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The Holocaust : The World War I

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Alyssa Dittman
Ms.Dwiggins
computers 2
22/9/2014
The Holocaust

The word “Holocaust” was originally taken from the Greek word “Holokauston”. In Greek, this word meant “sacrifice by fire”. Holocaust is the name given to the German Nazis killing and persecution of Jews. Other targeted groups were Gypsies, Jehovah’s Witnesses, homosexuals, the handicapped or deformed, and all others who disagreed with what Adolph Hitler was doing. It all began in 1933 when the entire world was in a depression. Adolph Hitler became chancellor of Germany in January of that year. In Germany alone, over five million people were without work. They were afraid and still angry because Germany was defeated in World War I. In that war, Hitler was in the German army. After the war, their country was made to sign the Treaty of Versailles. This Treaty forced Germany to lose some of their territory along with limiting the size of its army and having to pay large amounts of money for war damages. Adolph Hitler took advantage of the German’s feelings and preached his own racial thinking that Aryans (people of Nordic descent) were superior to all other races. He told the people that Germany would once again become a huge world power. The adults and children believed him because his preaching gave them hope. Hitler blamed the Jews for losing the war. After the war was over he became a member of the National Socialist German Workers’ Party, known to other parts of the world as Nazis. Hitler was

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