Unit 5- Germany and the occupied territories during WWII Flashcards
(62 cards)
What did the Nazi policy of persecution change into by 1942?
A policy of genocide.
Which two countries prevented Hitler from dominating europe by 1941?
Britain and the Soviet Union
How many Jews were in Germany by 1940s? Why were they still under Nazi control?
-200,000 Jews in Germany
-millions came under Nazi control as new territories were occupied- e.g in Poland, which Germany occupied in 1939, there were 3 million Jews.
What did ghettoisation entail?
-All jews were forced to move to ghettos in the cities in Poland and crammed into poor housing
-Food was restricted and starvation was common
-Conditions were crowded and diseases such as typhus spread rapidly
How many Jews died between Jan 1941 and July 1942?
An average of almost 4000 jews died each month from disease and starvation
What did the ‘Final solution’ (introduced in July 1942) entail?
-Warsaw Jews were to be resettled in the east of Poland
-Over 250,000 Jews were transported to camps in eastern Poland where most of them were put to death.
What happened in June 1941?
Germany invaded the Soviet Union
They quickly conquered most of the west of the country and thousand more Jews came under Nazi control
Who followed the German army into the Soviet Union?
Special units called Einsaatzgruppen who were ordered to put jews to death.
What did death squads do?
they rounded up all Jewish men, women and children (as well as communist party leaders and gypsies) and confiscated any valuables they owned.
The victims were forced to remove their clothing and march to fields and forests on the outskirts of towns
They were then shot or gassed and their bodies were thrown into mass graves.
How many civilians in the S.U are thought to have been murdered by the Einsatzgruppen?
1.2 million by 1943
What were concentration camps converted into?
extermination camps where Jews would be killed
how many Jews were put to death during the Holocaust? How many non-Jews?
6 million Jews
5 million non-Jews
in concentration camps such as Auschwitz, Treblinka and Sobibor
What two groups were Jews divided into in concentration camps?
People who were fit enough to work - given jobs to do until they were too weak to perform
-Some of these people were forced to take part in medical experiments.
and the rest whom were killed.
How was the extermination of so many people carried out?
-Poison gas- huge showers were built and up to 2000 Jews were sent SUPPOSEDLY for ‘delousings’
-Other prisoners then removed the bodies which were transported and burned
What were extermination camps disguised as? How?
Propaganda films were made showing that the resettlement camps were no more than labour camps.
This stopped German people from reacting negatively
It also meant that Jewish people were willing to help organise the resettlement of fellow Jews
What happened in April 1943?
The Jews came to realise what was happening -there was an uprising in the Warsaw ghetto against transportation to the camps.
What was the outcome of the April 1943 uprisings?
56000 Jews were arrested: 7000 of them were shot and the rest were sent to camps
How did Nazis try to hide what had happened when it became clear that Germany was losing the war?
They dug up railway lines and destroyed some records.
What happened to Rudolph Hoess, the commandant of Auschwitz camp?
Hanged for war crimes in 1947
What were some key events that happened during WW2 for Germany?
Battle of Britain, 1940- lost
Denmark and Norway conquered, 1940
France, Belgium and Netherlands conquered, 1940
Soviet Union invaded,1941
Yugoslavia, Greece conquered,1941
Italy-Fascist ally
How was morale affected until 1942 WWII?
Morale was increased
When did mass evacuations begin?
1942
Why did mass evacuations begin?
Allied bombing attacks became more common
Pearl harbour, 1941
What was allied bombing
Allied bombing refers to the strategic bombing campaigns carried out by the Allies (e.g., Britain and the U.S.) against Germany during World War II.
