What happened in the Holocaust and how many Jews died?

THE HOLOCAUST is among the greatest atrocities in world history, as millions of European Jews were subjected to torture and death.

The genocide sent shockwaves across the globe with many memorials and movies dedicated to the horrific events.

What happened during the Holocaust?

The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah – which means “destruction” in Hebrew – is a genocide that was carried out largely during World War II, as Jews were targeted among other groups.

The Romani people, ethnic Poles, Soviet citizens, Soviet prisoners of war, political opponents, homosexuals and Jehovah’s Witnesses were also killed.

Any group which did not match the behaviour of the prescribed norms was targeted and subjected, often to torture and death.

The atrocity largely took place between 1941 and 1945, but the initial persecution started in 1933.

Concentration and extermination camps were commonplace under the Nazi regime, with Auschwitz among the largest and most iconic.

At that particular camp, an estimated 1.1 million people were killed – including 960,000 Jews – most commonly in gas chambers, starvation or disease.

There were early warning signs of this atrocity, when constitutions like the Nuremberg Laws were passed shortly after Adolf Hitler rose to power in Germany in 1933.

These laws were aimed at excluding Jews and other minority groups from society, including segregation.

Violence towards these groups grew as further rules were enforced upon them, before the Night of the Broken Glass – Kristallnacht – saw attacks take place over an evening in November 1938.

Thousands of Jewish shops and synagogues were attacked and destroyed, while it ramped up additional rules as they were barred from most occupations.

The invasion of Poland in 1939 began the devastation that has since come to be known, with more than 42,000 camps and detention sites being set up.

How many Jews died during the Holocaust?

It is believed that around 5.9 million Jews were killed or died during the Holocaust, making up around a two-thirds of all of those in Europe.

A range of methods were used, with many dying in gas chambers, firing squads or starvation.

Disease and exhaustion also ravaged camps, while death marches were also commonplace.

Many other minority groups also died during this period including up to 250,000 disabled people, around 220,000 Romani and hundreds of homosexuals.

In total, the United Stated Holocaust Memorial Museum estimated that 15-20million people had died or been imprisoned.

What happened after the Holocaust?

The Allies won the war and liberated the survivors from the remaining death camps in 1945.

The Nuremberg trials went ahead to prosecute prominent members of the political, military and economic leadership of Nazi Germany who had been behind the shocking persecution.

The first tribunal tried 22 political and military leaders of the Third Reich, except for Adolf Hitler, Heinrich Himmler and Joseph Goebbels, all of whom had committed suicide several months before.

Survivors struggled to return home – having lost many friends, family members and neighbours.

Families of victims sought to get back the wealth and property stolen from them during the Nazi years, and in 1953 the German government made payments to individual Jews and to the Jewish people to acknowledge the crimes committed.

A book was later found that hinted at plans from Hitler to extend the atrocity into North America.

Statistics, Media and Organisations of Jewry in the United States and Canada was published in 1944 and classified the number of Jews across the US and Canada.

The 137-page book by Nazi researcher Heinz Kloss provides details on the Jewish population in large US cities including New York and Montreal.

Experts believe it was part of Hitler’s personal collection, as it is branded with the words, “ex libris Adolf Hitler”.

It shows that the Nazis made bigger progress into infiltrating North America than was originally thought.

In 1943, the Germans had established a weather station in what is now Canada’s Newfoundland and Labrador province.

The Library and Archives of Canada acquired the book for £3, 400 ($4,500).