Early Persecution in the Holocaust

They were stripped of their political rights and taken from their homes and friends with limited to no warning and uncertain what was next to come. An abundance of people were forced to one of the thousands of concentrations camps where they were separated from their families and directed to either a labor camp, where many would suffer, or to a death camp, where were they would unfortunately be executed immediately. In 1933, Hitler finally was named Chancellor of Germany and began to organize what he called the “Final Solution” (Balson). He and his Nazi party believed Jews, Gypsies, homosexuals, and the mentally ill were violating racial purity in Europe and devised a way to slowly kill them off and remove them from Germany and the rest of the world (Balson). Many people know and understand the events occurring during the Holocaust, but they probably don’t realize there was a plethora of steps in setting up concentration camps, persecuting the targeted groups, and keeping Hitler’s and the Nazis’ intentions a secret.
Having such large authority, Hitler persuaded the SS, police, SA, and the local civilian consultants to design and produce the first of many concentration camps located near Munich (Vasham). This building was used as a model for the other remaining 15,000 sites. These locations were constructed to conceal Jews, Homosexuals, gypsies, and the mentally ill along with Communist, Socialist, German liberals, and anyone who was considered an enemy of the Reich (Vasham). In 1939 there were six main sites, Dachau, Sachsenhausen, Buchenwald, Flossenbeurg, Mauthausen, and, for women, Ravensreuck. Each of these places held circa 25,000 prisoners that were surrounded by filth and bounded by barb wire on fences. The labor camps w...

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... how Hitler and his Nazi party would continue to have their premeditations unknown.

Works Cited

Balson, Aleesha. "Hitler's Final Solution." www.loeser.us. Loeser, n.d. Web. 22 Nov 2013.

Bergen, Doris; Dawidowicz, Lucy; Gilbert,
Martin; Hilberg, Raul; and Yahil Leni. "Introduction to the Holocaust." United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Washington, DC. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Washington, DC, 10 June 2010. Web. 14 Nov 2013http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005143

Rosenberg, Jennifer. “Holocaust Facts.” About.com. About.com, n.d. Web.21 Nov 2013. http://hostory1900.about.com/od/holocaust/a/holocaustfacts.htm

Evens, Richard; Gotfried, Ted; Lipsadt, Deborah; Zimmerman ,John; Sherman, Michael; Globman, Alex. “Holocaust Encyclopedia.” http://www.ushmm.org United States Holocaust