The
Holocaust was the systematic annihilation of six million Jews by the
Nazi regime during World War 2. In 1933 approximately nine million
Jews lived in the 21 countries of Europe that would be occupied by
Germany during the war. By 1945 two out of every three European Jews
had been killed.
The number of children killed during the Holocaust is not fathomable
and full statistics for the tragic fate of children who died will
never be known. Some estimates range as high as 1.5 million murdered
children.
The European Jews were the primary victims of the Holocaust.
But Jews were not the only group singled out for persecution by
Hitler’s Nazi regime. As many as one-half million Gypsies, at
least 250,000 mentally or physically disabled persons, and more than
three million Soviet prisoners-of-war also fell victim to Nazi
genocide. Jehovah’s Witnesses, homosexuals, Social Democrats,
Communists, partisans, trade unionists, Polish intelligentsia and
other undesirables were also victims of the hate and
aggression carried out by the Nazis.
Louis Bülow
sources:
The History Place
NAAF Holocaust Project
The Simon Wiesenthal Center
A Teacher's Guide to the Holocaust