Policies towards the Jews 1940-1941

• How many Jews did Nazi Germany ‘gain’ when they invaded the USSR in 1941? 

  3 million more Jews. 
• what measures were taken against Jews in the first years of war? 

  -Radio sets were confiscated from Jews. 

  -Jews were excluded from the wartime rationing allowances for clothing and shoes 

  -Police permits were required for Jews to travel. 
• Where was the first ghetto to be set up by the Nazis? 

  Lodz, the second biggest city in Poland. 
• What were the conditions in the ghettos?

  • Most Jews had to sell valuables to survive 
  • 6 people shared an average room 
  • Few homes had running water 
  • Lice infestations were common 
  • Basic necessities such as food were scarce- malnourishment
  • Diseases spread quickly- typhus, TB
• How would Jews defy Nazi regulations in the Ghettos?

  • There was a black market for food smuggled in from the outside. 
  • Jewish leaders organised prayers and religious festivals 
  • They had illegal schools 
  • They had illegal printing presses 
• How many Jews were concentrated in the massive Warsaw Ghetto? 

  400,000 Jews. 
• Overall, how many Jews died from starvation and disease in the ghettos? 

  500,000. 
• Who were the Einsatzgruppen (‘Special Groups’)? 

  Units made up of police and regular troops, sent in to deal with Jews. E.g. move Jews into Ghettos.  
• When were the Einsatzgruppen used extensively?  

  In support of military operation in the invasion of Poland in 1939 and Russia in 1941.  
• What were the key responsibilities of the Einsatzgruppen? 

  The mass shooting of Jews and forcing Jews into ghettos in the cities. 
• How do the Einsatzgruppen show the Anti-Semitism of the time? 

  Local, eager volunteers were often recruited to assist them.