10 Questions
What percentage of Europe's Jewish population was killed during the Holocaust?
Two-thirds
What racial characteristics did the Nazis attribute to the so-called Aryan master race?
Tall, with light brown or blonde hair and blue or light-coloured eyes
Which group was considered ‘life unworthy of life’ by Hitler?
Criminals, homosexuals, the mentally ill, gypsies, and Jews
Which methods did the Nazis use to pursue their anti-Semitic beliefs after coming to power in 1933?
Using the law and propaganda
The Holocaust is also known by which other term?
The Shoah
According to Nazi beliefs, which group was NOT considered part of the 'untermenschen'?
Germans
What did Nazi schools teach as scientific ‘fact’?
Racial hierarchy beliefs
Who did the Nazis primarily blame for Germany’s economic hardships?
The Jewish population
What was one of the main goals of Nazi racial beliefs?
Regenerating the so-called master race
Which of the following was NOT included in the Nazis' idea of groups lower still than sub-humans?
Doctors
Study Notes
The Holocaust
- The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, resulted in the killing of over six million Jewish men, women, and children, equivalent to two-thirds of Europe's Jewish population, during World War II.
- The Nazi Party had denied Jews their rights as citizens and humans, and made them social outcasts before the Holocaust.
Nazi Racial Hierarchy
- The Nazis believed in a hierarchy of racial groups, with the Aryan master race (characterized by tall, light brown or blonde hair, and blue or light-colored eyes) at the top.
- Slavic peoples (e.g. Russians, Poles, and Serbs) were considered sub-humans, useful only as slave labor.
- Lower still were those labeled 'life unworthy of life', including criminals, homosexuals, the mentally ill, gypsies, and especially Jews.
- Schools taught these racial beliefs as scientific 'fact'.
Anti-Semitic Policies
- From 1933, the Nazis used the law and propaganda to pursue their anti-Semitic beliefs, including:
- Enforcing a national boycott of Jewish businesses marked with a Star of David emblem.
- Dismissing Jews from the civil service (1933).
- Limiting Jews' access to schools and universities (1933).
- Preventing Jewish lawyers from working within the legal system (1933) and Jewish doctors from obtaining medical insurance (1934).
- Excluding Jews from German citizenship under the 1935 Nuremberg Laws.
- Denying Jews their property rights (from 1937).
- Organizing Kristallnacht, a violent attack on Jews and their property (November 1938).
Quiz about the Holocaust, Nazi Party's racial hierarchy, and the persecution of Jews during World War II.
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