The Holocaust Glossary of Terms

Extermination Camps

Began as an instrument of intimidation for political opponents of Nazism. Later became a standing weapon of terror. Ultimately over 100 camps were set up where people who were driven out of their homes were taken by freight trains for murder.

Anti-Semitism

Expressed hostility to Jews as individuals, to Judaism as a religion, and to the Jewish people as a group.

Nuremberg Race Laws

Legalized persecution. In 1935, Hitler put anti-semitism on Germany's legal books.

Nazi

Name used to identify members of the German Fascist political movement (the National Socialist German Workers Party) which ruled Germany from 1933-1945 under Adolf Hitler.

Crematorium

Ovens or furnaces where concentration camp inmates' gassed bodies were disposed of.

Processing Camp

Persons that were considered fit for heavy physical work, but were not assigned to a particular work camp were sent to this place for screening and for subsequent distribution to a concentration camp.

Displaced Persons

Term generally used for people who survived the concentration camps and were left homeless.

Genocide

The deliberate and systematic destruction of a social, political, cultural or religious group.

Nazism

The political system in Germany from 1933-1945. It was a totalitarian dictatorship based on the use of political terror as the means of maintaining control.

Persecution

The practice of oppressing or harming individuals or groups, especially for reasons of religion, politics, or race.

Gestapo

The secret police organization in Nazi Germany.

The Nazi Holocaust

The term that refers to the systematic, planned extermination of six million European Jews by the Nazis during World War II. Many non-Jews perished in the Holocaust.

Ghetto

The walled-off section of a city to which Jews were restricted.

Scapegoat

A person, group, or thing that bears the blame for the mistakes or crimes of others.

Concentration Camp

A place where those considered fit for heavy physical work were sent.

Synagogue

A sanctuary where Jews assemble to worship. The building is also used for educational purposes and social gatherings.

Aryan

A term used by the Nazis to mean a superior, Nordic type Caucasian Gentile who would bring about Hitler's "master race." It has no validity as a racial term.

Gas Chamber

A unit or room where ventilation was sealed so that death could be induced through the use of gas.

Swastika

An ancient symbol in the form of a cross with the ends of the arms bent at the right angles in a given direction, usually clockwise. In 1920, it was adopted as the symbol of the National Socialist Part of Germany and came to stand for all the evils associated with the Nazis.

Pogrom

An attack on Jews by mobs of non-Jews. These attacks involved the destruction of Jewish property, looting, and murder.