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__Rise to Power__ On November 11th, 1918, World War 1 officially ended. The Allied powers prevailed, and the Axis powers lost. At the //Conference of Versailles //, Allied powers decided the punishments that Germany and Russia would face. Germany was given the harshest punishments: They were forced to disband their army, pay for damage done during the war, and take the blame for causing the war. The humiliation that Germany endured would eventually come back to haunt the Allied Powers during World War 2, and would be a driving force in the extermination of Jews.
 * Historical Background **

Between the years of 1918-1923, Germany went through a period of low economy and low employment. Germany was weak, and its government couldn’t pull out of their funk. As a result of the defeat at World War 1, the **Nationalist Socialist German Workers’ Party **, or the **Nazis **, was formed as a group for racists who were disappointed with Germany’s state.The Nazis were joined by **Adolf Hitler **in 1919, who would become the Nazis leader and spokesperson (Bauer). The Nazis, with Hitler at the head, began blaming Jews for Germany's economic problems. They claimed that German Jews used their money to support the war against Germany, and didn’t join forces with Germany. “An elected government called the **Weimar ** took power in Germany. Many of the members were Jews, which added to the hatred many people felt toward Jews”(Sheehan 8).The Nazis slowly gained influence during the years of Germany’s depression, growing by incredible amounts. Once Hitler became the leader of the Nazi Party, he set out to eliminate democracy in Germany.

__The beginning of Anti-Semitism in Germany__

Before Hitler had full power, he began creating laws reducing people’s freedoms, such as, no freedom of press and no freedom of assembly. Hitler also began targeting Jews in particular, creating anti-Semitic laws such as, striping Jews of their citizenship, banning them from work, and reducing their education (Sheehan). In March 1933, Hitler held general election, hoping to win the majority, and become dictator. When he only received 43.9% of the votes, he proposed the Enabling Law, a law that would give him whatever laws he wanted. //This law was passed by 441 votes to 94//, which took away most of the power of the **Weimar **<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> and gave it to Hitler. In between the years of 1933-1935 a series of laws are created that solidify Hitler’s power, and slowly take away the rights of Jewish People. For instance, Jews’ healthcare was taken away, and they were prohibited from owning land. On September 15, 1935, the //Nuremberg Race Laws were created against Jews//. “The Nuremberg Race Laws of 1935 deprived German Jews of their rights of citizenship, giving them the status of ‘subjects’ in Hitler's Reich”(Holocaust Timeline). After these original laws, at least a dozen more were created that would take away Jewish people’s human rights, making them not even human in the eyes of the Germans. In 1936, Hitler begins also targeting Homosexuals, and the German Gestapo are placed above the law, meaning whatever they do, they will not be punished for it. In March of 1938, Hitler enters Austria, where over 200,000 Jews are living. There are even more anti-Semitic laws passed during the rest of 1938, and the laws begin to become more strict, including: Any Jew over the age of 15 has to apply for identification cards, Jews are prohibited from law practices, and Jewish pupils are expelled from all non-Jewish schools. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline;">__An Idea goes into Effect__ //The burning of a Jewish synagogue during Kristallnacht, 1938.// <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">On January 30th, 1939, //**<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Hitler **<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> threatens Jews orally during his Reischtag Speech //<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">. OnSeptember 1st, 1939, the Germans invade Poland, home to the most Jews in Europe. Anti-Semitic actions began being practiced in Poland shortly after. On September 3rd, 1939, //<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">**Great Britain and France** declare war on Germany //<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">, and World War 2 begins for Europe. Great Britain and France did not join to help out the Jewish people however, and most Jews were turned away by most countries. In September of 1939 there were only six major concentration camps, however there would soon be a lot more as the amount of Jews that were being captured was increasing at an alarming rate. In 1940 //the first deportation of Jews into Poland occurred, the first of many//. Also during 1940, Germany expands its empire by invading France, Holland, Belgium, and Luxembourg. In these four countries there were living a little short of half a million //Forced labor camps in Tojak, Hungary, 1940.// <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Jews. In November of 1940, two major ghettos are cut off: the Krakow Ghetto, and the Warsaw Ghetto. On March 1st of 1941, //the expansion of// //<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Auschwitz, a death camp, begins //<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">. In Auschwitz, about ¼ of the total deaths of the Holocaust occurred there. Zyklon-B is first used at Auschwitz in September of 1941, a lethal gas used to execute large amounts of Jews. On December 7th, 1941, Pearl Harbor is bombed by Japan. The next day, //the// //<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">**<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">U.S ** declare war on Japan, and through them, Germany //<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">. “Mass killings of Jews using Zyklon-B begin at Auschwitz-Birkenau in Bunker I (the red farmhouse) in Birkenau with the bodies being buried in mass graves in a nearby meadow in January”(Holocaust Timeline).

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">On January 20th, 15 of Germany’s top Bureaucrats met at the Wannsee Conference, in order to figure out what to do with the Jews. Several ideas were mulled over, and as a Nazi senior offcial, it's up to you to decide the fate of an entire population

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The members at the Wannsee Conference had to make a tough decision, and so do you. Click on the link shown below to get the details behind the two decisions. //Barbed wire fences, and barracks at Auschwitz, a death// //camp. Auschwitz, Poland, January 1945.//

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 160%; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The Decisions