Why did the Nazis hate the Jews?

Why did the Nazis hate the Jews?

Jews in Germany often had money and were concentrated in certain professions – many Germans were jealous of this

Jews tended to marry Jews – they were accused of ‘not fitting in’

Jews had been hated for years – in the 14th century Jews were blamed for the plague, 100,000 were killed in Germany

Before World War I the German Kaiser said that the Jews were the ‘curse of my country’

In short, The Nazis message was not new, Jews had been hated by some in Germany for a long time 

Jews were forced to wear the star of David so people knew that they were Jews

In a series of meetings between 1941-2 leading Nazis met and decided the ‘Jewish problem’ needed to be solved.

They decided that every Jew in Europe should be killed, around 11 million people.

Jews were taken from their homes and forced to live in concentration camps.

Killing took place by shooting them

Later this changed as Nazis decided that shooting was ‘too stressful’ for the Nazi soldiers

At first the Nazis put Jews into a small room and pumped carbon dioxide from lorry exhausts into the room

Later gas chambers were developed. Jews were told they were going for a shower and then gassed

This was called the Holocaust: the extermination of the JewsSome people who were not killed in the gas chambers were used for medical experiments, for example testing the human body to see at what low temperature the body dies (source ii) or raising the volume and seeing at what volume the ear drums burst. The overall aim was to help the German army in combat situations.

One doctor called Joseph Mengele enjoyed testing on twins who he found ‘interesting’.

After the war he escaped and lived in South America until 1979