Holocaust Education and Archive Research TeamHolocaust Education and Archive Research TeamHolocaust Education website with indepth text and graphics on all aspects of the Holocaust Articles
The Lodz Ghetto
2007-10-17 11:04:00 Mendel Grossman The Lodz Ghetto Photographer Mendel Grossman with his camera in the Lodz Ghetto Mendel Grossman was a Jewish photographer in the Lodz (Litzmannstadt) ghetto, born in 1913. He was a slim man of less than average height with sloping shoulders, his coat hanging on him as if it were not cut to his size, even his shoes appearing too large for him. His eyes expressed goodness, a clever smile played on his lips, his steps were measured and he always carried a stuffed briefcase. That was Mendel Grossman, a young man of a Hasidic family, the type of a former Talmudic student who had left the straight and narrow path. He was avid for knowledge, a lover of literature, the theatre and the arts, a painter, a sculptor, and also an amateur photographer who believed that photography was an art. His photographs flowers, still-life, landscapes, street scenes, portraits, taken against the background of clouds, were works of art filled with expression, leaving strong impressions...
Einsatzgruppen
2007-10-15 12:56:00 The Einsatzgrϋppen GalleryImages of Einsatzgruppen Actions and post war trials www.holocaustresearchproject.org [Next] [Last] A German police officer shoots Jewish women still alive after a mass execution of Jews from the Mizocz ghetto480 X 30551 KB A German policeman prepares to complete a mass execution by shooting two Jewish children, who were shot with the others in connection with the liquidation of the Mizocz ghetto480 X 31046 KB A group of Jewish women and children undress prior to their execution by Latvian collaborators480 X 33831 KB See all the images HERE
The Horrors of Bergen Belsen
2007-10-11 14:03:00 Bergen - Belsen Sign at the former site of Bergen - Belsen Bergen ? Belsen was a concentration camp located in Lower Saxony, northern Germany, near the city of Celle. The camp was officially established in April 1943 as an Aufenthaltslager (detention camp) for holding persons who were designated for exchange with German nationals in Allied countries whom the Germans wanted to repatriate. A prisoner-of- war camp on the site, Stalag 311, was partially cleared to make room for the new camp. From its inception Bergen- Belsen came under the SS-WVHA, which was in charge of the administration of concentration camps. Josef Kramer The first commandant of Bergen ?Belsen was SS-Obersturmbannfuhrer Adolf Haas, who was killed in action on 31 March 1945, he was succeeded by SS-Hauptsturmfuhrer Josef Kramer who had served in a number of concentration camps including Dachau, Mauthausen, and was Commandant in Birkenau and Natzweiler.Read more HEREThe HolocaustResearc... More About: The Horrors , Berg
Himmler and the Death Squads
2007-10-10 11:31:00 Himmler in Minsk Learn more about the Minsk Ghetto [Here] Himmler visits a POW camp in Minsk SS – Obergruppenfuhrer Karl Wolff who served as Himmler’s adjutant recalled that during a trip to Minsk on 15 August 1941 recalled that Himmler “asked to see a shooting operation,” and Einsatzgruppe B Commander Nebe arranged such an execution of 100 people, 98 men and 2 women. Wolff was present at this action and he remembered how Himmler, just before the firing was to begin, walked up to a doomed man and put a few questions to him. Are you a Jew? & nbsp; ; &nbs p; &nb sp; &n bsp; & nbsp; ; &nb. .. More About: Death
The HolocaustResearchProject
2007-10-09 13:24:00 365 Days with H.E.A.R.T The one year anniversary of the Holo caustResearchProject Over the past century the date of "October 8" has marked significant events in history that have managed a lasting impact on the world stage, either for good, or for bad. On that same day in 1939, the armed forces of Germany's "Third Reich" annexed Western Poland, sparking World War II and thereby enabling Adolf Hitler's much prophesied war and subsequent genocide against the Jews that later became known as the Holocaust. Millions of souls were lost during those years of Nazi tyranny, and their passing has made the world a poorer place. But what made the Holocaust unique is that an entire bureaucratic apparatus was created to define who and what the Jews were, where they should live or be forced to live, and eventually, to see that they would live no more. Read more HEREThe HolocaustResearchProject More About: Loca
Nazi racial distinctions
2007-10-09 07:17:00 Mischlinge Nazi efforts to safeguard the "purity of race" by codifying racial distinctions affected Jewish life in Germany at almost every turn. According to most definitions, a Jew is either born into the Jewish people, or becomes one through religious conversion. The debate centers around some of the following questions: Mixed parentage debate - tries to identify when people with mixed parentage should be considered Jewish, and when they should not be. Conversion debate - centers around the process of religious conversion in an attempt to specify which conversions to Judaism should be considered valid, and which should not. Life circumstances debate - focuses on whether people's actions (such as conversion to a different religion) or circumstances in their lives (such as being unaware of Jewish parentage) affect their status as a Jew. Mishlinge determined to be full Jews As defined by the Nuremberg laws in 1935, a Jew was somebody who had at least three Jewish... More About: Racial
Nazi Racial Laws
2007-10-09 07:15:00 The Nrnberg Laws In 1933, although less than 1% of the German population was Jewish. Jews contributed significantly to German culture. Many served in World War I and thought of themselves as Germans first and Jews second. They considered Germany a home; their passionate ties and blind loyalty to Germany caused them to be blind to the harsh reality of anti-Semitic measures The Nrnberg Laws were the first attempt by the Nazi government to define the Jews and as such, play a pivotal role in the process that lead to their annihilation. The Laws make Headlines A conference of ministers was held on August 20, 1935, to discuss the economic effects of Party actions against Jews. Adolf Wagner, the Party representative at the conference, argued that such actions would cease, once the government decided on a firm policy against the Jews.Dr. Schacht, the Economics Minister, criticized arbitrary behavior by Party members as this inhibited his policy... More About: Racial
Wannsee
2007-10-09 07:13:00 The Wannsee Conference The House at # 56-58 Am Grossen Wannsee On January 20, 1942, fifteen high-ranking Nazi party and German government leaders gathered for an important meeting. The meeting or conference (as it came to be known), was organized by Adolf Eichmann (SS-Sturmbannf?hrer), at the order of Reinhard Heydrich, Chief of the German State Police and of the SD ("Sicherheitsdienst", "Security Service of the SS"). ; &nbs p; Read more HERE
Biography
2007-10-03 11:16:00 Jrgen Stroop Jrgen Stroop The son of a policeman, Josef Stroop, was born on 26 September 1895 in Detmold, Germany, but he later changed his name in honour of his deceased son in 1941. During World War One Stroop served in several infantry regiments at the front and won an Iron Cross 2nd Class. He was also wounded in action. Stroop joined the SS on 1 July 1932 and received SS number 44611, he was admitted into the Nazi Party shortly thereafter on 1 September 1932. Stroop was promoted to SS-Hauptsturmfuhrer on 8 March 1934, to SS- Sturmbannfuhrer on 20 April 1935 and to SS-Obersturmbannfuhrer on 20 April 1936. During the 1930?s he attended various leadership courses and commanded several General SS units in Germany proper. He was promoted to SS-Standartenfuhrer on 12 September 1937 and to SS-Oberfuhrer on 10 September 1939. From 7 July to 15 September 1941 Jurgen Stroop served in combat on the eastern front with the 3rd SS Totenkopf Infantry Regimen... More About: Biography
Neuengamme
2007-10-01 11:09:00 Neuengamme Concentration Camp ; &nbs p; &nb sp; &n bsp; & nbsp; ; &nbs p; &nb sp; SS staff on parade at Neuengamme Neuengamme concentration camp was situated in the outskirts of Hamburg, Germany. Initially, Neuengamme was an annex of the Sachsenhausen concentration camp, the first group of prisoners arrived at Neuengamme on 13 December 1938, for the task of constructing the camp. SS- Obersturmbannfuhrer Martin Weiss and SS- Obersturmbannfuhrer Max Pauly served as Commandants, Weiss served as Commandant from 1940 to 1942, and Pauly from 1942 until 1945. Some of the more prominent SS Concentration Camp perso...
Majdanek
2007-09-28 13:08:00 Majdanek Concentration Camp (a.k.a. KL Lublin) Learn about the camp at Majdanek HERE & nbsp; ; &nbs p; &nb sp; &n bsp; & nbsp; ; &nbs p; The HolocaustResearchProject
Factories of Death
2007-09-28 08:26:00 Sobibor Death Camp Globocnik at Sobibor The Sobibor extermination camp was located near Sobibor village, in the eastern part of the Lublin district of Poland, close to the Chelm - Wlodawa railway line. The Bug River (5 km away) today forms the border with the Ukraine. In 1942 it was the border between the Generalgouvernement and the Reichskommissariat Ukraine. The area was swampy and is today as densely wooded as it was then. The camp was the second death camp to be constructed as part of the Aktion Reinhard programme, and was built on similar lines to Belzec (the first Aktion Reinhard camp), following the lessons learned there. In the early months of 1942 after a visit by a small aircraft that circled over the village, a train arrived at Sobibor. Two SS officers disembarked, construction engineers from the SS-Zentralbauleitung in Zamosc. They were Richard Thomalla, the construction expert for Aktion Reinhard, and construction supervisor Moser from Chelm. R... More About: Actor
Ravensbrucke
2007-09-27 11:00:00 Ravensbrucke Concentration Camp The gate at Ravensbrucke Ravensbrucke was a concentration camp near the village of Ravensbrucke on the Havel River, two thirds of a mile from the Furstenberg railway station and fifty-six miles north of Berlin. On 15 May 1939 a concentration camp for women was opened there, and on 18 May, 867 female prisoners were transferred there from the Nazi concentration camp at Lichtenburg, together with the camp commandant SS- Hauptsturmfuhrer Max Kogel. Kogel remained in this post until the summer of 1942 when he was replaced by SS-Hauptsurmfuhrer Fritz Suhren, who was the commandant until the liberation of the camp in May 1945. The prisoners? numbers began with 1,416, since a total of 1,415 prisoners had been transferred from Lichtenburg. The camp structure was similar to that of other Nazi concentration camps, with 150 female supervisors added to the men who served as guards and held administrative. Read mor... More About: Ravens
Propaganda
2007-09-27 08:20:00 Nazi Prop aganda "Propaganda attempts to force a doctrine on the whole people... Propaganda works on the general public from the standpoint of an idea and makes them ripe for the victory of this idea." Adolf Hitler wrote these words in his book Mein Kampf (1926), in which he first advocated the use of propaganda to spread the ideals of National Socialism--among them racism, anti-Semitism, and anti-Bolshevism. "The function of propaganda is to attract supporters, the function of organization to win members... Propaganda works on the general public from the standpoint of an idea and makes them ripe for the victory of this idea...." - Adolf Hitler, 1924 At the core of the Holocaust we find modern anti-Semitism, the current version of Jew Hatred - that same phenomenon which appeared throughout the centuries, perhaps finding its most blatant manifestation with the medieval Church. The modern German anti-Semitism was based on racial ideology which stated that the Jews were sub-...
OSR's
2007-09-26 12:24:00 Einsatzgruppen Operational Situation Reports [OSR's] The Ereignismeldungen UdSSR (morning reports) were initiated on June 23, 1941, and terminated with No. 195 on April 24, 1943. The Operational Situation Reports are a detailed account of Einsatzgruppen activity during this time frame. The original reports were sent to the National Archives in Washington D.C after the Nuremberg War Crimes Trials. Microfilm of all the of all the original reports remain in the National Archives in Washington and will be published here along side the translated text over the ensuing months. Translations of all reports provided by Hermann Feuer ; Read more HEREThe HolocaustResearchProject More About: Einsatzgruppen
Belzec
2007-09-25 22:03:00 ESCAPE FROM BELZEC; SAVED BY A PAIR OF HEELSByJulian CohenIncorporating the Narrative of Hanna Cohen (Szper),Transcribed and Translated from the Polish Hanna & Julian 1947Read more HERE & nbsp; ; &nbs p; &nb sp; &n bsp; & nbsp; ; &nbs p; &nb sp; &n bsp; & nbsp; ;The HolocaustResearchProject
Treblinka
2007-09-25 22:01:00 Franciszek Zabecki ? The Station Master at Treblinka Eyewitness to the Revolt ? 2 August 1943 Franciszek Zabecki Station Master "Treblinka" (with phone) Observing from the railway station in Treblinka on a hot Monday, 2 August 1943, at 15.45 we saw huge wreaths of smoke mixed with tongues of fire in the skies over the death camp. It was different smoke from that which we saw every day, that smoke of martyrdom. At the same time the sound of shots and detonations grew nearer. We began to realize that a revolt had broken out in the camp and that the camp had been set on fire by the Jews and that fighting was going on there. Several hundred Jewish workers from the camp staff had organized the uprising. At the same time as SS men and Ukrainians (two changes of guards) had gone by cars and bicycles to swim in the River Bug, the Jews, who had previously captured a small quantity of weaponry from the armoury, set fire to the barracks and threw grenades. They shot...
Brody
2007-09-24 12:52:00 The Ghetto at Brody Entrance to the ghetto at Brody Brody a town in the Lvov Oblast(district) Ukrainian SSR. Founded in the sixteenth century, Brody was under Polish rule in the period from 1918 to 1939, and was annexed to the Soviet Union in September of that year, 9000 Jews lived there in 1939. It was one of the important Jewish communities in Galicia and for many years Jews constituted a majority of the population. Brody was well known on the one hand it was a renowned Hassidic centre, yet at the same time at the beginning of the 19th Century Brody also became one of the first locations of the Haskala (Jewish Enlightenment) in the province. The prominent Jewish ? Austrian novelist Joseph Roth came from Brody. The town itself was also well- known from the 18th Century when it became a major trading place, and in the 19th Century because of its location close to the Russian border, many Jewish refugees passed through Brody fleeing Russian pogroms. Re... More About: Ghettos
Creator of Oneg Shabbat
2007-09-23 10:37:00 Emanuel Ringelblum The Creator of Oneg Shabbat Emanuel Ringelblum Emanuel Ringelblum was born in 1900 in Buczacz, which is situated near Stanislawow. He graduated from Warsaw University, after being awarded a doctorate in 1927 for his thesis on the history of the Jews of Warsaw during the Middle Ages. For several years he taught history in Jewish schools and was also active in public affairs. From an early age he was also an active member of the political movement the ?Left Po?alei Zion?, led by a core of devoted activists including Adolf Berman, and Emanuel Ringleblum himself. In 1930 he had become a part-time employee of the Joint Distribution Committee (known as ?The Joint?) and in November 1938 was sent by them to the Zbaszyn camp where 6,000 Jews ? Polish citizens expelled from Germany ? were gathered. Ringelblum spent five weeks at the camp, where he directed relief work, collected testimonies from the deported Jews and gathered informat...
Prague
2007-09-23 10:35:00 Jewish Life in Prague Panorama of Prague The Prague Ghetto, as it has been called since the 16th century, began as a colony of Jewish tradesmen who came to Prague and settled in this area permanently. In the 13th century, by order of the city administration and the church authorities, an independent district was created and named the Jewish Quarter. In the 17th century, the Ghetto grew considerably and was a Hebrew metropolis in Central Europe. In spite of this, the Ghetto ceased to operate as an independent district in 1850 and was dissolved by the late 19th century for administrative reasons when it became District V, the so-called Josefov. The Prague Ghetto was a typical complex and certain important historical monuments still remain to this day. In the gothic period, the Ghetto was shut off from the outside world by fortified walls with gates (1230-1530). However, during the Renaissance (1530-1630), the Jewish community spread beyond the walls of the city. Re... More About: Ghettos
Ghettos in Poland
2007-09-23 10:33:00 Bialystok Ghetto Map of Poland & Bialystok (circa 1935) The city of Bialystok is situated in North-Eastern Poland, 188 km from Warsaw and 54 km from the border with Belarus. In common with the region named after it, the city had fallen under the control of many different countries in the course of its history. Bialystok became part of Prussia in 1795 before being annexed to Russia in 1807. In 1921, following the cessation of hostilities between Poland and the Soviet Union, the city was incorporated into the state of Poland. The 1931 census revealed a total population in excess of 91,000, of whom nearly 40,000, or 43% were Jewish. On the outbreak of war on 1 September 1939, the Jewish population of Bialystok had risen to approximately 50,000. By 15 September 1939 the Germans had captured the city. Following the invasion of Eastern Poland by the Soviet Union on 17 September, Bialystok became part of the area to be occupied by the Soviet Union under... More About: Ghettos
Alfred Nossig
2007-09-23 10:19:00 Alfred Nossig ; &nbs p; &nb sp; &n bsp; & nbsp; ; &nbs p; &nb sp; Alfred Nossig Alfred Nossig was a writer, sculptor, and Zionist theoretician whose interest in Jewish emigration made him a collaborator with the German authorities. Nossig was born in Lvov in 1864 and attended several universities, studying natural sciences, medicine, law, and philosophy. In his youth he favoured assimilation into Polish culture, but later he became a Zionist. Nossig was active as an artist, intellectual, and founder of Jewish public projects and institutions. He made a name for himself, with his many talents and his efforts to... More About: Ossi , Alfred
Ghettos
2007-09-20 12:34:00 Alfred Nossig ; &nbs p; &nb sp; &n bsp; & nbsp; ; &nbs p; &nb sp; Alfred Nossig Alfred Nossig was a writer, sculptor, and Zionist theoretician whose interest in Jewish emigration made him a collaborator with the German authorities. Nossig was born in Lvov in 1864 and attended several universities, studying natural sciences, medicine, law, and philosophy. In his youth he favoured assimilation into Polish culture, but later he became a Zionist. Nossig was active as an artist, intellectual, and founder of Jewish public projects and institutions. He made a name for himself, with his many talents and his efforts t... More About: Ghettos
Holocaust Ghettos
2007-09-17 11:48:00 The Minsk Ghetto ; &nbs p; &nb sp; &n bsp; & nbsp; ; Jewish Minsk Minsk, capital of the Belorussian SSR, in 1926 the Jewish population of Minsk was 53,686, by June 1941 the number had grown to 80,000, constituting one- third of the city?s population. Only a small fraction of the Jews managed to escape from the city in the six days between the German invasion of the Soviet Union and the conquest of Minsk on 28 June 1941. German parachutists who had been dropped east of the city intercepted thousands of Jews who were trying to flee and forced them to return. When the civil administration was set up Minsk became the headquarters of the Generalkommissar for Belorussian Wilhelm Kube. ... More About: Holocaust , Ghettos , Loca , Holo
Ghettos
2007-09-17 11:47:00 The Minsk Image Gallery www.holocaustresearchproject.org [Next] [Last] A sign at the entrance to the Maly Trostinets concentration camp480 X 31934 KB Entrance to the Minsk ghetto320 X 21516 KB Forced Labour in Minsk700 X 44639 KB See more HERE More About: Ghettos
Essays & Editorials
2007-09-14 10:49:00 The Protocols of the Elders of Zion In the 21st Century Guest Publication by Arthur Wailer [Please note that editorials posted in this section are the sole viewpoints of the individual author and do not necessarily represent any collective opinion of the Holocaust Education & Archive Research Team, or the University of Northampton] Thoughts on the Roots of Anti-Semitism in Europe Ancient Menorah The beginning of violent European anti-Semitism is often traced to the Crusades at the end of the eleventh century. Others claim it commenced in 1010 with organized mass murders of Jews in France, followed by massacres in areas that are now part of Germany. For almost a thousand years the many versions of religious anti-Semitism have been accompanied by other manifestations of Jew-hatred in political, economic, and cultural spheres. A close study of the history of anti-Semitism shows that it is first and foremost an expression of political and cu... More About: Editorials , Essays
Einsatzgruppen Leaders
2007-09-13 10:54:00 Oskar Dirlewanger Sonderkomma ndo Dirlewanger Oskar Dirlewanger Oskar Dirlewanger was born in Wurzburg on 26 September 1895. During World War One, he reached the rank of lieutenant and won the Iron Cross. Between 1919 and 1921 he was involved in the suppression of communist risings in the Ruhr and Saxony, also serving in the Freikorps in Upper Silesia. In 1922 he obtained a degree in political science and a year later joined the Nazi Party, and ran a knit-wear factory in Erfurt for a few years before becoming an SA leader in Esslingen in 1932. After serving a two-year sentence in 1934 for molesting a minor, Dirlewanger joined the Condor Legion in 1937, fighting for Franco in the Spanish Civil War. In July of 1939 Oskar Dirlewanger sent a letter to Himmler requesting admission to the Waffen-SS but was initially denied entrance due to a criminal conviction for ?immoral activity with an underage girl. H... More About: Leaders , Einsatzgruppen , Lead , Leader
Fate of Jews in Europe
2007-09-11 12:26:00 ; &nbs p; &nb sp; &n bsp; & nbsp; ; &nbs p; The Jews of the Channel Islands The Occupation The Luftwaffe takes control of the Channel Islands It was 10.30 in the morning on Sunday 30 June 1940 when a German aircraft flew low over Guernsey airport, it circled and landed. Clutching a revolver, the pilot walked cautiously into the deserted administration building. The absence of people unnerved him, suddenly a British aircraft roared overhead and he ran out back to his plane, leaving his revolver on a table. In the afternoon another German aircraft landed, this time three officers walked across the tarmac. One of them reclaimed the revolver, whilst another appro... More About: Europe , Fate , Rope
Belzec Transports
2007-09-07 21:54:00 Deportations from Kolomea to Belzec Death Camp Police Reports Images of Kolomea before the warRead more at the HolocaustResearchProject More About: Ports , Tran
Essays & Editorials
More articles from this author:2007-09-07 12:41:00 Essays & Editorials The Department of History, University of Northampton & The Holocaust Education & Archive Research Team The essays from this section of the Holocaust Education & Archive Research Team website represent a selection of the best pieces of coursework for the Department of History, University of Northampton (to the academic year 2007/8). Each text was originally presented as part of the requirements for a Bachelor of Arts degree; and as such, each conforms to the normal scholarly standards and conventions expected for written work in Higher Education. Furthermore, all of the following essays received top marks in the four Northampton courses on, or relating to, Nazi genocides against the disabled, Roma and Sinti travelers, and especially European Jewry:Read more at the HolocaustResearchProject More About: Essays 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 |
|
 |
|
 |
