The Holocaust: (a) The Rise of Nazism ( ) (b) The Final Solution as Process ( )

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1 The Holocaust: (a) The Rise of Nazism ( ) (b) The Final Solution as Process ( ) Dr. James Waller Cohen Professor of Holocaust & Genocide Studies, Keene State College (NH) Academic Programs Director, Auschwitz Institute for Peace and Reconciliation November 2014

2 Understand Learning Objectives (1) about the Final Solution as a process rather than as an event; (2) the ways to learn from the Holocaust as a example of rational, highly organized, bureaucratic, planned, deliberate, centralized, systematic, mechanized, technically developed, industrialized, and institutionalized policy decision of genocide and atrocity crimes; (3) the implications for the prevention of genocide and atrocity crimes.

3 Come here you free citizen of the world, whose life is safeguarded by human morality and whose existence is guaranteed through law. I want to tell you how modern criminals and despicable murderers have tramped the morality of life and nullified the postulates of existence. Zalmon Gradkowski, murdered in Sonderkommando revolt in Birkenau on October 7, 1944

4 What was the Holocaust? Historical Perspective Nazi Destruction of the European Jews ( ) Death Toll = 6 Million (not fewer, probably more) Nazi Perspective Final Solution (Die Endlosung) Etymological Perspective Sacrifice: Derived from the Greek holokauston, meaning burnt whole or totally consumed by fire in a sacrificial sense. Theological Perspective Sho ah: Hebrew noun that signifies catastrophic destruction, doubt and despair.

5 Non-Jewish Victims Persons Afflicted with Diseases or Disabilities Persons Deemed Dangerous to Public Order Political Prisoners Habitual Criminals Jehovah s Witnesses Homosexuals Asocials Other Nationalities Under German Control Sinti & Roma (Gypsies) Million Victims Slavs (Russians, Ukrainians, Belorussians, Serbians, Bulgarians, Slovaks, Croats, Poles)

6 Historical Context: Life in Post-WWI Germany Carnage and Loss of WWI in 1918 Treaty of Versailles June 28, 1919 Political Chaos & Fear of Communist Revolution Revolution (Nov. 9, 1918) and fall of German Empire Weimar Republic ( ) Economic Chaos 1914: 1 dollar equals 4 marks January, 1922: 1 dollar equals 191 marks January 1923: 1 dollar equals 17,792 marks November, 1923: 1 dollar equals 4,200,000,000 marks Protest Against Treaty of Versailles (circa 1935)

7 Small Group Exercise Consider the early Nazi Party platform from February 24, 1920 What themes of this platform would the public be particularly receptive to in post-wwi Germany? What themes of this platform will become reality once Hitler assumes power?

8 1932 Hitler Loses Runoff Presidential Election to Hindenburg January 30, 1933 Hitler Named Chancellor by Hindenburg 1933 General Election (March 5) NSDAP Received 43.9% of Vote Only 288 Seats out of 647 in Reichstag March 21, 1933 German Reichstag Passes Enabling Act 1934 Hitler Assumes Title of Fuhrer Rise of Nazism

9 The Final Solution as Process Classification: Definition of Jewishness Racial Ideology and Social Exclusion Legal Disenfranchisement Economic Expropriation State-Sanctioned Violence Mass Expulsion and Forced Emigration Forced Concentrations Killing Operations

10 Nazi Weltenschaunng Jews = Weltfeind (World Enemy) Less than 1% of Total German Population (Worldview)

11 The Making of Otherness

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16 Chart indicating the determination of Jewish racial ancestry in Nazi Germany.

17 The Final Solution as Process Classification: Definition of Jewishness Racial Ideology and Social Exclusion Legal Disenfranchisement Economic Expropriation State-Sanctioned Violence Mass Expulsion and Forced Emigration Forced Concentrations Killing Operations

18 Racial Ideology

19 German Students Association s Book Burnings (May 10, 1933 Opernplatz in Berlin)

20 Jews Are Not Wanted Here Signs excluding Jews were posted in public places (including parks, theaters, movie houses, and restaurants) throughout Nazi Germany.

21 Hersbruck, Germany May 4, 1935

22 Only for Aryans! March 1938 Vienna, Austria

23 The Final Solution as Process Classification: Definition of Jewishness Racial Ideology and Social Exclusion Legal Disenfranchisement Economic Expropriation State-Sanctioned Violence Mass Expulsion and Forced Emigration Forced Concentrations Killing Operations

24 Nazi Laws Passed Against German Jews (1933) February 1933: Emergency laws are passed to prevent people from acting against the country s interests. These allow the police or army to search any house they wish and give the government power to lock up anyone writing or making speeches which criticize what is going on. The death penalty is brought in for anyone found guilty of setting fire to a building, damaging the railways, or plotting against the government. March 1933: Jewish people are forbidden to serve on juries. April 1933: No Jew can work in government. No Jew can join the police. No Jew can work in the law courts. No Jew can work as a doctor or dentist in a hospital. June 1933: Jews are not allowed to enter cinemas, theatres, or art galleries, or to use sports facilities. July 1933: It is declared that the Nazi party will be the only party in Germany. Anyone who tries to form another political party will be sentenced to up to three years in prison. September 1933: People can inherit farmland only if they can prove there is no Jewish blood in the family going back as far as 1800.

25 Nuremberg Laws Passed on September 15, 1935 Reich Citizenship Law = German citizenship belonged only to those of German or related blood. Law for the Protection of Blood and Honor Marriage and Intercourse Jewish Employment Raising of Reich Flag

26 Structure of Camp System Concentration Camps ( ) Enemies of the State More than 20,000 Across Nazi-Occupied Europe Transit Camps Holding Sites for Concentration or Death Camps Drancy (France), Mechelen (Belguim), Westerbork (Netherlands) Labor Camps 14 Million Prisoners in Hundreds of Forced Labor Camps Across Nazi-Occupied Europe Death Camps ( ) Six Extermination Camps in Poland Chelmno, Belzec, Sobibor, Treblinka, Majdanek, Auschwitz

27 The Final Solution as Process Classification: Definition of Jewishness Racial Ideology and Social Exclusion Legal Disenfranchisement Economic Expropriation State-Sanctioned Violence Mass Expulsion and Forced Emigration Forced Concentrations Killing Operations

28 National Boycott of Jewish Businesses April 1, 1933

29 Forced Aryanization of Jewish Businesses and Assets Document Analysis: How does this process impact one woman, Else Ury? What do these documents reveal about who was willing to implement the Nazis plans? Who had to participate? How do we assess responsibility for individuals who were involved at all levels? Do you think those involved (at any level) might have encountered moral dilemmas as they went about accomplishing their work? How might they have dealt with those dilemmas?

30 Secret State Police Regional Command Berlin Berlin Oct. 1, ORDINANCE Based on parag 1 of the Law about the Confiscation of Communist Property of May 26, Reich Statute Book 1 p. 293-combined with the Law about the Confiscation of Property Hostile to the People and the State of July 14, 1933-Reich Statue Book 1, p. 479-the Decree about the Confiscation of Property Hostile to the People and the State in the Country of Austria of Nov. 18, 1938-Reich Statute Book 1, p the Decree about the Confiscation of Property Hostile to the People and the State in the German Sudeten Area of May 12, Reich Statue Book 1, p. 911-and the Decree about the Confiscation of Property in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia of Oct. 4,1939-Reich Statue Book 1, p in combination with the Order of the Fuehrer and Reich Chancellor about the Utilization of Confiscated Property of Enemies of the Reich of May 29, 1941-Reich Statute Book 1 p. 303 the entire property of Else Sara Ury born as, born Nov. 1, 1877 in Berlin lastly resident in Northwest Berlin 87, Solinger St. 10 is confiscated for the benefit of the German Reich [stamp] By order [Signature]

31 March 15, 1943 To the Mayor of the Reich Capital Branch Office of the Central Office for Economic Affairs, Dept for used furniture To the hands of Mr. Senior Municipality Inspector Mayer Berlin Schonenberg, Rudolf- Wilde Place, Towns Hall, room 351 Subject: Clearing of the Jewish apartment Else Sara Ury, Berlin NW. 87 Solinger St.10 The apartment of the above mentioned Jewish female has been assigned to the O.Z.I (Senior Customs Inspector) Oskar Heinrich, formerly resident Berlin- NW 87, Wikinger banks 2, who has suffered total damage by air-raids. It is requested to fix the value of the furnishings with preference and to offer the opportunity to the applicant to buy the furnishings. The applicant, who has suffered damages by air-raids, was able to save some damaged furnishings from his apartment which was affected by the bombs, but because of the lack of man-power they can only be repaired in 6-9 months. Furthermore, the applicant s wife has got a physical illness according to the information by the applicant and just because of this it is of special importance to settle the issue with preference. Mr. Heinrich is an official of the Senior President of the Tex Authorities in Berlin-Brandenburg and works at the customs investigation office. By order signed Brah

32 [Form used by the Berlin electricity company] Berlin Power and Light Report concerning Stock Corporation evacuated Jews Our previous customer Else Sara Ury Location Berlin N.W., Solingerstr. 10 Present address evacuated Has an unpaid electricity bill a credit from an electricity deposit including interests RM according to the following calculation, which is due Debt from electricity consumption according to bill. from RM 9,76. RM 9,76 Credit from electricity deposit RM 40,- Interests up to RM 4,17 RM 44,17 Remaining debt credit on account 3550/14/554 von RM 34,41

33 Central Finance Office of the Senior Finance President Berlin-Brandenburg Berlin W 15, April 20, 1945 Kurfurstendamm Mr. Senior Finance President Berlin-Brandenburg Office for Utilization of Property 1 Berlin NW 40 Alt-Moabit 143 Confiscation of assets /23072 Ka From Globus Bank Corporation. Berlin, by order of the Globus Publishing Company Berlin concerning Else S. Ury 176 RM 10 Pf. (value March 22, 1945) have been paid in and booked in book 1, volume D under No. 5/25 as property fallen to the Reich. By order [signature]

34 Else Ury (born 1877) Died in Auschwitz II Gas Chambers in January 1943 at the age of 66

35 Who benefitted from forced Aryanization of Jewish businesses and assets? Nazis SS, Gestapo, Ideological Enthusiasts of Third Reich Source of Patronage for Nazi Party Ordinary Germans State Employees, Wehrmacht, Civilian Population, Intermediaries

36 In the area of the former death camp at Treblinka, Polish militia members came upon people plundering jewelry from murdered Jews.

37 The Final Solution as Process Classification: Definition of Jewishness Racial Ideology and Social Exclusion Legal Disenfranchisement Economic Expropriation State-Sanctioned Violence Mass Expulsion and Forced Emigration Forced Concentrations Killing Operations

38 Assassination of Ernst vom Rath (November 7, 1938) Ernst vom Rath Herschel Grynszpan

39 State-Sanctioned Violence November Pogrom/Kristallnacht November 9-10, 1938 More than 400 synagogues burned and more than 7,500 Jewish businesses and other properties looted and ransacked. More than 30,000 Jewish men deported to concentration camps at Dachau, Buchenwald, and Sachsenhausen.

40 November 10, 1938

41 How did Kristallnacht radicalize Nazi anti-jewish policy? International Response: Backlash Against Violence and Lack of Law and Order Nazi Response: Clear Need for a Decisive, Coordinated, and Rational anti-jewish Policy German Response: Recognition of German Citizenry s Willingness to Tolerate, and Participate in, Jewish Persecution

42 The Final Solution as Process Classification: Definition of Jewishness Racial Ideology and Social Exclusion Legal Disenfranchisement Economic Expropriation State-Sanctioned Violence Mass Expulsion and Forced Emigration Forced Concentrations Killing Operations

43 Mass Expulsion and Forced Emigration Emigration in the early and mid-1930s Forced Emigration as Official Governmental Policy (1938) Emigration no longer an act of choice to be organized by Jews. Forced emigration carried out by existing Jewish organizations. Confiscation of property of forced emigrants. Why did forced emigration fail? Lack of worldwide receptiveness to emigration of the Jews. Global economic depression.

44 The Final Solution as Process Classification: Definition of Jewishness Racial Ideology and Social Exclusion Legal Disenfranchisement Economic Expropriation State-Sanctioned Violence Mass Expulsion and Forced Emigration Forced Concentrations Killing Operations

45 Deportation of Jews from Wuerzburg, Germany April 25, 1942.

46 Lodz Ghetto 8 February January 1945

47 Warsaw Ghetto Created October 2, ,000 Jews in 1.3 Square Miles of Warsaw Ghetto Fewer than 1 Million Polish Christians in 53.3 Square Miles of Warsaw Area

48 What purposes did forced concentrations serve? Economic Expropriation Attrition Assembly for Deportation

49 The Final Solution as Process Classification: Definition of Jewishness Racial Ideology and Social Exclusion Legal Disenfranchisement Economic Expropriation State-Sanctioned Violence Mass Expulsion and Forced Emigration Forced Concentrations Killing Operations

50 T4 Euthanasia Program Killing Operations Einsatzgruppen Death Camps in the East

51 Killing Operations: T4 Euthanasia Program September 1, 1939 (backdated) late August 1941

52 Murder of The Unfit Genetic and Financial Burden Life Unworthy of Life Useless Eaters Compulsory Sterilization Starvation Euthanasia (Gassing) More Than 200,000 Victims

53 Killing Operations: Einsatzgruppen (Operational Units) Occupied Areas of Soviet Union Beginning June 22, 1941 Operation Barbarossa

54 USSR (1941)

55 Ukraine (1942)

56 Mizocz Ghetto Liquidation (1942)

57 USSR (1942)

58 Inefficiencies in the Killing Operations Wasted Bullets Escaping Jews Disobedient Soldiers & Sensationalism Psychological Consequences of Killing Operations

59 Killing Operations: Death Camps in the East

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62 Chelmno: December 1941-March ,000 Victims Majdanek: 1941-July 1944 Concentration, Labor, and Extermination Camp 200,000 Victims Auschwitz: March 1941-July 1944 Concentration, Labor, and Extermination Camps 1.1 Million Victims Belzec: March-December ,000 Victims Sobibor: May 1942-October ,000 Victims Treblinka: July 1942-August ,000 Victims

63 Chelmno Gas Van (1942)

64 Majdanek Crematoria July 24, 1944

65 Auschwitz May 1945

66 Belzec Death Camp

67 Postwar Refugees: 14 Million European Refugees Became Displaced Persons (DPs) "Displaced Persons: Civilians outside the national boundaries of their country by reason of war, who are desirous but unable to return home or find homes without assistance; or are to be returned to enemy or ex-enemy territory." Administrative Memo No. 39, Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force Displaced Persons

68 Conclusion What are the implications of what we have learned about, and from, the Holocaust for the prevention of genocide and atrocity crimes? What are the implications of understanding genocide and atrocity crimes as processes rather than events? A strategy to prevent genocide should attack each stage, each process (Stanton, 1996).