Some spoke out because of Hitler's attacks on the church, and a few because of his actions against the Jews. Jehovah's Witnesses, though few in number, also were seen as a threat to the Nazis.
Not only did they oppose war and refuse to fight, but they also urged others not to serve. In addition, Witnesses refused to salute the flag or to say "Heil Hitler. Not only the parents, but also their eleven children, were punished for being Jehovah's Witnesses. In , when the father, Franz Kusserow, refused to renounce his religion, he was put in jail until the end of the war.
Two sons were executed because they refused induction into the army. Another son was incarcerated in Dachau, where he contracted tuberculosis and died shortly after the war. The three youngest children were sent to reform school for "re-education. Kusserow and the older girls were taken either to prison or to concentration camps.
The Gypsies, like the Jews, were condemned by the Nazis to complete annihilation for being racially impure, socially undesirable, and "mentally defective. In , a plan to put thirty thousand Gypsies aboard ships and sink the ships in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean was abandoned, but many Gypsies were sterilized under a law that permitted the sterilization of "mental defectives.
At least half a million Gypsies were murdered by the Germans in the gas chambers, in experiments, or in general round-ups. Although the Nazis declared Polish people Untermenschen, or subhumans, thousands of Polish children who were blond haired and blue eyed were separated from their families and sent to Germany to be raised in German homes as Aryans.
The dark-haired, dark-eyed sisters and brothers remaining in Poland were to be taught only simple arithmetic, to sign their names, and to offer obedience to their German masters. Their purpose in life was to serve as slaves for the German empire. Anyone caught trying to give further instruction to Polish children was to be punished. Despite the ban on education, secret schools flourished in attics and basements.
Because of the ideological and racial antipathy toward Russian Communism, between two and three million Russian prisoners of war were purposely starved to death by the Nazis. Others were shipped in cattle cars to concentration or extermination camps.
Most died of disease, exhaustion, or starvation. No article on the non-Jewish victims would be complete without mentioning the first opponents of the Nazis: Germans who happened to be Communists or Social Democrats, judges and lawyers, or editors and journalists who had opposed the Nazis.
They were the first to be arrested. As soon as the Nazis came to power, the goal of eliminating all opposition took primacy. Trucks and police vans raced up and down the streets arresting any threat to Nazi rule, including those members of the artistic community who demanded cultural freedom.
Books were burned. Authors and artists were either imprisoned or purposely denied the ability to earn a livelihood. Even telling a joke about Hitler could lead to a death sentence. The evening before he was to give a concert, pianist Robert Kreitin remarked to the woman with whom he was staying, "You won't have to keep Hitler's picture over your mantle much longer.
Germany's losing the war. The day of the concert, he was arrested and executed. While she opposed the regime, her favorite cousin, Ulrich, supported Hitler and joined the Storm Troopers. Everyone I talked to described her blond-haired, blue-eyed cousin as "a sweet and sensitive person, an artist and a poet.
He came from the same background as Cato. It was people like Ulrich, along with the scientists and the judges who administered Nazi "justice," who gave Hitler the manpower and the consent to murder six million Jews and five million non-Jews. Although Hitler is dead, the theories that he espoused remain alive. With the modern tools being developed by biologists and other scientists, it is important for young people to be made aware that knowledge can be manipulated and turned into tools of destruction.
In every generation, educating the young is an awesome task. Today, with new scientific advances, the rapid spread of knowledge through computer networks, and the ability to alter the material being transmitted, it is more important than ever that students learn to think for themselves. Part of that learning process should include the devastating effects of prejudice. The country with the highest proportion per capita is the Netherlands.
The figure of 10, is far from complete as many cases were never reported, frequently because those who were helped have died.
Moreover, this figure only includes those who actually risked their lives to save Jews, and not those who merely extended aid. The news of the persecution and destruction of European Jewry must be divided into two periods. The measures taken by the Nazis prior to the "Final Solution" were all taken publicly and were, therefore, in all the newspapers.
Once the war began, obtaining information became more difficult, but, nonetheless, reports were published regarding the fate of the Jews. The "Final Solution" was not openly publicized by the Nazis, and thus it took longer for information to reach the "Free World.
The response of the Jews in the "Free World" must also be divided into two periods, before and after the publication of information on the "Final Solution. Unfortunately, the views on how to best achieve these goals differed and effective action was often hampered by the lack of internal unity. Moreover, very few Jewish leaders actually realized the scope of the danger. Following the publication of the news of the "Final Solution," attempts were made to launch rescue attempts via neutral states and to send aid to Jews under Nazi rule.
These attempts, which were far from adequate, were further hampered by the lack of assistance and obstruction from government channels. Additional attempts to achieve internal unity during this period failed. Did the Jews in Europe realize what was going to happen to them? Regarding the knowledge of the "Final Solution" by its potential victims, several key points must be kept in mind. First of all, the Nazis did not publicize the "Final Solution," nor did they ever openly speak about it.
Every attempt was made to fool the victims and, thereby, prevent or minimize resistance. Thus, deportees were always told that they were going to be "resettled. Following arrival in certain concentration camps, the inmates were forced to write home about the wonderful conditions in their new place of residence. The Germans made every effort to ensure secrecy.
In addition, the notion that human beings--let alone the civilized Germans--could build camps with special apparatus for mass murder seemed unbelievable in those days.
Escapees who did return to the ghetto frequently encountered disbelief when they related their experiences. Even Jews who had heard of the camps had difficulty believing reports of what the Germans were doing there.
Inasmuch as each of the Jewish communities in Europe was almost completely isolated, there was a limited number of places with available information. Thus, there is no doubt that many European Jews were not aware of the "Final Solution," a fact that has been corroborated by German documents and the testimonies of survivors. How many Jews were able to escape from Europe prior to the Holocaust?
It is difficult to arrive at an exact figure for the number of Jews who were able to escape from Europe prior to World War II, since the available statistics are incomplete.
From , , German and Austrian Jews left their homes. Some immigrated to countries later overrun by the Nazis. During the years , approximately 35, emigrated from Bohemia and Moravia Czechoslovakia. Shanghai, the only place in the world for which one did not need an entry visa, received approximately 20, European Jews mostly of German origin who fled their homelands.
Immigration figures for countries of refuge during this period are not available. In addition, many countries did not provide a breakdown of immigration statistics according to ethnic groups. It is impossible, therefore, to ascertain. Various organizations attempted to facilitate the emigration of the Jews and non-Jews persecuted as Jews from Germany.
Among the programs launched were the "Transfer Agreement" between the Jewish Agency and the German government whereby immigrants to Palestine were allowed to transfer their funds to that country in conjunction with the import of German goods to Palestine. Other efforts focused on retraining prospective emigrants in order to increase the number of those eligible for visas, since some countries barred the entry of members of certain professions.
Other groups attempted to help in various phases of refugee work: selection of candidates for emigration, transportation of refugees, aid in immigrant absorption, etc.
Some groups attempted to facilitate increased emigration by enlisting the aid of governments and international organizations in seeking refugee havens. The League of Nations established an agency to aid refugees but its success was extremely limited due to a lack of political power and adequate funding. The United States and Great Britain convened a conference in at Evian, France, seeking a solution to the refugee problem. With the exception of the Dominican Republic, the nations assembled refused to change their stringent immigration regulations, which were instrumental in preventing large-scale immigration.
In , the Intergovernmental Committee on Refugees, which had been established at the Evian Conference, initiated negotiations with leading German officials in an attempt to arrange for the relocation of a significant portion of German Jewry.
However, these talks failed. Efforts were made for the illegal entry of Jewish immigrants to Palestine as early as July , but were later halted until July Large-scale efforts were resumed under the Mosad le-Aliya Bet, Revisionist Zionists, and private parties.
Attempts were also made, with some success, to facilitate the illegal entry of refugees to various countries in Latin America. The key reason for the relatively low number of refugees leaving Europe prior to World War II was the stringent immigration policies adopted by the prospective host countries. In the United States, for example, the number of immigrants was limited to , per year, divided by country of origin.
Moreover, the entry requirements were so stringent that available quotas were often not filled. Schemes to facilitate immigration outside the quotas never materialized as the majority of the American public consistently opposed the entry of additional refugees.
Other countries, particularly those in Latin America, adopted immigration policies that were similar or even more restrictive, thus closing the doors to prospective immigrants from the Third Reich. Great Britain, while somewhat more liberal than the United States on the entry of immigrants, took measures to severely limit Jewish immigration to Palestine. In May , the British issued a "White Paper" stipulating that only 75, Jewish immigrants would be allowed to enter Palestine over the course of the next five years 10, a year, plus an additional 25, This decision prevented hundreds of thousands of Jews from escaping Europe.
The countries most able to accept large numbers of refugees consistently refused to open their gates. Although a solution to the refugee problem was the agenda of the Evian Conference, only the Dominican Republic was willing to approve large-scale immigration.
The United States and Great Britain proposed resettlement havens in under-developed areas e. Guyana, formerly British Guiana, and the Philippines , but these were not suitable alternatives. Two important factors should be noted.
At that time, there were no operative plans to kill the Jews. The goal was to induce them to leave, if necessary, by the use of force.
It is also important to recognize the attitude of German Jewry. While many German Jews were initially reluctant to emigrate, the majority sought to do so following Kristallnacht The Night of Broken Glass , November , Had havens been available, more people would certainly have emigrated.
He considered this area the natural territory of the German people, an area to which they were entitled by right, the Lebensraum living space that Germany needed so badly for its farmers to have enough soil. Hitler maintained that these areas were needed for the Aryan race to preserve itself and assure its dominance. There is no question that Hitler knew that, by launching the war in the East, the Nazis would be forced to deal with serious racial problems in view of the composition of the population in the Eastern areas.
Thus, the Nazis had detailed plans for the subjugation of the Slavs, who would be reduced to serfdom status and whose primary function would be to serve as a source of cheap labor for Aryan farmers. Those elements of the local population, who were of higher racial stock, would be taken to Germany where they would be raised as Aryans. In Hitler's mind, the solution of the Jewish problem was also linked to the conquest of the eastern territories.
These areas had large Jewish populations and they would have to be dealt with accordingly. While at this point there was still no operative plan for mass annihilation, it was clear to Hitler that some sort of comprehensive solution would have to be found. There was also talk of establishing a Jewish reservation either in Madagascar or near Lublin, Poland.
When he made the decisive decision to invade the Soviet Union, Hitler also gave instructions to embark upon the "Final Solution," the systematic murder of European Jewry. Was there any opposition to the Nazis within Germany? Throughout the course of the Third Reich, there were different groups who opposed the Nazi regime and certain Nazi policies. They engaged in resistance at different times and with various methods, aims, and scope.
From the beginning, leftist political groups and a number of disappointed conservatives were in opposition; at a later date, church groups, government officials, students and businessmen also joined. After the tide of the war was reversed, elements within the military played an active role in opposing Hitler.
At no point, however, was there a unified resistance movement within Germany. Despite the difficult conditions to which Jews were subjected in Nazi-occupied Europe, many engaged in armed resistance against the Nazis. This resistance can be divided into three basic types of armed activities: ghetto revolts, resistance in concentration and death camps, and partisan warfare.
The Warsaw Ghetto revolt, which lasted for about five weeks beginning on April 19, , is probably the best-known example of armed Jewish resistance, but there were many ghetto revolts in which Jews fought against the Nazis.
Jewish partisan units were active in many areas, including Baranovichi, Minsk, Naliboki forest, and Vilna. While the sum total of armed resistance efforts by Jews was not militarily overwhelming and did not play a significant role in the defeat of Nazi Germany, these acts of resistance did lead to the rescue of an undetermined number of Jews, Nazi casualties, and untold damage to German property and self-esteem.
What was the Judenrat? The Judenrat was the council of Jews, appointed by the Nazis in each Jewish community or ghetto. According to the directive from Reinhard Heydrich of the SS on September 21, , a Judenrat was to be established in every concentration of Jews in the occupied areas of Poland. They were led by noted community leaders. Enforcement of Nazi decrees affecting Jews and administration of the affairs of the Jewish community were the responsibilities of the Judenrat.
These functions placed the Judenrat in a highly responsible, but controversial position, and many of their actions continue to be the subject of debate among historians. While the intentions of the heads of councils were rarely challenged, their tactics and methods have been questioned.
Among the most controversial were Mordechai Rumkowski in Lodz and Jacob Gens in Vilna, both of whom justified the sacrifice of some Jews in order to save others. Leaders and members of the Judenrat were guided, for the most part, by a sense of communal responsibility, but lacked the power and the means to successfully thwart Nazi plans for annihilation of all Jews. Its activities can basically be divided into three periods: 1.
September, - June 22, The IRC confined its activities to sending food packages to those in distress in Nazi-occupied Europe. Packages were distributed in accordance with the directives of the German Red Cross.
Throughout this time, the IRC complied with the German contention that those in ghettos and camps constituted a threat to the security of the Reich and, therefore, were not allowed to receive aid from the IRC.
After the war, many Jews lived in camps for displaced persons. Some lived there for years, because they could not return to their homes and immigration was still very difficult. Ultimately, many survivors immigrated to Palestine and the United States.
The Roma predominated in Austria and eastern and southern Europe. The Roma and Sinti were viewed by the Nazis as both a racial and societal problem. The Nazi regime persecuted them as asocials and racial inferiors. An estimated 1 to 1.
Between , and , Roma and Sinti were killed by Nazi Germany and its collaborators during the war. Men, women, and children were victims of the genocide. They included both nomadic Roma and Sinti, whose numbers were in decline by the s, and people with fixed residences in cities and towns.
Individuals with mental and physical disabilities deemed hereditary were targeted by the Nazis. An estimated , to , males and females were sterilized. Among the persons sterilized were many teenaged youth. In the regime escalated their policies against individuals with disabilities.
They targeted for murder disabled patients living in mental health and other care institutions. Most of the victims were ethnically German, not Jewish. Some 7, children were among the victims. Victims of the T-4 program were killed in gas chambers disguised as showers, the first time this method of murder and deception was used. As part of this policy, Nazi forces killed or imprisoned tens of thousands of men and women from the Polish elites.
The victims included wealthy landowners, clergymen, government officials, teachers, doctors, dentists, military officers, and journalists. Less educated Polish citizens, including many young men and women, were transported to Germany for labor, most of them against their will. There, the approximately 1.
Hundreds of Polish men were executed for having sexual relations with German women. Many Soviet soldiers were captured by the German army after the invasion of the Soviet Union in June The myth of Judeo-Bolshevism claimed that communism was a Jewish plot designed at German expense. A total of 3. They were killed by executions, starvation, disease, exposure, beatings, and other mistreatment.
Nazi ideology regarded them as racial equals. Political opponents in Germany were the first prisoners of Nazi concentration camps.
This prisoner category included anti-Nazi activists, outspoken dissidents, and members of European resistance groups. It also came to include persons who were only suspected of anti-Nazi sentiments or who privately criticized or mocked the Nazi regime.
An undetermined number of men and women who were imprisoned as political prisoners died or were killed. There were about 20, members in Germany in As part of the strictures of their faith, they refused to swear allegiance to any worldly government and would not bear arms for any nation. Small as the movement was, it threatened Nazi demands for total loyalty to Hitler and the state.
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