We would like to thank Crown Family Philanthropies and the Abe and Ida Cooper Foundation for supporting the ongoing work to create content and resources for the Holocaust Encyclopedia. View the list of all donors.
World War I (1914–18) marked the first great international conflict of the twentieth century. The trauma of the war would profoundly shape the attitudes and actions of both leaders and ordinary people during the Holocaust. The impact of the conflict and its divisive peace would echo in the decades to come, giving rise to a second world war and genocide committed under its cover.
Explore the ID Cards to learn more about personal experiences during the Holocaust
Find articles, photos, maps, films, and more listed alphabetically
How and why was the Holocaust possible?
![Stretcher bearers carry a wounded soldier during the Battle of the Somme. [LCID: 2453747]](https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/images/thumb/647ba4e2-8fc6-4340-9d0c-21dd535eaf42.jpg.pagespeed.ce.UQQg9xvh9e.jpg)
![Illustration from an antisemitic children's primer. [LCID: 10640c]](https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/images/thumb/4c6348d1-d3e6-4be3-aae5-b12761f4f20a.jpg.pagespeed.ce.ZYVA_641w6.jpg)
![Adolf Hitler stands with an SA unit during a Nazi parade in Weimar [LCID: 02286]](https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/images/thumb/1e5a14c5-9521-4637-845a-55f423097328.jpg.pagespeed.ce.nXwncuV_1R.jpg)
![American Olympic runner Jesse Owens and other Olympic athletes compete in the twelfth heat of the first trial of the 100m dash. [LCID: 14523a]](https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/images/thumb/0623da87-2aa7-4e7b-bec6-b2285030315e.jpg.pagespeed.ce.d8RMmEuUBW.jpg)
![Nazi foreign minister Joachim von Ribbentrop (left), Soviet leader Joseph Stalin (center), and Soviet foreign minister Viacheslav ... [LCID: 91391]](https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/images/thumb/7e60e917-99fa-4279-bc6b-07a63e679f9f.jpg.pagespeed.ce.aYqt_q0zpf.jpg)
