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Paul Livgren

Mr. Neuberger

Comp 102

27 February 2011

Annotated Bibliography

The Holocaust

1945, January. "Death Marches." ë
 


  

   . Web. 27 Feb.

2011.

The end of World War II was near and the Allied forces were taking back Poland. The Nazis saw
their defeat and tried to destroy the evidence of what they had done at the concentration camps.
Nazis didn¶t want holocaust survivors to survive and tell their stories. Concentration camps were
evacuated, some by train, others by marching long distances. Orders were giving to kill anyone
who couldn¶t walk. Many died simply of exhaustion from their already weakened state. Many
prisoners were put onto ships on the north sea. The British unknowingly sunk the ships thinking
they were German military.

"Adolf Hitler."   


. Web. 25 Feb. 2011.

Hitler¶s rise to power started with him excelling early on in his schooling. Everyone thought that
he would make it a long way because he appeared to be very intelligent. This trend continued until
he got older, and although no one wanted him to he joined the military. This was very different
from the artist he wanted to be earlier in life, but like everything else, he excelled at it. He went on
to fight for four years in the First World War. Hitler won five medals for his courage in the war.
Hitler¶s military success contributed to his rise of power.

"Adolf Hitler Biography - Adolf Hitler Life, Childhood, Timeline." 

 
  


 








. Web. 27 Feb. 2011.

Hitler was born on 20 April 1889 in Braunau am Inn, Austria-Hungry to Alois Hitler and Klara
Polzl. His father was a custom official, and he was very violent to his wife and children, including
Adolf. Hitler dropped out of high school and wanted to become a painter. In 1907 his mother died
of breast cancer. Hitler¶s anti-Semitism came from living in Vienna, a racially charged area. Hitler
was assigned to be a spy on the German Worker party. While he was infiltrating he was impressed
with them and adopted their beliefs. This started Hitler¶s political campaign.

"Einsatzgruppen (Mobile Killing Units)." ë
 


  

   . Web.

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27 Feb. 2011.

German police used mobile killing units to target racial groups mostly comprised of Jews. These
were the first acts of the final solution. Most of the prisoners were sent to camps, but some were
confronted by German police coming directly to their homes and killing them. The Jews often hid,
but the Nazis had informants who would snoop them out. They killed everyone, including women
and children and were then buried in mass graves. The shootings were having psychological
effects on the police so they started using gas vans. This is partially what why the gas chambers at
camps were constructed.

Gustavo, Corni, and Joseph Kermish. "Ghettos." ë
 


  

   .

Web. 27 Feb. 2011.

Ghettos were run-down, closed off, areas of cities that Jews were forced to live in shortly before
World War II. At least 1,000 ghettos were established to isolated the Jews. When the final solution
was initiated many of the ghettos were torn down. The largest ghetto was the Warsaw ghetto which
held 400,000 people. People kept in ghettos were forced to wear identification badges. Uprisings
formed in many ghettos. The violent revolts were usually stopped quickly. This was a crucial step
in the dehumanization of the Jews.

"KRISTALLNACHT." Middle Tennessee State University. 25 Feb. 2011

Actual beginning of what is now called the Holocaust. By now it is clear to Hitler and his top
advisors that forced immigration of Jews out of the Reich is not a feasible option. Hitler is already
considering the invasion of Poland. Numerous concentration camps and forced labor camps are
already in operation. The Nuremberg Laws are in place. The doctrine of lebensraum has emerged
as a guiding principle of Hitler's ideology. The passivity of the German people in the face of the
events of Kristallnacht made it clear that the Nazis would encounter little opposition.

"Liberation of Nazi Camps." ë



 

  . Web. 27 Feb. 2011.

First major concentration camp is liberated in July 1944. Evidence of the gas chambers were still
completely intact. Auschwitz was liberated in January 1945. The warehouses left standing held
hundreds of thousands of suits, and massive amounts of human hair. Most of the camps are
liberated in the early months of 1945. Weeks after liberation many of the prisoners were still
dieing of malnutrition. Many of the camps were burned just to stop epidemics of disease.

Meier, David A. "Hitler's Rise to Power." ë

 
. 2000. Web. 27 Feb. 2011.

Hitler got his political views in Austria from right-wing extremists. He took these views to Munich
where he held his race on a pedestal. Hitler thought the Jews were the main thing in the way of his
political views coming to fruition. Hitler described his views as being an enemy of pacifism and
democracy. His views included Anti-Semitism, nationalism, militarism, and anti-communism.

"Mosaic of Victims: In Depth." ë



 

  . Web. 27 Feb. 2011.

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Jews were the most widely targeted group to be persecuted by the Nazis. Nazis silenced much of
their political opponents. Nazis targeted gypsies for racial reasons. Many Polish people were
discriminated against and were forced to labor. They were also considered racially inferior.
Survivors of the mass murders were kept alive to exploit their labor. Anyone with a disability was
seen as a threat to the German master race. Religious discrimination also took place. The Nazis
persecuted Catholic, Lutheran, and Jehovah witnesses who wouldn¶t swear an oath to their regime.
Homosexuals and repeat criminal offenders were also targeted.

"The Camps." 
  ë

. Web. 27 Feb. 2011.

Makes distinctions between killing camps, death camps, and concentration camps. The Nazis
rationalize the killings many different ways. Most of the rationalization was the product of the
Nazi ideology of being racially superior. Lethal injections were used to kill sick prisoners.
Auschwitz was the most lethal of the killing camps. Many were gassed on arrival. Others were
registered and were forced to work laborious jobs on little food. Nearing the end of the war and
seeing their defeat was near, the Nazis tried to hide much of the evidence of the death camps.

"The United States and the Holocaust." ë
 


  

   . Web. 27

Feb. 2011.

The liberation of concentration camps was not a priority for the united states since they were all
behind enemy lines. It was very hard for Jews to enter the United States due to limited immigration
laws. There was no immediate reaction the news of the death camps. No one knew what to do with
the surviving prisoners. Many Jewish leaders wanted the U.S. to bomb the railways and gas
chambers in the concentration camps, but they were unsuccessful. They didn¶t have the resources
or precision to take the targets out and were focused on winning the war as fast as possible.

"World War II in Europe Timeline: September 15, 1935 - The Nuremberg Race Laws." 



. Web. 25 Feb. 2011

The Nuremberg Race Laws of 1935 deprived German Jews of their rights of citizenship, giving
them the status of subjects in Hitler¶s Reich. There were many laws limiting the marriage of Jews.
The Jews had to be tested to make sure they were disease free before they could marry. There were
debates over the citizenship of Jews, and also determining full Jews from ³mixed races.´ If the
Jewish person had three Jewish Grandparents then they were considered a ³full Jew.´ The laws
increased later and eventually would strip the Jewish people of being considered human beings.