Holocaust Terms Week 4

Dr. Josef Mengele

"Angel of Death" SS physician, infamous for his inhumane medical experimentation upon concentration camp prisoners at Auschwitz. Mengele began his career at Auschwitz in the spring of 1943 as the medical officer responsible for Birkenau's "Gypsy camp"; several weeks after its liquidation, Mengele undertook a new position as Chief Camp Physician of Auschwitz II (i.e., Birkenau) Performed "selection duty"-who was ready for work and who would go to gas chambers; seemed to enjoy doing this and looked for people to experiment on, especially twins Worked at the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute (KWI) for Anthropology, Human Genetics, and Eugenics Performed most of his experiments on children, especially twins Was obsessed with twins Was never found/received punishment In 1943 Dr. JM is appointed to a senior medical position at Auschwitz where he is provided with unlimited "clinical material" for his experiments. He sends his reports and specimens to Otmar von Verschuer at KMI

Babi Yar

1941, SS and German police units and their auxiliaries, under guidance of members of Einsatzgruppen murdered the Jewish population of Kiev at Babi Yar, a ravine northwest of the city. One of the largest mass murders at an individual location during World War II. As the victims moved into the ravine, Einsatzgruppe detachments shot them in small groups. In the months following the massacre, German authorities stationed at Kiev killed more Jews at Babi Yar, as well as non-Jews including Roma, Communists, and Soviet prisoners of war A river in Kiev where Jews were shot/mass murdered

White Rose

1942-1943, a group who openly opposed Hitler and Nazis, distributed anti- Nazi leaflets and painted slogans like "freedom" and "down with Hitler", Leaders Hans and Sophie Scholl caught distributing leaflets and arrested in 1943, along with fellow leader Christop Probst, they were killed four days later Medical student run Nazi resistance group founded at The University of Munich

Social Darwinism

A social theory which states that the level a person rises to in society and wealth is determined by their genetic background. Says that strong members of the human race do well and continue to produce while the weak die off Justified wealthy vs. poor, the poor are poor because they're not fit to survive

Reserve Police Battalion 101

An organization comprised on regular men that killed more that 80,000 Jews Christopher Browning wrote a book about them called "Ordinary Men" Most of the men in the Reserve Police Battalion 101 were lower/middle class from German Many of the shooters were drunk

Francis Power Cobb

Anti-vivisection activist

Daniel Goldhagen, Hitler's Willing Executioners

Author of "Hitler's Willing Executioners" Argues that Germans killed Jews because they wanted to Believes there is an innate hatred for Jews in German culture Makes a monocausal argument Thinks German culture=antisemitism

Christopher Browning, Ordinary Men

Author of book "Ordinary Men" A book about Reserve Police Battalion 101 Most of the men in the Reserve Police Battalion 101 were lower/middle class from German Many of the shooters were drunk Argues that perpetrators acted out of loyalty to one another; shooter because of sense of group solidarity

Francis Galton

Charles Darwin's cousin who published "Hereditary Genius" Advocated for wealthier to produce more, and birth control for the poor Did a lot of work with Eugenics

Major Wilhelm Trapp

Commander of Reserve Police Battalion 101 Police man not a member of the SS, joined Nazi party in 1932

"Selection duty"

Determining from among the mass of humanity arriving at Auschwitz who would be retained for work and who would perish immediately in the gas chambers Determining who was ready for work and who would go to gas chambers Dr. JM seemed to enjoy selection duty, and was always using it as a way to search for twins

Yahad-In Unum

Devoted to researching the Holocaust, fighting anti-Semitism, and furthering relations between Catholics and Jews Global humanitarian organization dedicated to identifying and commemorating the sites of Jewish and Roma mass executions in Eastern Europe during World War II

Otmar von Verschuer

Director of the Institute for Genetic Biology and Racial Hygiene at University of Frankfort 1935-1942 Director of the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute (KWI) for Anthropology, Human Genetics, and Eugenics -Specialist in human genetics -Pioneer in the study of twins -Advocated for compulsory sterilization but did not fully support euthanasia

Killing centers

Disabled (both mentally and physically) adults and children were sent to state run mental institutions or homes that were really just killing centers

How did Dr. JM become the angel of death?

Eugenics was considered an appropriate political use of science at the time Medical research was often performed on non-consenting or uninformed patients Ambition and daring research was highly rewarded within the medical profession This continues to be a problem with the profession at large

T4 [Tiergartenstrasse 4]

Euthanasia planners quickly envisioned extending the killing program to adult disabled patients living in institutional settings. In the autumn of 1939, Adolf Hitler signed a secret authorization in order to protect participating physicians, medical staff, and administrators from prosecution. This authorization was backdated to September 1, 1939, to suggest that the effort was related to wartime measures. The Führer Chancellery was compact and separate from state, government, or Nazi Party apparatuses. For these reasons, Hitler chose it to serve as the engine for the "euthanasia" campaign. The program's functionaries called their secret enterprise "T4." This code-name came from the street address of the program's coordinating office in Berlin: Tiergartenstrasse 4. Same thing as euthanasia pretty much just the name for it

Pseudo-science

Fake science used to justify anti-Semitism and other oppressive tactics used by Nazi Germany (ex. scientific racism); presented as valid science Nazi science isn't pseudo science though, it's just science

Operation Barbarossa

First operational order to invade the Soviet Union In June 1941 Germany invades the Soviet Union Largest military operation of WW2 There had been warnings that Germany was going to invade Germany takes many Soviet prisoners The Soviet Union doesn't collapse right away The germans expected to destroy the Soviet Union more quickly; the Germans didn't prepare for winter; Germans thought it'd be quick but lasts around 4 years

Sterilization laws

Forced sterilization The US introduced sterilization laws before Germany (the first state was Indiana) Sterilize "the weaker" inmates in prison and the disabled Also feeble-minded women who didn't fit into white middle class ideals Sterilization at the time included castration for men and removal of the uterus for women Who was targeted for these sterilization laws? The "unfit" -the disabled (mentally and physically) -mentally ill -epileptics -mixed-race children -"promiscuous" women -convicted criminals -people of color -patients with STDS

Nuremberg Code

Formed in 1949 after human experiments were conducted in Nazi Germany. Stated that informed consent is absolutely necessary for human experimentation

Dr. Karl Brandt

German physician and Schutzstaffel officer in Nazi Germany. Trained in surgery, Brandt joined the Nazi Party in 1932 and became Adolf Hitler's escort physician in August 1934

Father Patrick Desbois

Group leader of Yahad-In Unum French Roman Catholic priest, tried to locate the sites of mass killings and interview people Devoted life to researching the Holocaust, fighting anti-Semitism, and furthering relations between Catholics and Jews Catholic priest and President of Yahad - In Unum, a global humanitarian organization he founded in 2004 dedicated to identifying and commemorating the sites of Jewish and Roma mass executions in Eastern Europe during World War II.

German-Soviet Pact

Had two parts 1) An economic agreement, that Germany would exchange manufactured goods for Soviet raw materials 2) Nonaggression pact in which each signatory promised not to attack the other(Hitler doesn't plan to keep it, allows him to go into Poland)

Philipp Bouhler

Head of Hitlers party office 1933, introduced euthanasia programme Aktion T4 1939 after letter from father with disabled child. Architect with Brandt.

Clinical material

Human bodies upon which they could practice diagnosis, treatment, autopsy, and dissection

Nuremberg Race Laws

In 1935, Nazis pass Nuremberg Race Laws Dr. JM and Verschuer testified against Germans who had relations with Jews (Nuremberg Race Laws)

"Euthanasia" of the disabled

In 1938, a baby was born blind and physically deformed. The father wanted the child killed and the physician refused. The father petitioned Hitler who ordered the baby's execution. This was the first of many disabled children to die. In 1939 it came mandatory for doctors and nurses to register disabled children The term "euthanasia" means literally "good death". It usually refers to the inducement of a painless death for a chronically or terminally ill individual who would otherwise suffer. In the Nazi context, however, "euthanasia" was a euphemistic or indirect term for a clandestine murder program. The "euthanasia" program targeted, for systematic killing, mentally and physically disabled patients living in institutional settings in Germany and German-annexed territories. They killed children and adults in state run mental institutions or homes (that were really killing centers) for the disabled (both mental and physical). They did this by lethal injections, gas chambers, or starvation. The "euthanasia" program was Nazi Germany's first program of mass murder. It predated the genocide of European Jewry (the Holocaust) by approximately two years. The program was one of many radical eugenic measures which aimed to restore the racial "integrity" of the German nation.

Heinrich Himmler

In 1941, the Nazis really amp up the systematic annihilation of Jews Head of SS, in July of 1941 starts trying to execute final solution Shooting was the most common form of killing, but then Himmler notices the psychological effect on the murderers and comes up with the idea of gas vans or "mobile gas chambers" (fall 1941)

Einsatzgruppen

In 1941, the Nazis really amp up the systematic annihilation of Jews Mobile killing units, kill people who may carry out resistance, initiate mass murder operations against Jews, Communists, Roma Mainly German SS and police They looked for political enemies Receives orders from Heydrich-mass slaughter- the first step of mass killing-supported by German army; shot men and then women and children; locals and interpreters help them identify Jews Shooting was the most common form of killing, but then Himmler notices the psychological effect on the murderers and comes up with the idea of gas vans or "mobile gas chambers" (Fall 1941)

Reinhard Heydrich

In 1941, the Nazis really amp up the systematic annihilation of Jews Orders Einsatzgruppen for mass killings Security Police Chief

Hans and Sophie Scholl

Leaders of the White Rose group

Alexander Schmorell

Member of the White Rose group

Christoph Probst

Member of the White Rose group

Roma/ Romani

Mengele began his career at Auschwitz in the spring of 1943 as the medical officer responsible for Birkenau's "Gypsy camp"; several weeks after its liquidation, Mengele undertook a new position as Chief Camp Physician of Auschwitz II (i.e., Birkenau) In 1943 Dr. JM is appointed to a senior medical position at Auschwitz where he is provided with unlimited "clinical material" for his experiments. He sends his reports and specimens to Otmar von Verschuer at KMI

Nazi Science

Not a pseudo science, it was just science

Pro-natalism

Promoting of child-bearing and parenthood as desirable for social reasons and to ensure national continuance.

Charles Darwin

Published "Origin of Species" Talked about natural selection "Preservation of favored races in the struggle for life"

Hitler-Stalin Pact

Same thing as German-Soviet Pact

Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact

Same thing as German-Soviet Pact

Kaiser Wilhelm Institute (KWI) for Anthropology, Human Genetics, and Eugenics

School where Dr. JM worked Otmar von Verschuer was director from 1942-1948

Ernst Rüdin

Specialist in Psychiatric genetics, the study of hereditary mental illnesses like schizophrenia One of the first German scientists to promote eugenics as state policy In 1930, was the leading German representative at the first International Congress for Mental Hygiene, in Washington DC Worked with eugenics

Hans Munch

Studied medicine Recruited as a scientist by the Waffen-SS 1943 he was posted to Hygiene Institut der Waffen-SS und Polizei, Auschwitz Used the medical experiments he was required to perform in order to protect his inmates from liquidation He eventually helped his Jewish lab aids escape from the camp But he still profited off of his experiments on the "clinical material" provided by the inmates of Auschwitz and was anti-semitic and anti-Roma even after the war

Eva Kor

Survivor of the Holocaust who, with her twin sister Miriam, was subjected to human experimentation under Josef Mengele at Auschwitz. Both of her parents and two older sisters were killed at the camp; only she and Miriam survived Author of book "Surviving the Angel of Death"

Significance of the euthanasia program

The "euthanasia" program represented in many ways a rehearsal for Nazi Germany's subsequent genocidal policies. The Nazi leadership extended the ideological justification conceived by medical perpetrators for the destruction of the "unfit" to other categories of perceived biological enemies, most notably to Jews and Roma (Gypsies). Planners of the Final Solution later borrowed the gas chamber and accompanying crematoria, specifically designed for the T4 campaign, to murder Jews in German-occupied Europe. T4 personnel who had shown themselves reliable in this first mass murder program figured prominently among the German staff stationed at the Operation Reinhard killing centers of Belzec, Sobibor and Treblinka. Like those who planned the physical annihilation of the European Jews, the planners of the "euthanasia" program imagined a racially pure and productive society. They embraced radical strategies to eliminate those who did not fit within their vision.

Eugenics

The aim of most eugenic movements was to affect reproductive practice through the applications of theories of hereditary The science of improving a human population by controlled breeding to increase the occurrence of desirable heritable characteristics Positive and negative eugenics First written about in Charles Darwin's "Origin of Species"

Vivisection

The use of live animals for surgical experiments

Negative Eugenics

To prevents lives (Nazi marriage laws, for example show how they didn't want Aryans and Jews to have relationships because they wanted to wipe out the Jewish race) To end lives (Euthanasia, for example, of the disabled)

Positive Eugenics

To produce more lives To produce fitter lives Pro-natalism/pro-birth- would reward mothers who had more children

Order Police (Ordnungspolizei)

Uniformed police agencies of the Third Reich; became an integral part of the SS and police bureaucracy in Nazi Germany; key participants in the conduct of mass murder and atrocities in the occupied areas under German control during World War II Throughout the occupied eastern territories, Ordnungspolizei units—ranging from small gendarmerie detachments of fewer than 10 men to 500-man police battalions—became involved in the full range of Nazi efforts to subjugate, exploit, and annihilate subject populations.