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Rallying the Nation

The 30th Infantry Division during World War II

In 1985, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and the US Army's Center of Military History began a program to honor US Army divisions that took part in the liberation of Nazi camps. To date, 36 divisions, including the 30th Infantry Division, have been recognized as liberating units.

The Armenian Genocide (1915-16): Overview

The Role of German Clergy and Church Leaders

Persecution of Jews and other groups was not solely the result of measures originating with Hitler and other Nazi zealots. Nazi leaders required the active help or cooperation of professionals working in diverse fields who in many instances were not convinced Nazis. Church leaders and other members of the conservative elite who were in a position to influence public opinion were all but silent regarding the persecution of Jews.

Allied delegates in the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles

Allied delegates in the Hall of Mirrors at the palace of Versailles witness the German delegation's acceptance of the terms of the Treaty of Versailles. The treaty formally ended World War I. Versailles, France, June 28, 1919.

Insignia of the 89th Infantry Division

Insignia of the 89th Infantry Division. The 89th Infantry Division's nickname, the "Rolling W," is based on the division's insignia. Created during World War I, this insignia utilized a letter "M" inside a wheel. When the wheel turns, the "M" becomes a "W." The letters "MW" signify the mid-west origin of the troops who formed the 89th during World War I. The division was also known as the "Middle West" division, another variation on its origin.

Germany, 1933

When Adolf Hitler came to power in January 1933, Germany was potentially one of the strongest powers in Europe. Hitler was determined to overturn the remaining military and territorial provisions of the Treaty of Versailles, which had followed World War I. He aimed to include German-speaking people in the Reich as a preliminary step toward the restoration of German power and the creation of a German empire in Europe. Large numbers of German-speaking people lived in Austria, Czechoslovakia, and Poland. Within 10 years of Hitler's appointment as chancellor, Austria was incorporated into Germany, Czechoslovakia was partitioned, and Poland was invaded by German forces, unleashing World War II.

The Dissolution of the Ottoman Empire, 1807-1924

Founded by ethnic Turks in 1299, the Ottoman Empire took its name from Osman I, the leader of what was initially a small principality in northwestern Anatolia (Asia Minor). Over the course of the next six centuries, Ottoman rule expanded across much of the Mediterranean Basin. At the height of its power under Suleiman the Magnificent (1494-1566), the Ottoman Empire represented a vast multilingual and multiethnic realm encompassing southeastern Europe, North and East Africa, Western Asia, and the Caucasus. During a period of decline, the Empire lost much of its territory in southeastern Europe and the Balkans. After World War I, the Ottoman Empire collapsed, leading to the establishment of the modern Republic of Turkey in 1923 and to the creation of other new states in the Middle East.

Painting entitled “Gassed,” By John Singer Sargent, 1919

World War I (1914–18) saw the first use of poison gas as a weapon of war. In this oil painting, John Singer Sargent depicted the aftermath of a mustard gas attack on British soldiers during a battle in August 1918. A line of soldiers, with bandaged eyes injured by the gas, hold on to one another as they are led to medical treatment. Around them are rows of other soldiers injured by the effects of the mustard gas, which could cause injuries such as burns and temporary blindness. © IWM (Art.IWM ART 1460)  

American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee and Refugee Aid

The Armenian Genocide (1915-16): In Depth

The Police in the Weimar Republic

In 1918, Germany transitioned from a semi-authoritarian empire to the Weimar Republic, a democracy that protected individual rights and limited police power. During the Weimar Republic, police struggled to respond to a rise in crime, political violence, and high unemployment. The Nazis promised to fix these problems, which helped policemen to eventually accept the new Nazi regime in 1933.

Sighet

Sighet (known today as Sighetu Marmatiei), a town in Transylvania, was part of Romania following World War I. The town was part of Hungary between 1940 and 1944. Sighet is well known as the birthplace of Elie Wiesel (1928-2016) noted Holocaust survivor and author of Night. Wiesel, his family, and the rest of the Jews of Sighet were deported from the town to Auschwitz in May 1944.

Adolf Hitler: Key Dates

Under Adolf Hitler's leadership and imbued with his racially motivated ideology, the Nazi regime was responsible for the mass murder of 6 million Jews and millions of other victims.

Fascism

Fascism is a far-right political philosophy, or theory of government, that emerged in the early twentieth century. Fascism prioritizes the nation over the individual, who exists to serve the nation. While fascist movements could be found in almost every country following World War I, fascism was most successful in Italy and Germany.

Jewish Community Life in Munkacs

The 84th Infantry Division during World War II

In 1985, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and the US Army's Center of Military History began a program to honor US Army divisions that took part in the liberation of Nazi camps. To date, 36 divisions, including the 84th Infantry Division, have been recognized as liberating units.

The 42nd Infantry Division during World War II

As Allied troops moved across Europe in a series of offensives against Nazi Germany, they found tens of thousands of concentration camp prisoners in deplorable conditions. Malnutrition and disease were rampant, and corpses lay unburied. The soldiers reacted in shock and disbelief to the evidence of Nazi atrocities. In addition to burying the dead, the Allied forces attempted to help and comfort the survivors with food, clothing and medical assistance.

Sarah Judelowitz

Sarah, born Sarah Gamper, was one of four children born to a Jewish family in the Baltic port city of Liepaja. Her parents owned a general store there. At the outbreak of World War I, Sarah was studying piano at a conservatory in Russia. During World War I, she remained there to serve as a nurse. She returned to Liepaja, and after marrying Herman Judelowitz in 1920, settled there.

1933-39: Sarah and Herman operated a shoe store in the front of their small shoe workshop. By 1935 they had three daughters, Fanny, Jenny and Liebele. Sarah and Herman were Zionists and they often helped collect money for Jewish settlers to buy land in Palestine.

1940-43: In June 1941 the Germans reached Latvia and occupied Liepaja. That July, Herman was murdered by the Germans in a nearby village. For two years, Sarah and her daughters managed to avoid deportation because Fanny had protected status as a nurse. But in October 1943 they were deported to Kaiserwald, near Riga. On arriving, the deportees were divided--those able to work on one side, the infirm and the young on the other. Eight-year-old Liebele was sent with the young. Sarah would not abandon Liebele and followed.

Sarah and Liebele were never heard from again.

German territorial losses, Treaty of Versailles, 1919

Germany lost World War I. In the 1919 Treaty of Versailles, the victorious powers (the United States, Great Britain, France, and other allied states) imposed punitive territorial, military, and economic provisions on defeated Germany. In the west, Germany returned Alsace-Lorraine to France. It had been seized by Germany more than 40 years earlier. Further, Belgium received Eupen and Malmedy; the industrial Saar region was placed under the administration of the League of Nations for 15 years; and Denmark received Northern Schleswig. Finally, the Rhineland was demilitarized; that is, no German military forces or fortifications were permitted there. In the east, Poland received parts of West Prussia and Silesia from Germany. In addition, Czechoslovakia received the Hultschin district from Germany; the largely German city of Danzig became a free city under the protection of the League of Nations; and Memel, a small strip of territory in East Prussia along the Baltic Sea, was ultimately placed under Lithuanian control. Outside Europe, Germany lost all its colonies. In sum, Germany forfeited 13 percent of its European territory (more than 27,000 square miles) and one-tenth of its population (between 6.5 and 7 million people).

Artist on the Blacklist: Ludwig Meidner

In 1933, Nazi students at more than 30 German universities pillaged libraries in search of books they considered to be "un-German." Among the writings thrown onto to the flames were political texts, literature, and even art books by or about such noted figures as Ludwig Meidner.

Yitzhak Gitterman

John Dos Passos

In 1933, Nazi students at more than 30 German universities pillaged libraries in search of books they considered to be "un-German." Among the literary and political writings they threw into the flames were the works of John Dos Passos.

Stefan Zweig

In 1933, Nazi students at more than 30 German universities pillaged libraries in search of books they considered to be "un-German." Among the literary and political writings they threw into the flames were the works of Stefan Zweig. 

Russian Revolution, 1917