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The Nazis began experimenting with poison gas for the purpose of mass murder in late 1939 with...
December 17, 1942. On this date, the Allied nations officially declared that German authorities were engaging in the mass murder of European Jews.
Reinhard Heydrich was chief of the Reich Security Main Office and one of the main architects of the "Final Solution."
Reinhard Heydrich was chief of the Reich Security Main Office and one of the main architects of the "Final Solution."
Heinrich Himmler was Reich Leader of the SS and one of the most powerful men in Nazi Germany. He was instrumental to coordinating the "Final Solution," the plan to annihilate the Jews of Europe.
January 20, 1942. On this date, Reinhard Heydrich presented plans for the "Final Solution to the Jewish Question" at the Wannsee Conference.
Persecution of Jews and other targeted groups was already government policy in Germany once the Nazis were in power in 1933. But following the German invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939, war provided the opportunity and motivation for more ext...
Alfred Rosenberg was one of the most influential Nazi ideologues. He held several positions in the Nazi Party over the course of his career. During World War II, Rosenberg played key roles in the looting of art and the implementation of the “Final S...
When Nazi Party leader Adolf Hitler became German chancellor on January 30, 1933, no step-by-step blueprint for the genocide of Jews as a “race” existed. After the outbreak of World War II, millions of Jews came und...
Hermann Göring was head of the German air force. He was one of 22 major war criminals tried by the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg. Here, Göring testifies about his order of July 31, 1941, authorizing Reinhard Heydrich, head of the Reich Security Main Office, to plan a so-called "solution to the Jewish question in Europe." The Tribunal found Göring guilty on all counts and sentenced him to death. Göring committed suicide shortly before his execution was to take place.
View an animated map showing key events in the history of World War II and the Holocaust.
Killing centers (also referred to as "extermination camps" or "death camps") were designed to carry out genocide. Between 1941 and 1945, the Nazis established five killing centers in German-occupied Poland—Chelmno, Belzec, Sobibor, Treblinka, and Auschwitz-Birkenau (part of the Auschwitz camp complex). Chelmno and Auschwitz were established in areas annexed to Germany in 1939. The other camps (Belzec, Sobibor, and Treblinka) were established in the General Government (an administrative unit of occupied…
The German Foreign Office played an integral role in Nazi anti-Jewish policies and the Holocaust. Learn more about the office's responsibilities during that time.
Learn more about the Holocaust Encyclopedia’s key terms and individuals in the Nazi judicial system.
The “Final Solution” was perpetrated by the SS along with other Nazi institutions and professionals. Learn more about key perpetrators of the Holocaust.
The European rail network played a crucial role in the implementation of the Final Solution. Millions were deported by rail to killing centers and other sites.
In August 1941, Kamenets-Podolsk became the site of a mass killing of Jews. This was one of the first large-scale mass murders of the Final Solution.
Key principles, strategies, and people in the history of Nazi propaganda during the Nazi rise to power, the Third Reich, "Final Solution," and World War II.
Explore key themes, concepts, and topics related to the history of the Holocaust. Learn about the Nazi persecution of Jews and the implementation of the "Final Solution."
Berlin was home to Germany’s largest Jewish community. It was also the capital of the Third Reich and the center for the planning of the "Final Solution."
Key dates in the history of the SS (Schutzstaffel; Protection Squadrons), charged with the leadership of the “Final Solution,” the murder of European Jews.
The Nazi Ministry of Propaganda exploited motion pictures as a medium to spread antisemitic messages. Learn about one such film, Der ewige Jude.
Each of Germany’s six European Axis allies participated in the “Final Solution” by murdering Jews or by transferring them to German custody. Learn more.
Forced labor played a crucial role in the wartime German economy. Many forced laborers died as the result of brutal treatment, disease, and starvation.
The voyage of the St. Louis, a German ocean liner, dramatically highlights the difficulties faced by many people trying to escape Nazi terror. Learn more.
The largest of its kind, the Auschwitz camp complex was essential to implementing the Nazi plan for the “Final Solution.” Learn about survivors’ experiences there in the following oral histories.
Learn about the establishment of the Theresienstadt camp/ghetto, which served multiple purposes from 1941-45 and had an important propaganda function for the Germans.
Survivor Elie Wiesel devoted his life to educating the world about the Holocaust. Learn about key events in the world and his life from 1928–1951.
Adolf Eichmann, a pivotal figure in the implementation of the “Final Solution,” was put on trial in Jerusalem, Israel, in 1961. Learn about the trial and its legacies.
Adolf Eichmann was a key figure in implementing the “Final Solution,” the Nazi plan to kill Europe's Jews. Learn more through key dates and events.
Adolf Hitler came to power with the goal of establishing a new racial order in Europe dominated by the German “master race.” This goal drove Nazi foreign policy. Learn more
While some European Jews survived the Holocaust by hiding or escaping, others were rescued by non-Jews. Learn more about these acts of resistance.
Learn more about Rome, Italy during the German occupation between 1943-1944 and the fate of the Jews living there.
Holocaust survivor Simon Wiesenthal dedicated his life to raising public awareness of the need to hunt and prosecute Nazis who had evaded justice.
How did the United States respond to the rise of the Nazis in 1930s Germany? What did the US government know about the Nazi persecution of Jews and the “Final Solution”? Learn more
Learn more about Theresienstadt’s function as a transit camp and the deportation of Czech Jews during World War II.
The presentation of evidence about defendant Ernst Kaltenbrunner at the International Military Tribunal trial of war criminals at Nuremberg. Germany, January 2, 1946. Ernst Kaltenbrunner (1903–1946) was Chief of the Reich Security Main Office (RSHA) and later Chief of the Security Police. In this second position, Kaltenbrunner controlled the Gestapo (German Secret State Police), Criminal Police, and Security Service (SD). He was a prime figure in the “Final Solution” in the last years of the war.
Learn about the Jewish population of Denmark, the German occupation, and resistance and rescue in Denmark during WWII and the Holocaust.
Recommended resources, topics, context, rationale, and critical thinking questions if you have limited time to teach about the Holocaust.
The Order Police (Ordnungspolizei, Orpo) were Nazi Germany’s uniformed police forces. They became perpetrators of horrific crimes and played a significant role in the Holocaust.
The SS (Schutzstaffel) was the elite guard of the Nazi regime and a virtual state within the Third Reich.
In July 1938, 32 nations met in Evian, France, to discuss immigration policies for Jewish refugees fleeing Nazi Germany. Learn how these discussions impacted Jewish lives.
Antisemitism: hostility toward or hatred of Jews as a religious or ethnic group, often accompanied by social, economic, or political discrimination. Appellplatz: German word for roll call square where prisoners were forced to assemble. Aryan: Term used in Nazi Germany to refer to non-Jewish and non-Roma (Gypsy) Caucasians. Northern Europeans with especially "Nordic" features such as blonde hair and blue eyes were considered by so-called race scientists to be the most superior of Aryans, members of a…
Charged with managing the mass deportation of Jews to ghettos and killing centers, Adolf Eichmann was a key figure in the "Final Solution."
To perpetrate the Holocaust, Nazi Germany relied on the help of allies and collaborators from across Europe, including governments, institutions, and individuals.
The SS was the elite guard of the Nazi regime and became a virtual state within a state in Nazi Germany. Learn about its role in carrying out Nazi policies.
Karl Höcker’s album shows him in close contact to the main perpetrators at Auschwitz-Birkenau. Learn about his 1963 trial and the significance of his album.
Groups of prisoners known as Sonderkommandos were forced to perform a variety of duties in the Nazi camp system, including in the gas chambers and crematoria.
German authorities established the Vittel internment camp in occupied France in 1941. It belonged to the complex of POW camps designated Frontstalag 194.
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