What is the Holocaust?
- holocaust - the destruction of life by fire
- The Holocaust - The systematic, bureacratic, and state-sponsored destruction of the Jews in Europe during World War II
The Holocaust was the state-sponsored, systematic persecution and annihilation of European Jewry by Nazi Germany and its collaborators between 1933 and 1945. In 1933 approximately nine million Jews lived in the 21 countries of Europe that would be occupied by Germany during World War II. By 1945 two out of every three European Jews had been killed. Jews were the primary victims -- six million were murdered; Roma (Gypsies), the handicapped and Poles were also targeted for destruction or decimation for racial, ethnic or national reasons. Millions more, including Soviet prisoners of war, political dissidents, homosexuals and Jehovah's Witnesses suffered grievous oppression and death under Nazi tyranny.1
Why is it important?
In only a few short years, the Jews in Germany went from an acceptable part of society to a scapegoat for all of Germany's problems. We must learn from this horrible part of history to make sure that it never happens again to anyone.