s2 exams

• what were the origins of the holocaust (nazi ideology)

  the holocaust stemmed from nazi beliefs:

  • aryan racial superiority
  • intense anti-semitism
  • a vision of a pure german society.

  these ideas took hold partly due to the treaty of versailles, which caused economic hardships, national humiliation, and political instability in germany after ww1.

  hitler exploited these conditions, blaming jews for germany's struggles and using the grievances to justify extreme policies.
• what are anti-semitic laws

  anti-semetic laws are discriminatory laws targeting jewish people, intended to isolate, oppress and remove them from society.

  e.g: nuremberg laws of 1935:

  these laws revoked german citizenship for jews and banned marriage or sexual relations between jews and aryans.
• what were the severity of punishments towards jews?

  • forced labour and imprisonment
  • deportation and being placed into ghettos
  • concentration camps and extermination
• segregation of jews

  • nazis forced strict social, economic and spacial segregation of jews to alienate them from the rest of german society.
  • jews were banned from public places such as parks and theatres, while jewish children were expelled from public schools.
  • segregation intensified with the creation of ghettos
• dehumanisation of jews

  • nazis used propaganda and legislation to portray jews as sub-human in order to erode any empathy towards them.
  • this anti-semetic propaganda depicted jews as vermin and disease carriers, creating fear and hatred.
  • dehumanising laws forced jews to wear the star of david as an identifying symbol, which marked them as targets fro discrimination and violence.
• dehumanisation of jews in concentration camps

  • in concentration camps, jews were treated as objects, where they were stripped of their names and given numbers instead.
  • torture, forced labour, and mass killings in the camps showed extreme intent of this dehumanisation, allowing the nazis to justify genocide without moral restraint.
• what is a ghetto and its purpose

  • a ghetto was a segregated area in cities where jews were forcibly confined by nazi authorities.
  • the purpose of these ghettos was to isolate and control jewish populations.
• life inside the ghettos

  • life inside the ghettos was harsh and dehumanising.
  • people were forced to live in overcrowded, unsanitary conditions with little access to food, clean water, or medical care.
  • families were crammed into small, deteriorating buildings, often with multiple families sharing one room.
  • disease spread quickly due to the lack of proper sanitation and starvation as common as food was scarce.
• how did the jewish population attempt to maintain a "normal" life

  despite the dire conditions, jews attempted to maintain a sense of a normal life by :

  • religious holidays and holding prayer services.
  • many ghettos established underground schools for children
  • held resistance movements and stayed resilient
  • community support
• what was the final solution?

  • the nazi regime's plan to systematically exterminate the jewish population.
  • initially introduced at the wannsee conference in january 1942
• what were the einsatzgruppen?

  • special mobile death squads used by nazi germany during ww2.
  • primarily responsible for carrying out mass kilings of jews and other marginalised groups.
  • played a significant role in the early stages of the holocaust, before the establishment of the more systematic extermination camps.
• understand why the nazi's created the final solution

  • the nazis created the final solution to eliminate jews and other "undesirable" groups, based on their racist ideology of aryan superiority and deep-rooted anti-semitism.
  • the final solution was driven by the belief in racial purity and the efficiency of the nazi regime, culminating in the systematic genocide of six million jews.
• two types of camps (concentration camps) 


  used for:

  • force labour
  • political imprisonment
  • detention of various groups

  prisoners were subjected to brutal conditions, including overcrowding, starvation, and forced labour. e.g : dachau and buchenwald.
• two types of camps (extermination camps)

  • specifically designed for mass murder.
  • jews and other targeted groups were transported here for immediate execution.
  • most infamous death camps were : aushwitz, treblinka and sobibor
• what were the conditions like in these camps?

  conditions in both concentration and extermination camps were both horrific and dehumanising.

  this included :

  • overcrowding
  • forced labour
  • starvation and poor nutrition
  • disease
  • violence and abuse
  • death and extermination
  • psychological trauma
• where were the large camps located?

  • dachua = germany : the first nazi concentration camp
  • aushwitz = poland : the largest and most notable death camp
  • chelmo = poland : the first concentration cam where victims were killed using gas vans
  • majdanek = poland : a camp that functioned as both a concentration and death camp.
• how many people died as a result of the holocaust

  approximately 6 million
• what is the holocaust?

  • the holocaust was the systematic genocide carried by nazi germany during ww2 , aiming to eliminate jews and other groups deemed undesirable.
  • led by adolf hitler, the nazis murdered around six million jews through mass shootings, forced labour and gas chambers in concentration and death camps.
• when did the holocaust start and end?

  start: 1941 end: 1945
• when did hitler become chancellor?

  hitler was appointed chancellor of germany in 1933
• what was the impact of survival?

  the impact of surviving the holocaust was profound and long lasting. some key impacts on survivors include:

  • psychological trauma. e.g ptsd, anxiety, depression and survivor's guilt.
  • loss of family and community
  • physical health issues. e.g malnutrition, chronic illness and injuries.
  • community and religious displacement: holocaust destroyed jewish communities, leaving survivors with the difficult task of rebuilding their cultural and religious identities.
• when did germany invade poland?

  september 1, 1939
• what is the universal declaration of human rights

  • the universal declaration of human rights is a crucial document established by the united nations on december 10, 1948, in-response to the atrocities of ww2 and the holocaust
  • outlines the rights and freedoms that everyone is entitled to, regardless of nationality, ethnicity or religion.
• what is the constitution

  • the constitution, established in 1901, is the fundametal legal document that outlined the structure the of the australian government, and the rights of its citizens.
• impacts of section 51 and 127

  • both sections contributed to the marginalisation and legal exclusion of indigenous australians from political and social rights. this meant that that federal laws could be passed that did not protect or recognise indigenous people equally.
  • the legal framework allowed the government to enforce discriminatory policies such as the stolen generation, and segregation policies that isolated indigenous people from mainstream society.
• what is a refendum?

  a referendum is a process where the voting public is asked to directly vote on a specific proposal or issue.
• how does a referendum work?

  for a proposal to pass, it must receive a majority "yes" votes nationwide and a mjority of "yes" votes in at least four of the six states.
• what did the 1967 referendum do?

  allowed australian citizens to vote on two key proposals related to indigenous australians:

  • allow the federal government to make laws for indigenous australians
  • to include them in the national census.
• what was the purpose of the 1967 referendum?

  change the australian constitution to grant the federal government the power to make laws, specifically to include aboriginal australians in the census, and recognise them as apart of the population.
• what was the result of the 1967 referendum?

  • the referendum was a success
  • 90% of australians voted "yes"
  • as a result, sections 51 and 127 of the constitution were amended, giving the federal government the power to make laws for indigenous australians and to officially count them as part of the census.
• what was the day of mourning?

  the day of mourning took place on january 26, 1938, the 150th anniversary of the arrival of the first fleet.

  purpose:

  • organised by the aboriginal rights association to protest the treatment of aboriginal people and to call for better rights and recognition.

  event:

  • considered the first major protest by indigenous australians against their treatment.
• yarnangu people (1957)

  in 1957, the yarnangu people sent a petition to the australian parliament in response to the governments decision to grant mining leases on their traditional lands.

  purpose: first formal expression of aboriginal land rights, protesting the governments failure to recognise the traditional ownership of their land.

  significance: set the stage for future legal battles and was an important step toward the eventual land rights act of 1976.
• what is social darwinism

  social darwinism is a controversial theory that applies charles darwin's concept of natural selection to human societies.

  • suggest that some people or groups are naturally more "fit" or superior, leading to social, economic, and political inequalities.
  • had been used to justify discrimination and racism.
• how did social darwinism affect european views towards first nations people?

  social darwinism promoted the idea that indigenous people were "inferior" and "less evolved" than europeans, justifying colonialism, and the exploitation of first nations people. it forced racist attitudes, leading to land dispossession, forced assimilation, and dehumanisation.
• what is a protection policy?

  a protection policy was a set if laws and practices implemented by the australian government in the 19th and 20th centuries that aimed to control and regulate the lives of indigenous australians.
• when did protection policies exist?

  protection policies in australia existed primarily from the mid 1800s to the 1930's though their effects lingered well into the 20th century.
• were protection policies the same across every colony/state?

  while protection policies shared some common features across australian colonies and states, they were implemented differently according to local conditions, with varying degrees of severity and enforcement.
• what are assimilation policies and purpose?

  assimilation policies were a set of government policies aimed at integrating aboriginals into european based society by encouraging or forcing them to abandon their traditional cultures, language and ways of life in favour of european customs, values and practices.
• what was being assimilated?

  • cultural practices
  • languages
  • social structures
  • traditional lifestyles
  • economic practices
• what is the stolen generation?

  refers to the aboriginal or torres strait islander children who were forcibly removed from their families and communities by australian government policies.