Questions tagged [holocaust]
For questions about The Holocaust, the genocide committed by Nazi Germany under the direction of Adolf Hitler. For any other genocide, use the [genocide] tag. This is a sensitive and heavily-trolled topic (many questions are from holocaust deniers trying to get people to agree with them) so questions on this subject are held to an exceptionally strict standard.
85 questions
-3
votes
2
answers
551
views
How did people remain unaware of Nazi Concentration Camps when they were located within villages/townships in Germany?
Before delving into WW2 History, I used to think that Concentration Camps for the most part were either in Occupied Poland or Ukraine, to keep it away from the German population and make it easier to ...
- 65
4
votes
2
answers
308
views
What was Axis's logic behind sailing Jewish refugees from Romania to Palestine?
I came accross the history of MV Struma and MV Mefkure that were transporting Jewish people, refugees from Europe, from Romania to Palestine but were lost in the process. From reading the articles ...
- 7,704
1
vote
3
answers
380
views
Why did the Nazis bother distinguishing Jews on the basis of statehood and citizenship (if they saw a "world of races" and not of states)?
All quotes below from Snyder (Black Earth, 2015, bold font added by me):
When the survival of the state was in question, Antonescu slowed the persecution of Jews. Hitler, who actually believed in a ...
- 1,335
2
votes
4
answers
1k
views
Why did Nazis burn 628 Belarusian villages to the ground?
In the movie Come and See, near the end it writes "628 Belarusian villages were burnt to the ground with all their inhabitants".
I knew that the Nazis wanted to kill all of the Jews and ...
- 129
2
votes
1
answer
272
views
After turndown by North America, did Jewish refugee ships try to secretly beach and live somewhere uninhabited?
Apology if my question looks childish. I want to give my students the best answer to their questions. I do not know how to answer this readily, so I asked you all.
One student brought up Weather ...
- 123
3
votes
2
answers
3k
views
Did ash rain in cities near Nazi concentration camps?
This scene in Schindler's List depicts ash falling in a city near a concentration camp. Are there written accounts or reports of this happening in Nazi cities?
- 231
-3
votes
1
answer
247
views
Why was the German Jewish population declining so much that some statisticians predicted its disappearance even before the 3rd Reich?
I was reading Hannah Arendt's Origins of Totalitarianism where she claims that German Jewry was declining at such fast rates that for their raw numbers the Holocaust could be seen as statistically '...
- 113
30
votes
2
answers
11k
views
Is it true that Germans in World War 2 did not suffer punishment for refusing genocidal orders?
According to Norman Naimark's interview on the Lex Fridman Podcast (#248)
One of the shocking things that I learned just a few years ago when studying the Holocaust is that you could pull out. In ...
- 766
6
votes
1
answer
547
views
How much were Jews allowed to take with them from Nazi Germany?
This Smithsonian Magazine article indicates that Jews could keep 8% of their assets (at least in some cases, and I am sure in practice there were obstacles to retaining even that), which is different ...
- 2,459
0
votes
1
answer
590
views
Is there a basis for this tale of Eisenhower blessing & Patton's curse? [closed]
After discussion:
The "magical" part here is beside the point, I just quoted the legend. I'm insterested with the factual things, some of which might have happened. For example, it's very ...
- 109
0
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Did everyone have to carry identity papers in Nazi Germany?
Was everyone expected to carry identification on their person at all times in Germany after 1938 or only the Jews?
Certain groups (notably draft-age German males) had to apply for a Kennkarte, but ...
- 119
3
votes
1
answer
1k
views
What were Nazi policies around converts to Judaism?
While Judaism is not a missionary religion, it is possible to convert to Judaism. I can only assume (although I've not found any sources on this), that practicing converts were treated like any other ...
- 133
4
votes
1
answer
2k
views
Is there any evidence to corroborate the claim that Rudolf Höss was physically abused by the Allies after his capture?
The claim is from a book by an author called Rupert Butler.
Butler wrote an anti-Nazi book entitled Legions of Death. At the beginning of Legions of Death, Butler expresses his gratitude to two ...
- 1,381
6
votes
1
answer
594
views
Did Nazi party members request exemption for their pre-war Jewish acquaintances?
So I heard this tale from a teacher many years ago, but cannot find much about it on the internet.
The story as far as I remember is as follows:
That Goebbels complained on many occasions about the ...
- 163
9
votes
1
answer
569
views
Why did the Irish Free State suppress news of the Holocaust in 1945? Reaction once it became known?
Paul Bew's book Churchill and Ireland mentions the following in connection with the Irish Free State (forerunner of the present Republic of Ireland)'s Prime Minister De Valera's visit to the German ...
- 5,651