Policy towards the Jews

Question 1

What were Ghettos?

Answer 1

Designated areas of cities into which Jews were herded and forced to live in appalling conditions

Ghettos were used in places like Warsaw, separating Jews from the rest of the population.

Question 2

What were Special Groups?

Answer 2

Soldiers/SS men who forced Jews to dig ditches and then shot them, throwing them in the ditches and burying them

Some groups experimented with using poisonous gas in vans to kill Jews.

Question 3

What was the ‘Final Solution’?

Answer 3

The policy of gassing Jews in extermination camps, with Auschwitz as the ‘model camp’

This marked a change in racial policy to a more efficient method of extermination.

Question 4

What historical document is referenced regarding Nazi intentions towards Jews?

Answer 4

Mein Kampf, 1926

Historians debate whether extermination was a long-held intention or a response to wartime pressures.

Question 5

What problem did the Nazis face after invading Poland and the Soviet Union?

Answer 5

They had over 5 million Jews in their territory and didn’t know what to do with them

This led to a power struggle among Nazi leaders to please Hitler.

Question 6

What was the purpose of the Wannsee Conference?

Answer 6

To decide on a ‘Final Solution’ to the Jewish problem

This conference was a result of the power struggle among Nazi leaders.

Question 7

True or False: The term ‘Final Solution’ was clearly defined by the Nazis.

Answer 7

False

The Nazis used deliberately vague language to describe their actions.

Question 8

Fill in the blank: The ‘Final Solution’ involved the use of _______ in extermination camps.

Answer 8

[gassing]

This method was seen as a more efficient means of extermination compared to previous methods.

Question 9

What was the condition of Jews living in Ghettos?

Answer 9

Appalling conditions

Ghettos were designed to isolate Jews from the rest of the population.

Question 10

What method did the Special Groups find to be messy and inefficient?

Answer 10

Using poisonous gas in vans to kill Jews

This method was distressing for the SS men involved.

Question 11

What was a key change in the Nazi racial policy during the war?

Answer 11

It became much more efficient

This efficiency was exemplified by the establishment of extermination camps.