The Holocuast

Warm-up

• If you were President Roosevelt and you had heard about the Holocaust, what would you do?

Go get a textbook

• Pg 495-499• Define all the key terms• Answer the questions on pg 499 questions 1-5

Vocabulary

• Genocide-the systematic killing of a racial or cultural group.

• Anti-semitism-the intense dislike for and prejudice against Jewish people.

What is the Holocaust?

• The systematic killing and persecution of about six million Jews by the German Nazi regime.

• It began in 1933 with the rise of the Nazi party in Germany and ended in 1945 with the end of World War II.

Children at a Concentration Camp

Prisoners greeting liberators

Discriminatory Rules

• Native Jews were precluded from citizenship (1935 Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, page 1146, signed by Frick).

• Jews were forbidden to live in marriage or to have extramarital relations with persons of German blood (1935 Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, page 1146, signed by Frick and Hess).

• Jews were denied the right to vote (1936 Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, page 133, signed by Frick).

• Jews were denied the right to hold public office or civil service

Prisoners lined up for execution

Prisoner in an execution line

• “We turned towards the grave and then he turned around and asked "Whom shall I shoot first?" We were already facing the grave. The German asked "Who do you want me to shoot first?" I did not answer. I felt him take the child from my arms. The child cried out and was shot immediately. And then he aimed at me.”

• -Prisoner about to be executed

Mass Grave

United States Response

• September 1935- Nazis enact the Nuremberg Laws. Among other things they deprive German Jews of the right to vote and hold public office, and they outlaw marriages between Jews and non-Jews.

• November 1936- Landslide re-election victory for President Roosevelt, with nearly complete Jewish support.

United States Response

• May – June 1939 -- The S.S. St. Louis, carrying 930 Jewish refugees, is turned away by Cuba. The U.S. refuses to admit the refugees, who are forced to return to Europe.

• June 1941 -- New rules in the U.S. cut refugee immigration to about 25% of the relevant original quotas.

• August 21, 1941 -- President Roosevelt warns Axis powers that the perpetrators of war crimes would be tried after their defeat and face "fearful retribution."

United States Response

• September 1943 -- A bill is introduced into the House that would allow refugees who don't endanger public safety to come to the U.S. temporarily. The bill doesn't reach the floor of either House.

• August 1944-- Nine hundred eighty-two refugees, most of them Jewish, arrive at Fort Ontario in upstate New York.

U.S. Response of Holocaust activity

• Go around to each reading. Write down the number and the group and answer the questions on your graphic organizer.

• When you are done have a seat.• Be ready to explain who you think is most

responsible.

Did the United States do enough?• Over 6 million Jews killed and many more

displaced.• U.S. only takes in a few thousand refugees.• Some government officials thought the

refugees might be spies. • Most of Europe and the United States just

watched for the most part while millions of Jews were killed and displaced.

• Is it the U.S.’s responsibility to protect people of other countries?

Silent Debate

• You will be paired up and have a silent (written) debate with your partner.

• One person will argue that the United States did enough while the other will say that it did not do enough.

• Each person will have one minute to write their argument down and then will pass the paper to the other person who will respond.

• NO TALKING

Silent Debate example• Question: Who is the best team in the ACC?• Ms. J: The best team in the ACC is obviously Duke.• Student: No of course not the best team is

Maryland.• Ms. J: Well Duke killed Maryland in their first

meeting this year.• Student: Maryland beat Duke the second time and

they tied as regular season champs.• Ms. J: True but Duke won the ACC tournament

and has a number 1 seed in the NCAA tournament.• Student: Well Maryland is explosive and a

comeback team.

Exit Slip

• Write a speech condemning or supporting FDR and the U.S. government’s policies regarding the Holocaust and refugees. Your speech should be at least one paragraph long and use evidence from what we learned today.