and made actions towards them that would drive them away. However, when the outbreak of war came, Hitler had received tons of Jews in his control. Having invaded the countries and wanting them under his power without the Jews in the way to mess up his plans or winning the war Hitler was put into a situation of what to do with them. Facing economical pressure as well as pressure on how to solve the problem of what should be done with all the Jews Hitler gave permission for them to be eliminated through extermination. The final solution was the final act of whet should be done in order to achieve this. This easily shows that Hitler’s and the Nazis actions were not made through a plan which ran all the way through their rain. Throughout time Hitler had received events that made his change in the tactics. Earlier he had also alleged that if a war broke out tremendous suffering of the Jews would be unleashed. Concluding, the vital events, the outbreak of war and the ideology present from the begging as well as changing theories that happened during the years made the great consequences and changes towards the Jews.
