Holocaust Review

Tuesday, March 5, 2024 4:31 PM

Nazi ideology
The main elements of Nazi ideology are: emphasis on the
supremacy of the German Aryan race, strong anti-Semitism
and the conquest of territories in the east

According to this principle, the peoples of the world are not equal.
The different peoples have innate traits that cannot be changed
and are inherited. The peoples were divided into three racial
groups: the race of the creator of culture, which is considered a
superior race, which includes the peoples of northern and western
Europe, this race is endowed with creativity
With talent, bravery, honesty, emotion and loyalty. His job is to
rule the world over races inferior to him
The race of cultural subjects that is considered an inferior race,
which includes the Slavic peoples. This breed integrates into the
culture of the superior race, and its role is to serve the superior
race
The race of cultural destroyers, including the Jews, lacks wisdom,
creative power and positive qualities and is
Raised culture and destroyer. The Jews are the most inferior
people in this group
According to this principle, belonging to a race is an unchangeable
biological and psychological matter, each race has human traits
Its characteristics, different blood and different skull structure

Race Scale: In the world there is a ladder of races headed by the

German Aryan race, the race destined to rule the world, under it
The peoples of northern and western Europe who are a race that
shares the German race. They were followed by Slavs, blacks and
others who were considered
To the inferior, and below them are located the Jews and Gypsies
who are a sub-race (not a race), representing satanic and vile
traits
The Jews are the most dangerous enemy to the German people
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 The Jews are the most dangerous enemy to the German people
and to all humanity
War for survival: This idea exists in the teachings of Darwin (English
researcher, father of the theory of evolution) and refers to
To the war of the species in nature, to the desire of animals to
survive as the most basic motive in nature, an animal that does not
succeed
Surviving is extinct from the world. Nazi ideology adopted "social
Darwinism," which transferred Darwin's ideas from the animal
world to human society, according to which there was also a
struggle for survival between human races. In this war of
existence, the strong races will survive, while the weak will perish.
Hitler believed that the Aryan race was the race of masters,
endowed with physical and spiritual perfection, and that he had to
wage a war of existence with the Jews, the most inferior on the
racial ladder, in order to
To prevent the Jews from taking over the Aryan race, polluting and
directing it

Modern Antisemitism
Modern anti-Semitism in its Nazi incarnation and the centrality of
the Jewish question in Nazi ideology Hatred of Jews was central to
Hitler's worldview, Nazi propaganda attributed all negative traits
to the Jews, portrayed Jews as rich, greedy or pathetic and
disease-bearing, parasites living at the expense of other peoples,
deviant and evil and diabolical character. In Mein Kampf (Hitler's
book My Struggle), Hitler confronts the Aryans and humanity
about the "real" goals of the Jews: the establishment of a center
for their deception on an international scale in order to take over
all peoples, not the establishment of a state
In Palestine as they misled the whole world into thinking
According to the Nazis, the Jews are responsible for all of
Germany's difficulties and the sorry situation it has reached. The
Jews defile the Aryan race by having sex with Germans, by
transmitting their negative traits
For Germans
The Jews were perceived as having taken over Germany by holding

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The Jews were perceived as having taken over Germany by holding
key positions in all areas of German life
In economics, culture and politics
The Jews are unable to establish their own state because they are
unable to work, they do not know
To work the land, they have no creative talent, they are parasites
in every matter and are a complete contrast to the Aryan race. The
parasitic Jew never wanted to merge with the other peoples. His
outward hallmarks are meant to disguise his true character and
goals. The greatest danger is that the impostor Jew will desecrate
the blood of a race not
Jew
Judaism has instilled political-social ideas that preach equality and
undermine the power of the strong and
Authority. These ideas are contrary to German interests and the
interests of all humanity. The mission of
Aryans are about restoring the standard racial order. The Jewish
people never had a culture of their own, and the foundations of
their spiritual creation are always drawn from others. The secret of
the Jews' talent is preserving the purity of their race
Jews are taking over the world through economic domination and
political enslavement
In a speech given by Hitler in 1920, he said: "It is inconceivable that
it is possible to fight the disease (the Jewish spirit) without killing
its perpetrator and without destroying the germ. And do not
imagine in your soul that you will be able to fight racial
tuberculosis without ensuring that the people will be free of the
bacteria that carry this disease. The effects of the disease will
never go away
And the poisoning of the people will not stop, as long as the
perpetrator of the Jewish scourge is not removed from our
bodies

Establishment of the ghettos - Poland

Policy towards the Jews in Poland
Policy towards the Jews in Poland until their concentration in
ghettos

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 ghettos
background
On September 1, 1939, Germany invaded Poland. The Polish army
fought alone and valiantly against the Germans. Poland occupied
Within a month. In mid-September, the Soviet Union occupied
eastern Poland in accordance with the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact
signed between Poland and Germany
On the eve of the war, about three million Jews lived in Poland.
During the first three months, about 300,000 fled
Jews to the east, mainly young people without families, members
of youth movements and leaders of the Jewish community who
feared for their fate
Under Nazi rule. As a result, Poland's Jewish population remained
leaderless in its most difficult hour
At the end of the occupation, the German-occupied territory in
Poland was divided into two parts: areas in western Poland
annexed to the German Reich in order to settle Germans while
purging them of Jews and Poles, and the area of the General
Governance (General Administration)
In central Poland, where the Germans established a civil
administration, Hans Frank, a Nazi jurist, was appointed governor
of the region
who settled in the city of Krakow. Jews and Poles were expelled
from the territory annexed to the Reich
Motives for Nazi Anti-Jewish Policy
With the entry of the German army into Poland, the Germans
began implementing an anti-Jewish policy, which included mass
deportations
of the Jews from western Poland (the territory annexed to the
Reich), to the General Governman area and to the border areas of
Russia, and
To the USSR itself, humiliations, physical harm and more, for
several reasons
The distance of the soldiers from their homes and their being in a
reality of violence led to an outbreak of destructive instincts
and abuse
The distance from public opinion at home and carrying out their

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 The distance from public opinion at home and carrying out their
actions without opposition and criticism from world public opinion

The number of Jews in the area under German control increased

by two million. The sudden control over a large number of
Jews led the Nazis to formulate other ways of solution. Nazi
propaganda portrayed the Jew according to traditional anti-Semitic
tropes. In the eyes of the German soldiers, Polish Jews
represented the image of the Jew depicted in Nazi propaganda.
The encounter of image with reality caused the German soldiers to
vent their passions
The measures taken by the Nazis in the area of the "general
government" towards the Jews
Hans Frank, a jurist and member of the Nazi leadership, who was
appointed head of the German Civil Administration in the area of
the "General Governance" - the "General Administration", issued
anti-Jewish regulations and decrees that paralyzed individual and
social life. The regulations were intended to create separation
between Jews and the local Polish population, to isolate the Jews,
humiliate them and exploit them. German policy towards the Jews
included: murder, terror, imprisonment, torture, humiliation,
forced labor, deportations, economic dispossession
Et cetera
The measures taken by the Nazis against the Jews
Isolation - Every Jew from the age of ten was required to mark his
upper garment with a white ribbon with a blue Star of David, or
with a yellow star
Jews were forbidden to relocate and were obliged to mark their
shops and businesses. They were forbidden to enter certain
streets, and their freedom of movement was severely restricted.
These regulations are designed to isolate
the Jews from their surroundings
Confiscation of property (Aryanization) the Jews were obliged to
hand over to the Germans any business whose owners were not
staying there, or
Inefficiently conducted. Thus, all the large factories and
commercial businesses of the Jews were liquidated and remained

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 commercial businesses of the Jews were liquidated and remained
in their hands
Only grocery stores and small workshops. Apartments belonging to
wealthy Jews were confiscated, Jews were forbidden to hold large
sums of money, and Jewish bank accounts were frozen and
expropriated. Goods and valuables were confiscated from homes
and warehouses. Many Jews found themselves without a source of
income and began to suffer shortages and hunger. These
regulations
They were intended to dispossess the Jews economically
Forced labor - During the first days of the occupation, the Germans
began abducting Jews from the streets of the cities for work in the
"General Governman" area, and a decree was issued requiring
every Jew of working age to go out for forced labor. Based on this
order, many Jews were sent to labor camps and employed in
paving roads, reinforcing fortifications, building, and agriculture
Occasional, such as carrying loads, doing community service in
military camps, and clearing streets of rubble. On the day of
establishment
And. These regulations were intended to exploit and humiliate the
Jews

Heydrich's Flash Epistle

In the invasion of Poland, the German army was accompanied by
units of the Einsatzgruppen the operational formations of the
police and SS, which attacked anyone defined as the biological and
cultural enemy of the German state. Thus they were killed and
injured while
Thousands of Polish elite and clergy were abused, and thousands
of Jews were deported and killed. On September 21, the head of
the Security Police, Reinhard Heydrich, delivered a letter to the
commanders of the Einsatzgruppen in the occupied territories,
known as the Flash Letter. The letter contained the first guidelines
concerning the Jews of occupied Poland. The letter spoke of the
need to quickly concentrate the Jews in the occupied zones in
several large cities located at railway junctions or near railways,
while dismantling small Jewish communities; cleansing Jews of the

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while dismantling small Jewish communities; cleansing Jews of the
territories that would be annexed to the Reich; the establishment
of councils in the Jewish communities Judenrats composed of
authoritative figures and rabbis, whose role is to manage the
ghettos; Aryanization of Jewish enterprises, while leaving
important enterprises that ensure German economic interests in
the hands of the Jews. The Nazis sought to undermine the basis of
life of the Jews in occupied Poland by concentrating, isolating and
confiscating their property. Control over the Jews
It was handed over to the SS, which later facilitated their
destruction
Plans for the Concentration of Jews
The purpose of the concentration of Jews in a defined territory
With the occupation of Poland, masses of Jews came under
German control, and during 1940, in the midst of a war, it was not
possible to bring about their emigration. In light of this situation,
the Germans devised a territorial solution within Poland, with the
aim of settling Jews in a certain area, under German supervision,
cut off from the outside world, under harsh conditions that would
lead to their extinction. Plans
These were unsuccessful

Establishment of the ghettos

Declared goals and explanations for the establishment of the
ghettos
background
In a flash letter sent in September 1939, when Poland was
occupied, there was no mention of the establishment of ghettos
and no explicit order to establish them: there was talk of
restricting movement and closing certain streets to Jews.
Restrictions were also imposed on the exit and entry of Jews from
the neighborhoods in which they were concentrated. The term
ghetto used by Heydrich was
Apparently referring to the Jewish neighborhoods that existed in
Polish cities. The ghettos in Poland's major cities were not
established all at once. The pace and nature of their establishment

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established all at once. The pace and nature of their establishment
were subject to the independent decision of the German
authorities in the various regions. The two largest ghettos in
Warsaw and Lodz were established at the end of 1939. The ghetto
in Lodz was closed in May 1940 and some 165,000 people were
incarcerated there, and in Warsaw in November 1940, about
450,000 people were incarcerated there
There were ghettos that were established only towards the end of
1941. Characteristics of the ghetto: The ghetto is usually confined
to the poor and distressed area of the city, near railway junctions
or railways. The area of the ghetto was small and a large number
of Jews were concentrated. For example, five to eight people lived
in the Vilna ghetto
In one room, while in the Warsaw ghetto the density was greater -
in one room 20 15
It is necessary to distinguish between the declared explanations
given by the Nazis for the establishment of the ghettos and their
real goals
Stated goals and explanations for the establishment of the ghettos
in which they can lead an autonomous life 1
The Nazis tried to present the ghettos as a unique protected place
for Jews, a way of life familiar to them from the past, a place
The concentration of Jews in ghettos is intended to prevent the 2
spread of contagious epidemics originating in Jews and to preserve
in this way
Normal
The concentration of Jews in ghettos was intended to prevent 3
them from spreading negative, subversive and defeatist political
rumors about
The state of hostilities
The concentration of Jews in the ghettos was intended to 4
prevent speculation in foodstuffs and the like.

The real goals for establishing the ghettos

The establishment of the ghetto was another stage in the Nazi 1
anti-Jewish policy in Poland, which had been implemented since

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 anti-Jewish policy in Poland, which had been implemented since
the beginning of the war
A way to eradicate the Jews was to deny them means of 3 2
living. For example, in the ghettos of Lodz and Warsaw, dozens
died
To separate and disconnect Jews from human society, and thus to
better supervise them
Thousands in hunger and disease
To concentrate the Jews so that they can be exploited for forced 4
labor in an easy and convenient way
To concentrate the Jews so that at a later stage it will be 5
possible to efficiently and quickly implement various solutions in
connection
Them
Through the appointment of the Judenrats and the functions
assigned to them The order to establish Judenrats (Jewish
councils), one of the remnants of the Jewish leadership that
remained after the German occupation, was first published in
Heydrich's flash letter of September 1939. The Judenrat was
intended to be the doer of the German government. Hans Frank,
the Nazi governor of the General Governance, repeated the order
Establish Judenrats and determine the method of election of the
Judenrat according to the size of the community. Joining the
Judenrat was either out of a sense of responsibility for the
community, or out of vested interests. In other cases
This was a forced appointment by the Germans, threatening the
death penalty for those who refused. The Judenrat was the link
between the Jewish public and the German government, which
carried out actions imposed on it by the Germans, and as a result
suffered great bitterness and anger from the Jews. The Judenrat
prevented friction between the Germans and the Jewish
population of the ghetto
Functions of the Judenrat
The role of the Judenrat was to serve the Germans and manage
the Jewish community in the ghetto. The Judenrat was part
From the Nazi monitoring mechanism of the Jewish population in
the ghetto

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 the ghetto
The roles of the Judenrat from a German point of view
When they were established, the Judenrats were required to 1
carry out a community census according to age groups and to
ensure the evacuation of the Jews from places
Small ones and their absorption in larger cities (during the
transition stage to ghettos)
When the ghettos were established, the Judenrats were 2
required to organize daily life in the closed ghettos, with an
emphasis on sanitation. 3. To prepare the Jews for forced labor
and to provide the German authorities with regular statistical
updates of the population
Jewish

The roles of the Judenrat in relation to the ghetto

To collect taxes from the ghetto residents for the needs of the 6
Jewish community in the ghetto
To employ the ghetto residents in various jobs; Many Judenrats 2
established industrial enterprises within the ghetto to
To present the Jews as a productive factor
To find shelter for homeless Jews 3
To ensure reasonable sanitary conditions and the health of the 4
ghetto inhabitants
To take care of the subject of education and culture in the 5
ghetto by establishing schools, holding theaters, holding lectures
Libraries and orchestra
Handle matters of religion, burial, welfare and food distribution 6
Derby Supervision of the Ghettos
In general, the ghettos were supervised by the following elements:
the German police, the Polish police, and the police
Jewish
The methods of supervision differed from ghetto to ghetto, and
the differences were also reflected in the degree of their closure
and isolation
A three-meter-high brick wall was erected around the Warsaw
ghetto and a barbed wire fence was placed on it. The ghetto wall
was installed

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 was installed
A few gates. The guarding of the wall and the gates was conducted
in the following manner: the Polish police guarded the entrances
to the ghetto, the German police patrolled around the wall and
made sure to isolate the ghetto from the outside world (objects),
provided for the needs of the Germans for a Jewish labor force,
and arranged for a quota of persons for deportations. In principle,
the police were subordinate to the Judenrat, but in practice they
operated independently. The Warsaw ghetto was closed and cut
off, and only certain people whose role was vital to the Nazis were
allowed to leave the ghetto and return to it when their work was
completed
And inside the ghetto there was a Jewish police force that
supervised and maintained order (including collecting fines and
confiscating
In addition, people went out for forced labor under supervision
and supervision. The Krakow ghetto was surrounded by a stone
wall, but was closed and less detached from the Warsaw ghetto.
Leaving the ghetto for the purposes of
Work was easier
The Lodz ghetto was different from the other ghettos, isolated and
closed from them. The ghetto residents were not allowed to leave
at all
The Lodz ghetto was surrounded partly by wooden fences and
partly by a stone wall; the ghetto was surrounded by German
policemen and inside
The Jewish police maintained order and carried out Nazi orders.
Only a few people were allowed to leave the ghetto
That their work outside was very vital to the Nazis
In small ghettos, the degree of closure and detachment was
smaller. The small ghettos were surrounded by a fence but the
supervision hall
They were not tight and their separation from the Polish
population was not absolute. For example: there were ghettos
They could leave them for a few hours to stock up on food. In
ghettos where supervision was lax, Jews could
The ghetto to trade with the Polish population outside and work

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 The ghetto to trade with the Polish population outside and work
for a living in the nearby villages
In fact, supervision of the ghettos was dictated by the local
German commander and the nature of his relations with the
Judenrat

Life in the ghetto

Living conditions in the ghetto
Overcrowding The area of the ghetto was small and very
crowded. For example, the Warsaw Ghetto was established on
2.4% of the city's urban area and housed about a third of the city's
residents about half a million Jews. The overcrowding and lack of
sanitary conditions caused epidemics to spread in the ghetto very
easily. The streets were also overcrowded, and the movement of
people was regulated by Jewish policemen. In the Warsaw ghetto,
more than ten people lived in one room. The Lodz ghetto was also
extremely overcrowded: some 165,000 Jews were incarcerated in
the ghetto, and between six and eight people lived in one room
Famine The shortage of food in the ghettos was very severe, and
in the Warsaw and Lodz ghettos there was a severe famine. Due to
the complete isolation of the Lodz ghetto, its residents had to
make do with only the ration allotted to them, except for those
who worked in factories in the ghetto and received additional
food. In the Warsaw ghetto, on the other hand, there were ways
to smuggle food in. About 80 percent of daily food intake was
based on smuggling. Hundreds of children and adults involved in
smuggling died in this activity. In addition to organized smuggling,
women and children were also forced to smuggle food to their
families, because the daily "starvation ration" distributed to the
Jews of the ghetto was no more than 184 calories. In order to
obtain food, the Jews of the ghetto sold their personal belongings,
hunger gave rise to harsh behaviors among the people, and many
cases of the disintegration of the family unit due to the
disintegration of the family unit
Repeated quarrels over food
Poor sanitation, disease and epidemics most ghettos were

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 Poor sanitation, disease and epidemics most ghettos were
established in areas with poor sanitary infrastructure. There was
also a shortage of cleaning materials, soap and water, heating
equipment, and more. All these made it difficult to maintain
personal cleanliness, and as a result, contagious diseases and
epidemics broke out, such as typhus, which was one of the worst
in the Warsaw ghetto. Thousands of Jews died every month in the
Warsaw ghetto. In the absence of medication, doctors had to make
do with external treatment, and this was accompanied by the
most profound moral questions, such as who to save and who to
let die
Cold - The bitter cold that prevailed in the ghettos caused people
to search for a source of heating in every possible way, such as
dismantling houses, furniture, doors, lintels and more. The cold
was also another cause of mortality in the ghettos
Forced labor: From the beginning of the occupation, there has
been a phenomenon of abduction of people for harsh and
humiliating forced labor. Forced labor was done inside the ghetto
and in labor camps outside the ghetto, in these camps they worked
to the fullest, many families in the ghetto were left without a
breadwinner, and the family's livelihood fell on children and
women. In the Lodz ghetto, the head of the Judenrat, Chaim
Rumkowski, convinced the public that the only way to survive was
by turning the ghetto into a productive one; However, the wages
received by the Jews were not enough, and the famine continued.
In the Warsaw ghetto, the head of the Judenrat, Adam
Czerniakow, did not interfere in Jewish life and work; However,
when the situation worsened, the Judenrat turned to the Jews to
do the work, but few joined the work because of the meager
salary. At the same time, the "black business" flourished of
recycling old objects and processing goods smuggled from abroad
and returning them to the Aryan side, etc

The Impact of Living Conditions on the Individual, the Family and

Jewish Society
The effect of living conditions on the individual The horrific reality
in the ghetto led individuals to try to save themselves by any

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 in the ghetto led individuals to try to save themselves by any
means. Living conditions undermined human morality and the
rules that characterized the Jewish community, thieves, fraudsters
and counterfeiters filled the ghetto, and a common way to win
favors was to cooperate with the Nazi regime: Jewish informers
reported on underground activity in the ghettos. Alongside
displays of heroism and resistance, certain Jews were pushed into
cooperation. Others lost touch with reality and many lost their
sanity in the face of the horrors, Jews who before the war lived
peaceful lives found themselves in humiliated, destitute ghettos
and in constant threat to their lives
The impact of living conditions on the family The Jewish family,
which for years was the mainstay of the Jewish community, was
severely affected by living conditions in the ghettos. The men, who
for many years headed the families, supported them and were
responsible for their welfare, lost their status due to their inability
to earn a living, or because they were taken to forced labor. Others
fled or were murdered, the burden of caring for the family was
placed on the women and often on the young children as well: the
women had to take care of their extended family children,
grandparents or relatives whose families had been murdered in
conditions of lack of housing, in severe starvation conditions and in
a cruel and threatening reality. The children constituted a large
part of the ghetto population, often the children had no family or
relatives and were forced to subsist on their own: by begging for
alms, selling small belongings, various services and theft. The
children of the ghetto played an important role in smuggling food.
The children could escape through gaps in the walls and hide
easily. Thanks to the courageous activities of the ghetto children, a
great deal of food was smuggled into the ghetto, saving many from
starvation. Many children were shot to death after being caught
outside the ghettos (during the Holocaust about a million were
murdered
Jewish children
The Impact of Living Conditions on Jewish Society The inhumane
situation in the ghetto led to fundamental changes in the Jewish
social structure: most of the Jews in the ghettos were extremely

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 social structure: most of the Jews in the ghettos were extremely
poor and lived in danger of starvation and death. Others, especially
those close to the Nazi regime and members of the Judenrat,
received favors, sometimes at the expense of other ghetto
residents. A phenomenon of "black market" and speculation has
also developed. This reality led to tensions within the ghetto.
However, the living conditions in the ghetto also led the
community to cope with the distress together. Joint bodies of
mutual aid were established. Most of the wealthy communities
and dignitaries did everything in their power to help the plight of
the masses, despite their efforts, the dignitaries managed to save
only a few from death

Ways of coping with the Jews in the ghettos

Sanctification of life
Against the background of the difficult situation, the belief was
awakened among many that it is necessary to act for the sake of
"sanctification of life", that is, to act for survival in life, the concept
of "sanctification of life" is attributed to Rabbi Yitzchak
Nissenbaum who said: "This is an hour of sanctification of life and
not of sanctification of God by death. Before, (in the past),
enemies demanded the soul, and the Jew sacrificed his soul for the
sanctification of God: now the need demands the Jewish body,
and it is the duty of the Jew to protect it, to preserve his life
Expressions for "sanctification of life" - coping strategies
Daily functioning - when men were sent to labor camps and ceased
to serve as breadwinners for their families, or when
Lost their ability to function, the women and children took upon
themselves the support of the family, the women were forced to
obtain and use food over time, maintain the home and take care of
the children. Children were expelled from the educational
framework after all Jewish schools were closed by order of the
Nazis. Illegal educational frameworks were established in the
ghetto that absorbed little
From the children of the ghetto. Many children were engaged in
food smuggling and begging

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 food smuggling and begging
Existence of educational and cultural institutions Despite the
prohibition against holding educational institutions, a secret
network of schools was established
Cultural creativity also continued to exist; Writers continued to
write, musicians continued to play for audiences, and plays from
the Jewish classics were performed. Emanuel Ringelblum, director
of the Oneg Shabbat archive, documented my life over time
The Jews in the ghetto
Maintaining a religious life Although the Nazis forbade minyan
prayer, kashrut, etc., many religious Jews continued to maintain
the religious framework within the ghetto. Religious educational
institutions continued to operate underground

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