Holocaust Explained
The Holocaust Explained website has been created to help learners understand the essential facts of the Nazi era and the Holocaust, as well as its causes and consequences. It is designed with the British school curriculum for thirteen to eighteen year olds in mind, but it aims to be accessible to other users as well.
Timeline – Events in the history of the Holocaust The history of the Holocaust is complex and vast. While The Holocaust Explained is not able to cover every aspect of Holocaust history, it does seek to aid understanding and help learners to navigate through the sequence of events. This timeline aims to take readers through the main events preceding, during, and following the Holocaust.
What was the Holocaust? The Holocaust (Shoah) is the term for the murder of around six million Jews by the Nazi regime and their collaborators during the Second World War.
Between 1941 and 1945, the Nazis sought to eliminate the entire Jewish community of Europe. Jews were murdered by death squads called <abbr title="A German word used to describe the mobile killing squads of the SS. The <em>Einsatzgruppen</em> followed the German <em>Wehrmacht</em> into occupied territories throughout the Second World War, where they conducted mass shootings of the Nazis ideological enemies. Approximately two million people were killed by the <em>EinsatzgruppenEinsatzgruppen or transported to extermination camps. Six million of the eleven million European Jews perished. The Holocaust mainly occurred in Eastern Europe, in places such as Poland and Ukraine.
The term ‘Holocaust’ can also refer to the orchestrated murder of Roma . Other groups were also targeted by the Nazi regime: disabled people, Soviet Prisoners of War and civilians, Polish civilians, homosexuals, socialists, communists and trades unionists, Freemasons and Jehovah’s Witnesses.
Life before the Holocaust The history of Judaism, of Roma and Sinti and of other groups persecuted by the Nazis is rich and diverse. The Holocaust wiped out complete communities, most of which were not rebuilt following the war.
Antisemitism Antisemitism is hostility, prejudice or discrimination towards Jews
How did the Nazis rise to power? The end of the First World War marked the beginning of a period of political and economic instability in Germany. As a result of this instability, many small, extremist political groups appeared.
What were the ghettos and camps? Ghettos and camps were used extensively by the Nazis during their time in power to segregate , oppress and persecute their opponents.
How and why did the Holocaust happen? In 1941, the Nazis’ persecution of the Jews became a genocide. In just under four years, millions of people were deliberately murdered at the hands of the Nazis and their collaborators. This mass murder became known as the Holocaust.
Resistance, responses and collaboration At each stage of the Nazis’ persecution of Jews and others that they deemed ‘undesirable’, people resisted their rule, responded to their policies, and collaborated with them in a variety of ways
Survival and legacy In 1944 and 1945, Allied forces liberated thousands of people from Nazi incarceration as they advanced towards Berlin. On 7 May 1945, Nazi Germany surrendered and the Second World War was over. Although the war had ended, for survivors, and Europe more widely, the process of reconstruction was just beginning.
Survivor testimonies videos of interviews with eight Holocaust survivors.
Educational Resources educational resources on different topics related to Nazism and the Holocaust. Each resource draws upon original primary sources from The Wiener Holocaust Library’s archive.
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