Holocaust Flashcards
memorise basics (17 cards)
What was the ideological foundation for the persecution of Jews?
Jews were considered racially inferior and a threat to the purity and strength of the German people. They were scapegoated for social, economic, and political problems.
This ideology was central to Nazi propaganda and policies.
What role did Nazi propaganda play in the persecution of Jews?
It dehumanized Jews and spread anti-Semitic messages through media, films, posters, and education, portraying them as dangerous enemies.
Propaganda depicted Jews as responsible for WWI and the economic collapse.
What were the Nuremberg Laws?
A series of laws enacted in 1935 that legally categorized people as ‘Jewish’ based on ancestry, stripping Jews of citizenship and excluding them from various professions and social activities.
Marked the beginning of official legal discrimination against Jews.
What was Kristallnacht?
A state-sponsored pogrom on November 9-10, 1938, where Jewish businesses, homes, and synagogues were destroyed, and approximately 30,000 Jewish men were arrested.
Sparked by the assassination of a German diplomat by a Jewish man.
What roles did the SA and SS play in Nazi persecution?
They enforced Nazi policies of persecution through violent raids, arrests, and intimidation against Jewish individuals and other minority groups.
The SA (Stormtroopers) and SS (Schutzstaffel) were essential to the regime’s enforcement tactics.
What methods were used in Nazi persecution?
Legislative and legal exclusion, economic and social isolation, violence and intimidation, physical segregation, concentration camps, state-sponsored propaganda, cultural and religious suppression.
These methods contributed to the systematic oppression of Jews.
What was the ‘Final Solution’?
The Nazi plan to exterminate all Jews in Europe, culminating in the systematic mass murder of six million Jews.
This plan was implemented primarily through concentration camps and mass shootings.
What was the impact of the Nuremberg Laws on Jewish people?
They established racial discrimination, prohibited Jews from marrying non-Jews, excluded them from public life, and stripped them of citizenship.
Led to widespread social, cultural, and professional exclusion.
What consequences did Nazi propaganda have on the Jewish community?
Encouraged public hatred and prejudice against Jews, making it easier for the population to accept discriminatory policies and violence.
Propaganda was led by Joseph Goebbels and depicted Jews as subhuman.
What were the living conditions like in the ghettos?
Overcrowded, poorly supplied, marked by starvation, disease, and abuse, often leading to deportation to concentration camps.
The Warsaw Ghetto was one of the most infamous examples.
What were the long-term psychological impacts of the Holocaust on survivors?
Generational trauma and survivors guilt.
Survivors often experienced long-lasting trauma and survivor’s guilt, with the trauma of losing families and communities passed down to future generations.
This legacy affected Jewish identity and memory.
What did the Holocaust lead to?
The establishment of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948.
The Holocaust influenced global human rights movements and accountability for genocide.
What was the impact of Kristallnacht on Nazi anti-Semitic policies?
It marked a turning point from discriminatory laws to open violence against Jews, demonstrating the regime’s brutality.
Led to a more systematic approach to anti-Semitic violence.
What was the significance of concentration camps during the Holocaust?
They were sites of forced labor, medical experiments, malnutrition, and systematic extermination of millions of Jews.
Camps like Auschwitz and Treblinka became infamous for their brutality.
What cultural impacts did the Holocaust have on Jewish communities?
Destruction of centuries-old communities, loss of cultural and religious institutions, and decimation of Jewish intellectual and artistic heritage.
The Holocaust led to a significant cultural void in Europe.
What were the consequences of violent acts against Jewish people and their property?
Broke Jewish resistance, stripped Jews of rights and possessions, and led to mass displacement of families.
Many Jews were forced to move to escape persecution.
What groups, besides Jews, were targeted during the Nazi regime?
Political dissidents, Roma, disabled individuals, LGBTQ+ people, and others deemed ‘undesirable’.
These groups faced arrest, forced labor, and extermination.
