History of the Holocaust

Adolf Hitler was appointed chancellor of Germany in 1933 following a series of electoral victories by the Nazi Party.

Omdraaien

German occupation authorities established the first ghetto in Poland in Piotrków Trybunalski in October 1939.

Omdraaien

2
The ghettos isolating Jews were meant to be temporary. In many places, ghettoization lasted only a few days or weeks. In others, ghettoization lasted for several years.

Omdraaien

Shortly after the invasion of Poland in September 1939, local German authorities began introducing mandatory wearing of badges. By the end of 1939, all Jews in the newly-acquired Polish territories were required to wear badges.
Reinhard Heydrich decrees that all Jews over six years of age in the Reich, Alsace, Bohemia-Moravia and the German–annexed territory of western Poland (called the Warthegau), are to wear yellow Star of David on their outer clothing in public at all times. The word "Jew" is to be inscribed inside the star in German or the local language.

During the Nazi era, German authorities reintroduced the Jewish badge as a key element of their larger plan to persecute and eventually to annihilate the Jewish population of Europe. They used the badge not only to stigmatize and humiliate Jews but also to segregate them, to watch and control their movements, and to prepare for deportation

Omdraaien

Autumn 1941 marked the start of a systematic programme of Jewish deportations from Germany and the German-occupied countries to extermination camps in the east. At the same time, a strict ban on Jewish emigration was introduced. The deportation of Jews, which the Nazis cynically referred to as „evacuation“, was made easier by the fact that the Jewish population was now largely concentrated in certain places, and most Jews had been deprived of their means of earning a living.

Omdraaien

While it is impossible to ascertain the exact number of Jewish victims, statistics indicate that the total was over 5,860,000. Six million is the round figure accepted by most authorities

Omdraaien

A death (or mass murder) camp is a concentration camp with special apparatus specifically designed for systematic murder. Six such camps existed: Auschwitz-Birkenau, Belzec, Chelmno, Majdanek, Sobibor, Treblinka. All were located in Poland

Omdraaien

The term "Final Solution" (Endl"sung) refers to Germany's plan to murder all the Jews of Europe. The term was used at the Wannsee Conference (Berlin; January 20,1942) where German officials discussed its implementation.

Omdraaien