36 Questions About the Holocaust

On November 14, 1935, the Nazis issued the following definition of a Jew:

• Anyone with three Jewish grandparents.
• Anyone with two Jewish grandparents who belonged to the Jewish community on September 15, 1935, or joined thereafter.
• Anyone who was married to a Jew or Jewess on September 15, 1935, or married one thereafter.
• Anyone who was the offspring of a marriage or extramarital liaison with a Jew on or after September 15, 1935.

Those who were not classified as Jews but who had some Jewish ancestry were categorized as Mischlinge, or “hybrids.” They were divided into two groupsMischlinge of the second degree: those with one Jewish grandparent

• Mischlinge of the first degree: those with two Jewish grandparents.
• Mischlinge of the second degree: those with one Jewish grandparent

The Mischlinge were officially excluded from membership in the Nazi Party and all the Party’s organizations, such as the SA and SS. Although the Mischlinge were drafted into the German army, they could not attain the rank of officers. They were also barred from the civil service and certain professions, although individual Mischlinge were granted exemptions under certain circumstances. Nazi officials considered plans to sterilize Mischlinge, but the plans never materialized. During World War II, first-degree Mischlinge were incarcerated in concentration camps and deported to the death camps.

Some of the first measures against the Jews included:

April 1, 1933: A boycott of Jewish shops and businesses

April 7, 1933: The Law for the Re-Establishment of the Civil Service expelled all non-Aryans from the civil service. The Nazis’ definition of “non-Aryan” included anyone with a Jewish parent or grandparent. Initially, there were exceptions for those working since August 1914, German veterans of World War I, and those who had lost a father or son fighting for Germany or her allies in World War I.

April 7, 1933: The Law Regarding Admission to the Legal Profession prohibited the admission of non-Aryans to the bar. It also denied non-Aryan members of the bar the right to practice law. There were some exceptions in the same circumstances noted above regarding the civil service. Similar laws were passed regarding Jewish law assessors, jurors and commercial judges.

April 25, 1933: The Law Against Overcrowding in Schools and Universities restricted Jewish enrollment in German public schools. In high schools, Jewish enrollment was limited to one and a half percent of the student body. In communities where Jews constituted more than five percent of the population, they were allowed to constitute up to five percent of the student body. There were initial exceptions for children of Jewish war veterans. For the purposes of this law, a Jewish student was a child with two non-Aryan parents.

The Jews were the only group singled out by the Nazis for total systematic annihilation. To escape the death sentence imposed by the Nazis, the Jews could only leave Nazi-controlled Europe. According to the Nazis’ plan, very single Jew was to be killed. The families of other criminals or enemies of the Third Reich were not usually considered guilty by association. Thus, if a person was executed or sent to a concentration camp, it did not mean the members of his family would meet the same fate. Moreover, in most situations the Nazis’ enemies were classified as such because of their actions or political affiliation, which could be changed. But Jews were persecuted because of their racial origin, which the Nazis considered fixed and unchangeable.

The Nazis’ hatred of the Jew rests on their distorted worldview, which saw history as a racial struggle. They believed the Jews were a race set on world domination—an inherent threat to the dominance and eventual triumph of the superior Aryan race. The Nazis also believed that the Jews’ racial origin made them habitual criminals beyond rehabilitation, hopelessly corrupt and inferior.

They therefore considered it their duty to eliminate the Jews.

There is no doubt that a variety of other factors contributed towards the Nazi hatred of the Jews and their distorted image of the Jewish people. These included the centuries-old tradition of Christian antisemitism, which propagated the negative stereotype of the Jew as a Christ-killer, agent of the devil and practitioner of witchcraft. Also significant was the political antisemitism of the latter half of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, which singled out the Jew as a threat to the established order of society. Together, these various antisemitic ideas led to Jews being targeted for persecution and ultimately destruction by the Nazis

Certain initial aspects of Nazi persecution of Jews and other opponents were common knowledge in Germany. For example, everyone knew about the Boycott of April 1, 1933, the Laws of April, and the Nuremberg Laws, because they were fully publicized. Moreover, offenders were often publicly punished and shamed. The same holds true for subsequent anti-Jewish measures. The Kristallnacht, The Night of the Broken Glass, was a public pogrom, carried out in full view of the entire population. While information on the concentration camps was not publicized, a great deal of information was available to the German public, and the treatment of the inmates was generally known, although exact details were not easily obtained.

The situation was different when it comes to the implementation of the “Final Solution” and the murder of other “undesirable” groups. The Nazis attempted to keep the murders a secret and took precautionary measures to ensure that they would not be publicized. Their efforts, however, were only partially successful. For example, there were public protests by various clergymen which led to the halt of the Nazi’s euthanasia program in August of 1941. These protests were obviously the result of the fact that many persons were aware that the Nazis were killing the mentally ill in special institutions. As far as the Jews were concerned, it was common knowledge in Germany that they had disappeared after having been sent to the East. It was not exactly clear to large segments of the German population what had happened to them. On the other hand, there were thousands upon thousands of Germans who participated in and/or witnessed the implementation of the “Final Solution,” either as members of the SS, the Einsatzgruppen, death camp or concentration camp guards, police in occupied Europe, or with the Wehrmacht.

The attitude of the local population towards the persecution and destruction of the Jews varied from zealous collaboration with the Nazis to actively assisting Jews. Therefore, generalizations are difficult to make. The situation also varied from country to country. In Eastern Europe, especially Poland, Russia, and the Baltic States, there was much more knowledge of the “Final Solution” because it was implemented in those areas. Elsewhere, the local population had less information on the details of the “Final Solution.”

Except for Denmark and Bulgaria, the Nazis found in the countries they occupied many locals who were willing to fully cooperate in the murder of the Jews. This was particularly true in Eastern Europe, where there was a long-standing tradition of virulent antisemitism, and where various national groups who were under Soviet domination – such as Latvians, Lithuanians, and Ukrainians – fostered hopes that the Germans would restore their independence. In several countries in Europe, there were local fascist movements which allied themselves with the Nazis and participated in anti-Jewish actions. Examples include the Iron Guard in Romania and the Arrow Guard in Slovakia. However, every country in Europe also had courageous individuals who risked their lives to save Jews. In several countries, there were groups which aided Jews, such as Joop Westerweel’s group in the Netherlands, Zegota in Poland, and the Assisi underground in Italy.

The various steps that the Nazis undertook prior to the “Final Solution” were all public and were reported in the press. Foreign correspondents commented on all the major anti-Jewish actions taken by the Nazis in Germany, Austria, and Czechoslovakia prior to World War II. Once the war began, obtaining information became more difficult but reports on the fate of the Jews were still being published.

Although the Nazis did not publicize the “Final Solution,” details began to filter out to the West less than one year after the systematic murder of the Jews was initiated. The first report which spoke of a plan for the mass murder of Jews was smuggled out of Poland by the Bund, a Jewish socialist political organization, and reached England in the spring of 1942. The details of this report reached the Allies from Vatican sources as well as from informants in Switzerland and the Polish underground. Eventually, the American Government confirmed the reports to Jewish leaders in late November 1942. They were publicized immediately thereafter. While the details were neither complete nor wholly accurate, the Allies were aware of most of what the Nazis had done to the Jews at a relatively early date.

The response of the Allies to the persecution and destruction of European Jewry was inadequate. An agency dedicated to saving the victims of Nazi persecution – the War Refugee Board – was formed only in January 1944. Prior to that date, there was little action. On December 17, 1942, the Allies issued a condemnation of Nazi atrocities against the Jews, but this was the only declaration made prior to 1944.

Moreover, there was no attempt to call upon the local population in Europe to refrain from assisting the Nazis in their systematic murder of the Jews. Even following the establishment of the War Refugee Board and the initiation of various rescue efforts, the Allies refused to bomb the death camp of Auschwitz and/or the railway lines leading to that camp. At the time, Allied aircrafts were bombing factories very close to the camp and were well aware of its existence and function

Other practical measures which were not taken concerned the refugee problem. Tens of thousands of Jews sought to enter the United States but were barred from doing so because of strict American immigration policies. Even the relatively small quotas of visas which existed were often not filled, although the number of applicants was usually many times the number of available places. Two conferences were held to solve the refugee problem – one in 1938 and the other in 1943 – but they did not contribute to a solution. At the 1938 conference, the countries invited by the United States and Great Britain were told that no country would be asked to change its immigration laws. Moreover, the British agreed to participate only if Palestine was not considered. At the 1943 conference, the delegates did not deal with the fate of those still in Nazi hands, but rather with those who had already escaped to neutral lands. Practical measures which could have aided in the rescue of Jews include the following:

• Permission for temporary admission of refugees
• Relaxation of stringent entry requirements
• Frequent and unequivocal warnings to Germany and local populations all over Europe that those participating in the annihilation of Jews would be held strictly accountable
• Bombing the death camp at Auschwitz

Knowledge of the persecution and destruction of European Jewry must be divided into two periods. The measures taken by the Nazis prior to the “Final Solution” were all taken publicly and reported in all the newspapers. Foreign correspondents reported on all major anti-Jewish actions taken by the Nazis in Germany, Austria, and Czechoslovakia prior to World War II. Once the war began, obtaining information became more difficult, but reports regarding the fate of the Jews were still being published..

Since the “Final Solution” was not publicized by the Nazis, it longer for information to reach the Free World. By December 1942, news of the mass murders and the plan to annihilate European Jewry was publicized in the Jewish press..

The response of the Jews in the Free World must also be divided into two periods, before and after some information on the “Final Solution” became known. Efforts during the early years of the Nazi regime concentrated on facilitating emigration from Germany – although some initially opposed emigration as a solution – and on combatting German antisemitism. Unfortunately, the views on how to best achieve these goals differed, and effective action was often hampered by the lack of internal unity. Moreover, very few Jewish leaders realized the scope of the danger. Following the news of the “Final Solution,” there were attempts to launch rescue missions via neutral states and to send aid to Jews under Nazi rule. These attempts, which were far from adequate, were further complicated by the government’s lack of assistance and obstruction. Additional attempts to achieve internal unity during this period also ended up failing.

The Nazis never spoke about the “Final Solution” in public. They made very attempt to fool the victims, prevent or minimize resistance, and ensure secrecy. Thus, deportees were always told that they were going to be “resettled,” and led to believe that conditions “in the East” – where they were being sent to – would be better than those in ghettos. Following arrival in certain concentration camps, the inmates were forced to write home about the wonderful conditions in their new place of residence. In addition, the idea that human beings – let alone the “civilized” Germans – could build camps with special apparatus for mass murder was incomprehensible at the time. Since German troops liberated the Jews from the Czar in World War I, Germans were regarded by many Jews as a liberal, civilized people. Escapees from the camps who did return to the ghetto frequently encountered disbelief when they related their experiences. Even Jews who had heard of the camps had difficulty believing reports of what the Nazis were doing there. To the extent that each of the Jewish communities in Europe was almost completely isolated, there was a limited number of places with available information. Thus, there is no doubt that many European Jews were not aware of the “Final Solution.” This fact was corroborated by German documents and survivor testimonies.

Various organizations attempted to facilitate the emigration of the Jews and of non-Jews who were persecuted as Jews. Among the most active were the Jewish Agency for Palestine, the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, HICEM, the Central British Fund for German Jewry, and the Reichsvertretung der Deutschen Juden – the Reich Representation of German Jews. Other non-Jewish groups included the League of Nations High Commission for Refugees, and the American Friends Service Committee. In addition, there was a “Transfer Agreement” between the Jewish Agency and the German government whereby immigrants to Palestine were allowed to transfer their funds to that country in conjunction with the import of German goods to Palestine. Other efforts focused on retraining prospective emigrants to increase the number of those eligible for visas, since some countries barred the entry of members of certain professions.

The United States and Great Britain convened a conference in 1938 at Evian, France, seeking a solution to the refugee problem. With the exception of the Dominican Republic, the nations assembled refused to change their stringent immigration regulations, which prevented large-scale Jewish emigration from Germany.

In 1939, the Intergovernmental Committee on Refugees, which had been established at the Evian Conference, initiated negotiations with leading German officials in an attempt to arrange for the relocation of a significant portion of German Jewry. However, these talks failed.

In addition, there were efforts to bring Jewish immigrants to Palestine illegally. These efforts began as early as July 1934, but were later halted until July 1938. Large-scale illegal immigration efforts resumed under the Mossad le-Aliya Bet, Revisionist Zionists, and private parties.

There were also attempts to facilitate the illegal entry of refugees to various countries in Latin America. These attempts were partially successful.

The key reason for the relatively low number of refugees leaving Europe prior to World War II was the stringent immigration policies adopted by the prospective host countries. For example, the United States limited the number of immigrants to 153,744 per year, divided by country of origin. Moreover, the entry requirements were so stringent that available quotas were often not filled. Most of the American public consistently opposed the entry of additional refugees. Other countries, particularly those in Latin America, adopted immigration policies that were similar or even more restrictive, which closed the doors to prospective immigrants from the Third Reich. Great Britain was somewhat more liberal than the United States but took measures to severely limit Jewish immigration to Palestine. In May 1939, the British issued a “White Paper” stipulating that only 75,000 Jewish immigrants would be allowed to enter Palestine over the course of the next five years. This decision prevented hundreds of thousands of Jews from escaping Europe.

The countries most able to accept large numbers of refugees consistently refused to open their gates. Although a solution to the refugee problem was the agenda of the Evian Conference, only the Dominican Republic was willing to approve large-scale immigration. The United States and Great Britain proposed resettlement havens in under-developed areas such as Guyana and the Philippines, but these were not suitable alternatives.

Two important factors should be noted. First, during the period prior to the outbreak of World War II, the Germans were in favor of Jewish emigration. At that time, there were no operative plans to kill the Jews. The goal was to induce them to leave, using force if necessary. Second, the attitude of German Jewry is also important. Many German Jews were initially reluctant to emigrate. The majority sought to leave only after Kristallnacht had taken place, on November 9-10, 1938. If they had more available destinations, more people would have emigrated out of Germany.

Hitler's ultimate goal in launching World War II was the establishment of an Aryan empire from Germany to the Urals. He considered this area the natural territory of the German people, an area to which they were entitled by right, the Lebensraum – Living Space – that Germany needed so badly. Hitler maintained that these areas were needed for the Aryan race to preserve itself and assure its dominance.

Hitler knew that by launching the war in the East the Nazis would have to deal with serious racial problems in view of the composition of the population in those areas. Thus, the Nazis had detailed plans for the subjugation of the Slavs, who would be reduced to serfdom status and whose primary function would be to serve as a source of cheap labor for Aryan farmers. Elements of the local population who were considered of higher racial stock would be taken to Germany where they would be raised as Aryans.

In Hitler's mind, the solution of the Jewish problem was also linked to the conquest of the eastern territories. These areas had large Jewish populations, and they would have to be dealt with accordingly. Even before any operative plan for mass annihilation of the Jews, it was clear to Hitler that some sort of comprehensive solution would have to be found. There was also talk of establishing a Jewish reservation either in Madagascar or near Lublin, Poland. When he made the decisive decision to invade the Soviet Union, Hitler also gave instructions to embark upon the “Final Solution,” the systematic murder of European Jewry.

Despite the difficult conditions to which Jews were subjected in Nazi-occupied Europe, many engaged in armed resistance against the Nazis. This resistance can be divided into three basic types of armed activities: ghetto revolts, resistance in concentration and death camps, and partisan warfare.

The Warsaw Ghetto Revolt, which lasted for about five weeks beginning on April 19, 1943, is probably the best-known example of armed Jewish resistance. Aside from the Warsaw Ghetto example, there were many ghetto revolts in which Jews fought against the Nazis.

Jewish inmates fought against the Nazis also in the death camps, concentration camps, and labor camps. Such revolts occurred on the following sites and dates:

• Treblinka, August 2, 1943.
• Babi Yar, September 29, 1943.
• Sobibór, October 14, 1943.
• Janówska, November 19, 1943, and
• Auschwitz, October 7, 1944.

Jewish partisan units were active in many areas, including Baranovichi, Minsk, Naliboki forest, and Vilna. Armed resistance efforts by Jews were not militarily overwhelming and did not play a significant role in the defeat of Nazi Germany. However, these acts of resistance did lead to the rescue of an undetermined number of Jews and Nazi casualties and damaged German property and self-esteem.

During World War II, the International Red Cross (IRC) did very little to aid the Jewish victims of Nazi persecution. IRC activities can be divided into three periods:

• September 1939, to June 22, 1941: the IRC confined its activities to sending food packages to those in distress in Nazi-occupied Europe. Packages were distributed in accordance with the directives of the German Red Cross. During this period, the IRC complied with the German contention that those in ghettos and camps constituted a threat to the security of the Reich and, therefore, were not allowed to receive aid from the IRC.
• June 22, 1941, to Summer 1944: despite numerous requests by Jewish organizations, the IRC refused to publicly protest the mass annihilation of Jews and non-Jews in the camps, or to intervene on their behalf. It maintained that any public action on behalf of those under Nazi rule would ultimately prove detrimental to their welfare. At the same time, the IRC attempted to send food parcels to those individuals whose addresses it possessed.
• Summer 1944, to May 1945: following intervention by such prominent figures as President Franklin Roosevelt and the King of Sweden, the IRC appealed to Miklós Horthy, Regent of Hungary, to stop the deportation of Hungarian Jews.

The IRC did insist that it be allowed to visit concentration camps, and a delegation did visit Theresienstadt, the “model ghetto” of Terezin. The IRC request came following the receipt of information about the harsh living conditions in the camp.

The IRC requested permission to investigate the situation, but the Germans only allowed the visit nine months after the request was submitted. This delay provided time for the Nazis to complete a “beautification” program, designed to fool the delegation into thinking that conditions at Terezin were quite good and that inmates were allowed to live out their lives in relative tranquility.

The visit, which took place on July 23, 1944, was followed by a favorable report on Terezin. The report was submitted to the members of the IRC. Jewish organizations vigorously protested the report, and demanded that another delegation visit the camp. Such a visit was not permitted until shortly before the end of the war. In reality, the majority of the ghettos residents were deported to the death camps where they were murdered.

Neither the Italians nor the Japanese cooperated with the Germans with regards to the “Final Solution.” With Germany’s encouragement, The Italian government did institute discriminatory legislation against Italian Jews. However, it refused to participate in the "Final Solution" and consistently refused to deport its Jewish residents. The Italian authorities also protected the Jews who resided in the Italian-occupied areas of France, Greece, and Yugoslavia, and did not allow these Jews to be deported. However, when the Germans overthrew the Badoglio government in 1943, the Jews of Italy and those under Italian protection in occupied areas were subject to the “Final Solution.”

The Japanese were also relatively tolerant toward the Jews in their country as well as in the areas they occupied. Despite pressure by their German allies urging them to take stringent measures against Jews, the Japanese refused to do so. Refugees were allowed to enter Japan until the spring of 1941, and Jews in Japanese-occupied China were treated well. In the summer and fall of 1941, refugees in Japan were transferred to Shanghai but no measures were taken against them until early 1943, when they were forced to move into the Hongkew Ghetto. While conditions were hardly satisfactory, they were far superior to those in the ghettos under German control.

When the Nazis rose to power, the head of the Catholic Church was Pope Pius XI. Although he stated that the myths of “race” and “blood” were contrary to Christian teaching, Pius XI neither mentioned nor criticized antisemitism. His successor, Pius XII, was a Germanophile who maintained his neutrality throughout the course of World War II. As early as 1942 the Vatican received detailed information on the murder of Jews in concentration camps, but the Pope confined his public statements to expressions of sympathy for the victims of injustice and to calls for a more humane conduct of the war.

Despite the lack of response by Pope Pius XII, several papal nuncios played an important role in rescue efforts, particularly the nuncios in Hungary, Romania, Slovakia, and Turkey. It is not clear to what extent they operated upon instructions from the Vatican. In Germany, the Catholic Church did not oppose the Nazis’ antisemitic campaign. State authorities received Church records, which assisted in the detection of people of Jewish origin. Efforts to aid the persecuted were confined to Catholic non-Aryans. While Catholic clergymen protested the Nazi euthanasia program, only few spoke out against the murder of the Jews.

In Western Europe, Catholic clergy spoke out publicly against the persecution of the Jews and actively aided the rescue of Jews. In Eastern Europe, however, Catholic clergy was generally more reluctant to help. Many Catholic priests actively cooperated with the Germans.

The response of Protestant and Eastern Orthodox churches varied. In Germany, for example, Nazi supporters within Protestant churches complied with the anti-Jewish legislation and even excluded Christians of Jewish origin from membership.

In occupied Europe, the position of the Protestant churches varied. In several countries – Denmark, France, the Netherlands, and Norway – local churches and/or leading clergymen issued public protests when the Nazis began deporting Jews. In other countries – Bulgaria, Greece, and Yugoslavia – some Orthodox church leaders intervened on behalf of the Jews. In certain cases, they took steps that led to the rescue of many Jews.

We do not know the exact number of Nazi criminals since the available documentation is incomplete. The Nazis themselves destroyed many incriminating documents and there are still many criminals who are unidentified and/or unindicted.

Those who committed war crimes include individuals who initiated, planned, and directed the killing operations as well as those with whose knowledge, agreement, and passive participation in the murder of European Jewry.

Those who actually implemented the “Final Solution” include the leaders of Nazi Germany, the heads of the Nazi Party, and the Reich Security Main Office. Hundreds of thousands of members of the Gestapo, the SS, the Einsatzgruppen, the police, and the armed forces are also included, as well as the bureaucrats who were involved in the persecution and destruction of European Jewry. In addition, there were thousands of individuals throughout occupied Europe who cooperated with the Nazis in killing Jews and other innocent civilians.

We do not have complete statistics on the number of criminals brought to justice, but the number is certainly far less than the number of individuals involved in the “Final Solution.” The leaders of the Third Reich who were caught by the Allies, were tried by the International Military Tribunal in Nuremberg from November 20, 1945, to October 1, 1946. Afterwards, the Allied occupation authorities continued to try Nazis, with the most significant trials – the Nuremberg Trials – held in the American zone. A total of 5,025 Nazi criminals were convicted between 1945-1949 in the American, British and French zones, while an unspecified number of people were tried in the Soviet zone. In addition, the United Nations War Crimes Commission prepared lists of war criminals who were later tried by the judicial authorities of Allied countries and those countries under Nazi rule during the war. The latter countries have conducted a large number of trials regarding crimes committed in their lands. The Polish tribunals, for example, tried approximately 40,000 persons, and large numbers of criminals were tried in other countries. About 80,000 Germans were convicted for committing crimes against humanity, while the number of local collaborators is in the tens of thousands. Special mention should be made of Simon Wiesenthal, whose activities led to the capture of over 1,000 Nazi criminals.

German courts began to function as early as 1945. By 1969, almost 80,000 Germans had been investigated and over 6,000 had been convicted. In 1958, the Federal Republic of Germany, or, West Germany, established a special agency to aid in the investigation of crimes committed by Germans outside of Germany. Since its establishment, the agency was involved in hundreds of major investigations. However, trials of war criminals in West Germany often ended with relatively lenient sentences for the crimes committed. Some trials were also conducted in the former German Democratic Republic – East Germany – yet no statistics exist as to the number of those convicted or the extent of their sentences.