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Holocaust
The genocide of approximately 6 million European Jews during World War II planned by Adolf Hitler.
11,094 Questions
Did the families get split up when going to concentration camps?
Jewish families were often separated during the Holocaust because family members of different ages and genders were utilized by the Nazis for different tasks. For instance, males from their early teens to late forties were used for manual labor, while women were often made to sew in workhouses. In addition to this, it made it easier to seize their financial assets.
Is there proof of gas chambers during the Holocaust?
The gas chambers themselves. If you can stay awake through a movie called "Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed" there is a part where Ben Stein himself tours an old gas chamber with a friend who studies them (Ben Stein is Jewish) Also there are a fair few survivors of the Holocaust who can tell you what it was like and that the gas chambers actually did exist.
What led to the violation of human rights during the Holocaust?
* The Nazis didn't give a monkey's about human rights and condemned the concept as alien and 'un-German'. Nazi ideology claimed that human rights were only championed by the weak. * Some SS personnel had fought against Soviet forces in the Russian Civil War of 1918-1921 or against Communists in Latvia. This war had been conducted with utter savagery by both sides. Some of these people returned home steeped in brutality.
How many communists killed in the holocaust?
None. If you are thinking of people such as Stalin and Mao, they were not Communists, they were state capitalist dictatorships.
Why did Nazis perform experiments?
Yes, unfortunately they did just about anything you can think of to kill a Jew. Jews were like rats to them, they were non-human to Nazis and if the Nazis wanted to test something, they would use a Jew.
When was the Wannsee Conference discovered?
Haha... Charrliee Wass Here.. You thought you were gonna get an answerr! LMAOO =]
Why didn't God stop the Holocaust?
This is a Christian response.
God does not intervene in the way that the question seems to imply. With the Fall man became responsible for his actions, and God does not suddenly step in when things go wrong, even
as disastrously wrong as in the Holocaust
Could God have prevented the Holocaust?
Yep. However, God also gives man the freedom to make his own decisions. Man let the Holocaust happen, every single person who decided to stay "neutral". The Holocaust is another example of man's rebellion to God, and also is a warning for future generations of what can happen when a country astrays from the Bible.
"Why does God allow suffering to good people?"
For His glory! Everything happens for a reason. I must also add Israel became a country after WWII.
Here are three stories, of the many millions, of God's miracles.
Corrie ten Boom was a strong Christian woman who was sent to a concentration camp for helping Jews. In the camp, she started a prison ministry telling numerous people about Christ. Her time in a concentration camp strengthened her faith tremendously, even after her sister Betsie died in the camp. After liberation, she dedicated her life to telling others of what Jesus did for her. A popular quote by Corrie: "Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God."
Corrie and her family were "good" people before the Holocaust, but her experiences in a concentration camp made her closer to God then most of us will ever experience. "You never know that Christ is all you need, until Christ is all you have."
Diet Eman, a young Dutch Christian was also sentenced to prison. Although she was active in the Resistance (against the Nazis) she was arrested for a false visa. In her memoir "Things We Couldn't Say" she mentions how God blessed her through all of her trials and tribulations.
Louis Zamperini, the son of Italian immigrants, started out life as a "One Boy Insurgency" and later became an Olympian. When WWII broke out, he became a lieutenant and was captured as a POW. After the war he became an alcoholic. On the brink of divorce, his wife Cynthia went to a preacher, Billy Graham, and was saved. Louis ended up becoming saved, stopped drinking, and dedicated the rest of his life to Christ.
Trials bring out the best and worst in someone. If the Holocaust never happened, you probably wouldn't have heard of any of the above three, or famous people like Oskar Schindler, Irena Sendler, or Claus Von Stauffenberg and how courageous these people were, and those stories help us learn from others mistakes and wisdom. Their stories are proof that God is not dead, He's always working in mysterious ways.
Please see Related Links below.
Did any Nazis get put on trial for war crimes and crimes against humanity after World War 2?
No.
It's important to note that Germany was ruled by the Nazi Party and many prominent members and officials were Nazis. The common German soldier was very unlikely to be a Nazi party member or have any afflictions with the party.
Also by the end of the war the greater proportions of the German Army were made up of non-German foreigners.
When the German Army surrendered the German Army began to be demobilized.
Who ran the death camps in the holocaust?
At first (until July 1934) the Nazi concentration camps were run by the SA (Stormtroopers, 'Brownshirts'), but from mid 1934 they were run by the SS. Later the SS was also in charge of the 'Final Solution' and ran the extermination camps in Poland.
The concentration camps were run by the SS-Totenkopfverbände (SS Death's Head units).
Did the Nazi exile people because of religion?
There seems to be a lot of confusion about this. The Nazis persecuted the Jews on grounds of race, not religion. In some cases, for example Jehovah's Witnesses, people's religion brought them into conflict with the Nazis.
No, the Nazi leadership knew perfectly well that the Jews were harmless and most of the leading Nazis also knew that all that talk about international Jewish conspiracies was complete and utter rot. They waited till 1938 before sending large numbers of Jews to camps simply on grounds of 'race'; and they waited for five (!) years before making it illegal for Jews to own firearms.
Why were only Jews persecuted during the Holocaust?
I just read a biography on this. The Jews weren`t the only ones killed. Jews, Russians,Poles, and Gypsies were also killed.
There were also Soviet POWs, Roma, disabled and mentally ill, gay men, Jehovah's Witnesses, and political opponents.
The reason all these people were killed was because of Adolf Hitler (who grew up hating mainly Jews), so one man's hatred was expanded due to his nazi politics and his influencial speeches (he was a good speaker). So he and the Nazi Party who emphasized nationalism and antisemitism ... sought to rid the world of those they hated.
The Nazis were above all a "hate party".
Is the holocaust being taught?
To educate kids about the horrors of war. To help prevent it from happening again.
What country was dachau located in?
When first established in 1933 it was quite small and was established on the grounds of an ammunition factory. A few barracks were added to house both the prisoners and the guards and staff. It eventually grew to include 30 subcamps scattered across southern Germany. These subcamps were labor camps and were administered by the Dachau staff. At the time of liberation there were 67,665 prisoners listed as part of the camp system. Only 32,000 were actually liberated. During the 1933 to 1945 period, 188,000 had passed through it.
Was World War 2 a smokescreen for Hitler to eliminate the Jews?
In all honesty, I don't think so. The implication of this question is that the genocide of the Jews was Hitler's overriding, number one policy aim. (It may be the thing that he's most closely associated with now, but that certainly wasn't the case at the time and is rather misleading, even now). If that had been the case, it is very odd that he waited till 1941 before embarking on genocide. In fact, until August 1941 Jews were allowed to leave Germany, if they had somewhere to go to (such as the US) and could actually get there. They were not allowed to take money with them, but were allowed to pay their fares in advance in Germany ... This is not really compatible with elimination as a consistent aim.
His main objective in World War 2 was boundless expansion and the establishment of a vast German empire in Europe. The Nazi invasion of Poland, in particular, brought millions of additional Jews under German control. Embarking on a major war with allies that were of very little practical use to him would have been a very strange of trying to eliminate the Jews ...
How did the Jews cope during the Holocaust?
Jews survived the Holocaust in numerous ways.
Gentile: A non-Jew
Righteous Among the NationsThe Righteous Among the Nations are courageous Gentiles who risked everything to protect Jews. This title was given to them from Yad Vashem; the second most visited site in Israel.To be noted as Righteous Among the Nations, the following needed to be met;
- Helping a family member or Jewish convert to Christianity does not count
- The assistance must be repeated and/or substantial
- The assistance must be given without financial gain (excluding food and rent)
- Only a Jewish party can nominate a Gentile
The Righteous were awarded a medal in their name, a certificate of honor, and had their name added on the Wall of Honor in the Garden of the Righteous at Yad Vashem in Jerusalem. (Because they ran out of room, the names on the wall were discontinued)
The awards were given to the person or their descendants, and the ceremonies were world-wide.
In 45 countries, 23,778 men and women were known as Righteous (as of 1-1-2011). If it weren't for these heroes; then a lot of Jews would not live as long as they had.
Here are a few of the notable or more famous ones and their nationality.
ROBERT "BOB" COLLIS - IRISH
The first Irish person to be named "Righteous Among the Nations", Bob Collis was part of the Red Cross team at the liberation of Bergen-Belsen. In 1947 he took five orphans to his Irish home and adopted two of them.
MARIA EDWARDS - CHILEAN
Maria was not only a hero to many French-Jewish children, but was also active in the French Resistance. When her husband commited suicide in 1922, she remained in France and became a nurse; where she joined the French Resistance. In November 2005, she became a Righteous Among the Nations.
IRENE HARAND - AUSTRIA
Irene Harand was born in Vienna to a Roman Catholic family. She started the Harand movement, and fought against anti-semitism. In 1969, she became part of the Righteous Among the Nations for being against the Nazis.
WILHELM HOSENFELD - GERMAN
Wilhelm Adalbert Hosenfeld was a German officer who saved helped save Polish lives; including some Jews. Most notably, he saved the life of Wladyslaw Szpilman, a famous Polish-Jewish pianist and composer.
CONSTANIN KARADJ - ROMANIAN
Constanin Karadj saved 51,000 Jews from deportation and execution and was awarded for his efforts in September 2005 by the Yad Vashem in Israel.
MIEP GIES - DUTCH
Roman-Catholic Miep Gies is notable for hiding the Frank family; including Anne Frank. Miep gave Otto Frank (Anne's father) the diary after the war. Miep has been awarded numerous awards besides the Righteous Among the Nations. She has been awarded the Order of Merid of the Deferal Republic of Germany, the Wallenberg Medal by the University of Michigan and was knighted by Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands.
OSKAR SCHINDLER - GERMAN
Oskar Schindler was a Catholic Nazi who saved over 1,100 Jewish men, women, and children by employing them in his forced-labor factory. His first intentions were to become rich, but he later decides to help the Jews and ended up saving them from the gas chambers.
IRENA SENDLER - POLISH
Irena Sendler saved 2,500 Polish-Jewish children by smuggling them out of the Warsaw ghetto and providing them with fake visas. All of them survived the war. She kept each child's real name in a jar, in case the birth parents came home. Although she attempted to find the children's parents, she subsequently found out most were gassed.
A famous quote said by her is, "I was brought up to believe a person must be rescued when drowning; regardless of religion or nationality."
ARISTIDES DE SOUSA MENDES - PORTUGUESE
Born July 19, 1885, Sousa Mendes and his family freely gave Portuguese visas to over 30,000 people, including 12,000 Jews during June 1940. One notable person was pianist Norbert Gingold. In 1996, he was awarded Righteous Among the Nations.
A proud Christian, he has been noted to say, "I would rather stand with God against man, than with man against God." and "If thousands of Jews suffer because of a non-Jewish demon [Hitler], then surely a Christian can suffer with so many Jews."
CORRIE TEN BOOM - DUTCH
Corrie Ten Boom and her family are remembered for helping Jews. Being strong Protestant Christians, she and her family believed Jews were "God's Chosen People" and promised they would help, because anyone of the Lord's was welcome. In 1944, Nazis raided their house and the Jews escaped capture. She died April 15, 1983.
RAOUL WALLENBERG - SWEDISH
Raoul Wallenberg is credited for saving Jews by providing visas. From July and December 1944, he gave countless Jews visas. In 1986 he gained citizenship in Israel and was named Righteous Among the Nations.
ARMIN T. WEGNER - GERMAN
A German soldier in WWI and the only German writer to speak out against Nazism, Wegner sent an open letter to Hitler, and was tortured for it. Through it all, he also divorced his wife. In 1967, he was labeled Righteous Among the Nations. His gravestone bears the words, "I loved justice and hated iniquity. Therefore I die in exile."
NICHOLAS WINTON - BRITISH
Nicholas Winton organized the Kindertransport; the rescue of 669 Jews (mostly children) and sending them to families. He is known as the "British Schindler". In 1988, his wife found a detailed scrapbook of the children, their parents, (most whom were gassed at Auschwitz) and their addresses. 80 of the children were later found in Britain.
How Some Jews Escaped the Concentration CampsPOLISH JEWSSome blond, blue-eyed Polish Jews went to Germany. With new visas and their non-Jewish look, these brave Jews worked in German households and posed as Polish Christians. Although their disguise sometimes worked, those who chose to share the secret with friends, girlfriends, boyfriends, etc. were often shot.
DANISH JEWS
Denmark and Norway were invaded by the Nazis on April 9, 1940. Since the Denmark promised cooperation, they were treated mildly. The King of Denmark (Christian X) remained on the throne, and the Danish government remained the same. The officials of Denmark also told Germany there was "No Jewish problem".
On October 1, 1943, Hitler ordered all the Jews to be shipped to concentration camps (Theresienstadt). During the early services on September 29, the day prior to Rosh Hashanah, Jews were warned to go into hiding, and to warn friends and relatives. A few scrolled through phone books and warned everyone with Jewish-sounding names.
During the first days of the rescue, the fishing habours by the Danish coast became a place of safety; until the Gestapo ever-so-slowly grew suspicious. Successfully, 8,000 Jews rode on a boat to Sweden.
Honored by the Yad Vashem in Israel as a collective group instead of individually, The Danish Resistance Movement helped 99% of Danish Jews survived the Holocaust. Danes who weren't "official members" of the resistance were also rewarded.
Fun Fact: Danish Jews never had to wear the Star of David.
PASSING AS CHRISTIANS
Besides Polish Jews, a lot of Jewish children (and adults) passed as Christian Gentiles; getting papers from a kind Gentile and being separated from their families. (Actually, all Jews who avoided the concentration camps were helped by a Gentile; or they surely would have perished) Now "Christians" or "Catholics", Jews learned Catholic prayers and rituals, and some were even baptized, constantly wore a cross, and read the Bible frequently. The Jewish children who posed as Christians/Catholics often knew more about Catholicism and Christianity then Judaism!
Sonderkommandos: A Little Chance At LifeSonderkommandos (English: Special Command) were Jews who were forced to assist the Nazis in the gassings. Although never directly gassed the Jews, they helped clear the corpses in exchange for slightly better living and a few more months of life. At Auschwitz, the Nazis had a regular schedule. Regularly, they would force new inmates to become sonderkommandos; their first job being to dispose of the old sonderkommandos corpses. The schedule later grew out of hand, so Jews tended to live longer although few survived the war. Liberations, Uprisings, and the Allies3 sonderkommando uprisings happened. They were at Auschwitz (October 7, 1944), Treblinka (August 2, 1943), and the most successful; Sobibor.
Sobibor, a place for Polish, Dutch, French, German and Czech Jews, along with Soviet POWs. A place where over 200,000 Jews died. A place where the biggest revolt in a Nazi death camp took place.
The revolt was lead by Polish-Jewish Leon Feldhender and Soviet-Jewish Alexander "Sasha" Pechersky on October 14, 1943. 300-600 prisoners escaped and 11 German SS officers were killed, along with some camp guards. The original plan was to kill all of the guards, but the guards found out a little sooner then they would have liked and it ended in the entire camp fleeing in the woods, while being chased by fire.
Ravensbrueck, Sachsenhausen, Auschwitz, Majdanek, and Stutthof are concentration camps liberated by the Soviet Union (Russia)
Buchenwald, Dora-Mittelbau, Flossenbürg, Dachau, (Kaufering IV, sub-camp of Dachau, was liberated by Easy Company; otherwise known as the Band of Brothers) and Mauthausen were all camps liberated by America.
Bergen-Belson and Neuengamme were liberated by the British.
After the liberations, it was obvious the concentration camp inmates/Jews were starving and hadn't eaten in days, therefore, if they ate too much; they'd die. After liberations, a lot of the inmates did die, thou.
After the liberation of Bergen-Belsen, nearly 14,000 prisoners died of various things. Not being fed properly, typhus, etc.
Jews Who Were in the Concentration CampsAt Auschwitz or other death camp, the disabled or children (under 14 or so) were gassed upon arrival. Woman with babies were also immediately sent to the gas chambers. Occasionally, the SS would trick Jewish woman into telling them they were pregnant by offering more/better food to pregnant woman, really going to be gassed. Some smart woman denied pregnancy, and lived until the child was born.Some worked in the kitchen, therefore sometimes gained leftovers. Although it was dangerous to bring food into the camp, some did and gave it to friends or family.
In the camp, most inmates died from fever, starvation, gasoline, Zyklon B, (gas chambers) beatings, or gun shots.
The ones who miraculously survived, endured death marches, death from arbitrary, hard labor, and hatred. Most survivors were the only one in their family who survived. The survivors shared one thing on common; they all had a will to live.
Escapes at concentration camps mostly went haywire, but a few actually succeeded.
PartisansThe Jewish partisans were the ones who hid in the forests and cut German telephone wires and stopped trains. The most famous ones were the Bielski brothers; Tuvia, Alexander "Zus", Asael, and Aron. Their parents were killed in the ghetto in 1941. They saved the lives of 1,236 and lived in the Naliboki forest for two years. After the WarAfter the war, survivors often traveled to America, Canada, Israel, or stayed in Europe. Some wrote autobiographies, and share their story. Nearly all Holocaust survivor suffer from PTSD. (also called 'survivors syndrome' or 'concentration camp syndrome')Every Holocaust survivor is a living miracle. For more information on any of the above topics, there are websites you may find accurate information. On the Wikipedia links, you can go to "external links" and "references" for even more information.
Below, I included links of some notable survivors, heroes, and some references. Of course, the ones I did not include may be searched.
Was it Hitler's religion to hate Jews?
No it wasn't, he just hated them because they were more advanced at the time. Their communities were far better than Germany.
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(alternative answer) Hitler never expressed a religious objection to Jews, he objected on purely racial grounds.
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Hating Jews (within the framework of a fanciful conspiracy theory) was part of Hitler's ideology.
Where did most of the Jews live before the Holocaust?
All over the world, but especially in Europe, the US and some parts of North Africa and the Middle East.
How were handicaps treated by Nazis?
Obviously it depended on the severity of the disability. The determining factor was whether they could still contribute to society, the idea was to not have them be a drain on resources, so there was little hope for someone who required a carer, but (for example) they did not go executing all of the people who had lost limbs.
No, tragically, she did not. After 25 months in hiding, someone informed the Gestapo of the Frank family hiding place and they were taken to concentration camps where Anne died several months later.
Why did Hitler place the concentration camps where he did?
You mean in remote, out of the way places? My opinion would be that concentration camps were built in remote areas to discourage escape and to keep the brutality and inhumanity as far away from the public eye as possible.
Where did the Nazi's sleep at Auschwitz?
In the military barracks one concrete blockes which could held 3 people in each block and had a row of 53 blockes in each barrack
their was 14 sleeping camps so a normal size barrack can have a capacity of 2,000 people
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In the main camp, they would sleep in converted barracks. In Birkenau the women's camp was made up of brick buildings and the rest of the camp of wooden buildings, in which they would sleep on wooden bunks.
How many people survived from Chelmno during the holocaust?
About 152,000 people were killed at the Chelmno extermination camp, however it is estimated that the total death toll, taking into account starvation, disease, etc, is 300,000. The Chelmno camp was also used for early experimentation and for trialling mass murder methods
