Chapter 24-Section 3

The Holocaust

1. Why did France and Britain accept as many German Jews as they might have?

France and Britain accepted as many German Jews as they might have because they wanted to keep Hitler from killing people and treating them very harshly. They also wanted to help prevent the United States from going into war.

2. What did the Nuremberg laws do?

The Nuremberg laws took away from the Jewish people including; German citizenship, jobs, and property. For easier identification, the Nazis made the Jewish people wear the bright yellow Star of David on their clothing.

3. What happened during Kristallnacht?

During Kristallnacht, Nazi storm troopers attacked homes, businesses, and synagogues of Jewish people. They smashed all windows of shops and ruined the streets across Germany. About 100 Jewish people were killed and even more were injured. The Nazi storm troopers took in about 30, 000 Jewish people under arrested. After the destruction, the Nazis blamed the Jewish people for the demolition.

4. Why didn't the United States accept as many German Jews as it might have?

The United States didn't accept as many German Jews as it might have because everyone was concerned that the more refugees that entered would interfere with the U.S citizens maintaining jobs. They were also afraid that it would threaten their economic recovery during the Great Depression.

5. What groups did the Nazis single out for extermination?

For extermination, the Nazis singled out the Jewish people and other groups that were unworthy to the state (enemies). The Nazis turned against many groups that they thought spoke out against the government. These groups were; the Gypsies, the Freemasons, and the Jehovah's. The Nazis also didn't like anyone who didn't fit into their own race, which included homosexuals, mentally ill people and people who were physically disabled.

6. How did the Nazis go about exterminating the approximately 11 million people who died in the Holocaust?

To exterminate the aprroximate number of 11 million people who died in the Holocaust, the Nazis relocated Jewish people in an area called ghettos that were located in Polish cities. Near the ghettos factories were built, and people were forced to work within them. The Nazis soon made concentration camps, also known as labor camps. Life in these camps were extremely harsh and many people ended up dying. After a while, the Nazis began a mass killing of the Jewish people. The Germans built six death camps in Poland. Before people would go into these camps, the strongest people who could work were picked out of lines and the weak people were then put right to death. The people that were going to die were told to get undressed and get ready to take showers. When everyone was in the chambers, they locked the doors and put cyanide gas that would eventually kill them. The Nazis first burned the bodies, but realized it smelled too bad and left evidence of their extermination. Other methods of extermination that the Nazis used were hangings, injections, or shootings.

Genocide- The killing of an entire population.