The Holocaust


Dead prisoners lay in long rows in Nordhausen, Germany as countless dead bodies are carried to burial trenches When Hitler came to power in 1933, he made anti-Semitism official policy. He intensified existing prejudice and distrust and used propaganda to convince 'Aryan' Germans that the Jews were responsible for all of Germany's problems.


German Jews were integrated into society but step by step the Nazi regime increased its persecution with the aim of the total eradication of all Jews from Europe.


From 1939, Jews were forced into ghettoes, where 600,000 people died from starvation and disease. They were later transported to concentration camps, along with other 'inferior' races, including Poles, Slavs and Gypsies. In 1941, the 'Final Solution' saw the start of mass murder in extermination camps. 6 million Jews were killed during the Nazi regime.


Once Jewish people had been removed from society, it became easier for the Nazis to demonise them and for Germans to ignore what was happening. Hitler had returned prosperity and pride to Germany and people believed that eliminating the Jews would make Germany a pure and powerful nation.


When the Allies liberated survivors in 1945, local German people were sent to the camps to witness the horrifying results of 'ethnic cleansing'.