CHAPTER 11, Section 3
-Nazis committed “crimes vs. humanity” against those considered “unfit” for the Third Reich.
“prisoners would be marched by one of the doctors who would make spot decisions… Those whowere fit for work were sent into the camp. Others were sent immediately to the extermination plants. Children of tender years were… exterminated” (Rudolph Hoss, commandant of Auschwitz.)
-Nazis ruthless in eastern Europe (“living space” for Germans) against “inferior” Slavic people.
-Heinrich Himmler, leader of the S.S. was in charge of “resettlement” plans to Germanizeexpansion into conquered lands and to enslave & exterminate the Slavs. “Whether nations live in prosperity or starve to death interests meonly insofar as we need them as slaves…!”
-All German-occupied eastern European secondary schools were closed. Himmler said that Slavic children’s education should only teach them that“God has ordered obedience to the Germans…I do not consider an ability to read as necessary.”
-Reinhard Heydrich, head of S.S. Security Service, was put in charge of the Final Solution(genocide of all European Jews!)
-Einsatzgruppen(forces specially trained to killcivilians), forced Polish Jews into wretched ghettos. They followed army victories to round up Jews, execute bury them in mass gravesdug by the victims!
-Einsatzgruppen killed one million Jews, but wastoo slow for Nazi standards! Built concentration camps, for slave labor & death camps for mass extermination in gas chambers &crematoriums.
-During the Holocaust, 14-16 million “undesirables” murdered: Jews, Gypsies, Slavs, “political enemies,” homosexuals, the disabled, “intellectuals,” “people of conscience,”P.O.W.’s, etc.
-1.2 million Jewish children murdered, including Anne Frank of the Netherlands. While hiding in her family’s secret annex above their warehouse, she wrote, “In spite of everything I still believe that people arereally good at heart.”
-The Nazis found her family, sentthem to Bergen-Belsen concentration camp where Anne died.
-Anne’s father survived and had herdiary published after war.
-Children in major German, Japanese & British cities were evacuated for their safety.
-ShipArandora Star hit by German torpedo, killing all 77 British children on their way to Canada.
-By end of war, 13 million children were orphans!
-Hitler Youth14 & 15 yrs. old were fighting in the front lines!
-Soviet youth 13 & 14 yrs. oldwere spying on Germans & worked in underground resistance.
-Japan’s slogan: “Asia for the Asiatics.” Japanese contactedanticolonialists & promised local govts. would be established under Japanese control, but real power rested w. Japanese military.
-At first, many Asian nationalists cooperated w. Japan. However, when Japanese true intentions became clear sentiment turned vs. Japan.
-Economic resources of SE Asia used for Japanese war machine & native peoples forced to work. Over a million Vietnamese starved to death as Japan forcibly took their rice!
-Indonesians required to bow in the direction of Tokyo and to recognizedivinity of Japanese Emperor!
-In Burma, Buddhist pagodas were used as latrines!
-Over 800,000 Koreans became slave laborers!
-Over 100,000 P.O.W.’s“native”forced laborers died from appalling conditions!
-In Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh’s Communist Party agreed to provide U.S. w. info. on Japanese troops & to rescue downed American pilots.