What was the Holocaust?
The Holocaust was the mass murder of Jews under the German Nazi regime during the period 1941-1945 under the rule of Adolf Hitler. During this time, nearly six million Jews were murdered by the Nazi regime. The Nazis came to power in January of 1933 . They believed that the Germans were "racially superior" and that the Jews were "inferior" and were a threat to the German people. Other groups were targeted by the Nazis including: Jehovah's witnesses, Communists, and Socialists.
During the course of the Holocaust
In 1933, the Jewish population in Europe stood at nine million. By 1945, the Germans killed off two out of every three European Jews as part of the "Final Solution." This Final Solution was the German's plan to annihilate all of the Jews. Though other groups were targeted during these years during the Holocaust, Jews were the primary target. In this time, between two and three million Soviet prisoners of war were died of starvation, murder, disease, neglect, or malnutrition. The Germans also, persecuted homosexuals because their lifestyles didn't match with the social norms. Administration of the Final Solution included the use of concentration camps to detain, or hold, thousands of Jews and others. Victims were incarcerated, or imprisoned, in these camps. Mass murder and neglect occurred to people in these camps. Between 1941 and 1944, Nazi German authorities deported millions of Jews from Germany to ghettos and killing centers, also called extermination camps where people were murdered in gassing facilities.
In the final months of the war, SS guards moved camp inmates by forced marches or train, often called "death marches." They did this in order to prevent the Allies from freeing masses of Jewish prisoners. Towards the end of the Holocaust, Allied forces swept in and began to liberate the prisoners. The marches continued until the Germans surrendered on May 7, 1945. World War II officially ended the following day, V-E Day.
In the final months of the war, SS guards moved camp inmates by forced marches or train, often called "death marches." They did this in order to prevent the Allies from freeing masses of Jewish prisoners. Towards the end of the Holocaust, Allied forces swept in and began to liberate the prisoners. The marches continued until the Germans surrendered on May 7, 1945. World War II officially ended the following day, V-E Day.