Mr. Thomas Lupton History 12 Southpointe Academy

1. THE HOLOCAUST IN HISTORY Mr. Thomas Lupton History 12 Southpointe Academy

2. WHERE DOES ANTI-SEMITISM COME FROM? • Contemporary views place the birth of Western anti-Semitism at the moment of Christ’s death • Jews were unfairly generalized as “Christ Killers” as it was Judas, a Jew, who betrayed Jesus to the Romans • This view tends to ignore the fact that Christ himself was Jewish

3. HOWEVER…. • These reasons for anti-Semitism have little integrity • #1 If Christ hadn’t been executed he could never have been martyred • #2 If he was never a Martyr, modern Christianity is never created • #3 If there is no Christianity then there is only Judaism that adheres to a Jehovah

4. The Hypocrisy of Anti-Semitism dates back 2 millennia • Christians themselves were persecuted based on their faith by the Romans • It wasn’t until the 3rd century under Constantine the Great that Christians gained a level of legitimacy

5. 476 CE • The Official collapse of the Roman Empire ushered in the early middle ages • The influence of Christianity grew at an enourmous rate once it became the official religion of the empire • After the fall of Rome, religion became the guiding light in people’s lives

6. Tradition = Merit • People valued tradition and old ideas • The Church itself based itself on the idea of tradition • It viewed itself as the ONE TRUE CHURCH whose job is was to convert non-believers • It did a remarkably good job

7. Everyone in Western Europe had been converted by the Middle Ages…. • With the exception of the Jews • They would not be converted and that angered the Church immensely • While they weren’t as non-believing as the Muslims they still were not accepting Church doctrine

8. St. Augustine • Of the early Bishops in the Catholic Church, Augustine had the most influence • He preached the notion of original sin, and it is through his teachings that this concept largely remains in Western Christianity • Augustine was also the preacher of a new interpretation of Christ’s teachings that would ultimately lead to the deaths of millions of innocent people

9. St. Augustine II • Augustine's writings helped formulate the theory of the just war. • He also advocated the use of force against non-believers, asking "Why ... should not the Church use force in compelling her lost sons to return, if the lost sons compelled others to their destruction?"

10. St. Augustine III • He essentially sanctioned the use of force against the non-believers of the Christian Church, an extremely dangerous precedent that was used as justification in the holy wars of the middle ages. • This allowed good god-fearing people to kill without concerns of going to hell.

11. TheCrusades • In order to convert heathens and non-believers the Church began one of the bloodiest and most shameful acts in human history • The Crusades were aimed at Muslims in the Holy land • In short, if they would not believe in God, then the should be systematically executed. • It was Church Sponsored genocide

12. The Jews sat uncomfortably in the middle • Where did the Jews, a people of the old testament, fit in with the Catholic Church? • If the Old Testament advocated an “eye for an eye” (or death) and the New Testament preached forgiveness (or life) then naturally the Jews must be agents of the Devil • This harsh view was not officially sponsored, but it was widely held

13. Fortunately by being part of the Old Testament…. • The Jews were linked with the New Testament, and thus had a place in the Christian world • The official platform was “a place, but a place in misery”

14. Social Classes • A new European Social class emerged with this Jewish Policy • Christians at the top with privilege and stature • And Jews at the bottom

15. Isolation • Christians celebrated this division as it adhered to their belief system and gave them a sense of omnipotence • As the centuries progressed, a deliberate isolationist policy towards the Jews took place • Jews were referred to as “other” people, and their physical and personal differences were exaggerated

16. Ghettos • Jews were content to be left alone • They soon moved close together and created tight knit communities • The Christians responded by building walls around these communities and restricting Jewish movement rights • They cordoned off the areas and referred to them as “Jewish Ghettos”

17. Everyone was not happy • Jews couldn’t escape persecution even if they separated themselves completely • In the absence of true science, superstition and rumour became the method of explanation • Jews were blamed for disease, natural disaster, economic ruin, and even the Black Death

18. This picture displays the burning of Jews during their persecution and blame for the Plague

19. Pogroms • Pogroms are official actions against Jewish communities • In the past, pogroms have included execution, torture, minimization, and expulsion • Jews were often expelled from communities only to be invited back after the economy fell into ruins

20. Jewish Businesses • As Jews were not allowed to hold certain employment positions in the communities, they were forced to become experts in a small field • Banking, loan sharking, and stock trading (later) became areas where Jews flourished • These professions are closely linked with the economic welfare of most countries • Thus, the expulsion of Jews could only lead to recession.

21. TheEnlightenment • During the 17th and 18th century people in Europe began to think outside of Church teachings • Philosophes like Rousseau and Voltaire began to tear down the idea of church authority • They looked to past events such as the Great Schism, the Reformation, the Counter Reformation, and the Inquisition as example of Church folly • How can an institution such as the Church sanction so much bloodshed?

22. They argued…. • For people to be viewed as individuals and not as simply members of a church • The argued for community based upon the ideas of individualism without religion messing it all up • They advocated for the inclusion of Jewish People, but not Jewish life….. An important distinction

23. Could the Jewish community simply give up on their way of life so easily? • Jews had always wanted to belong to the larger communities and maintain their beliefs • Xenophobic Christians were responsible for the isolation of the Jews, not the Jews themselves • In short, the majority of the Jewish community embraced this Enlightened Judaism

24. Enlightened Judaism • Proposed improved relations with Gentiles • Immersing themselves in the communities that they are a part of

25. Birth of Nationalism • With the decline of loyalty to the Church, loyalty to the state grew • People would “pledge allegiance” to their country over their church • Nationalism became one of the most important elements in the “new” anti-semitism that Adolf Hitler and the Nazis would promote.

26. Where did the Jews fit in? • Could a Jew be considered a Frenchman as well? • Were they loyal to a Jewish State or a French State? • Questions about a distinct Jewish race, no doubt based upon centuries of isolation, began to surface • Napoleon himself decided to undertake solving the “Jewish Question”

27. The Jewish Problem • The solution to the “Jewish Problem” was to completely integrate them into the society of the nation where they reside • This “solution” was part of a massive change that had been sweeping Europe since the French Revolution • Strangely, it was the French Revolution and its methods that serve as a eerie precursor to the Holocaust

28. The Great Terror • During the Great Terror that followed the French Revolution over 1200 aristocrats lost property, land, and their heads • They were executed not for what they had done but for who they were much like Jews in the 20th century • The precedent set during the Terror was a dangerous one:

29. If it is legitimate to eliminate aristocrats to achieve a goal of revolution, where does it stop? • Is execution then an accepted practise to achieve non-tangible ideals?

30. For Example • If I wanted to achieve a class average of A for History 12 I have two choices • I can teach everyone better so that we are all equal, or • I can expel everyone who gets less than an A • It makes sense, and is relatively easy to do, but is it right?

31. 20th century Impacts of the Terror • The lessons of the Great Terror were learned well by Stalin in his execution of the Kulaks (during collectivisation) and his army purges • The means by which someone achieves their goal is irrelevant so long as the goal is achieved • In his lifetime Stalin oversaw the deaths of 40-60 million of his countrymen • It became politics of Mass Murder, and sadly, it was very successful

32. Nationalism II • By the end of the 19th century nationalist movement had largely taken shape • Loyalty among countrymen was based upon common language, race, history, and culture • A similar theme is established throughout: Where do the Jews fit in?

33. Nationalism III • For Jews with Palestinian heritage, dark complexions, who spoke Yiddish and had an entirely different past and culture, how could they ever be considered French, or German? • If a German is white, speaks German, and embraces Christianity, then certainly they cannot • A new age of Jewish isolation began to take shape • The inclusive ideals of the enlightenment were being bastardized by its evolution into Nationalism

34. 20th Century Anti-Semitism • Jews simply put did not belong in any country because no country wanted them to belong • Even in Canada during WWII, Mackenzie-King was quoted as saying “none is too many” when asked about Jewish Refugees to Canada • Jewish stereotypes began to resurface • Gentile Europeans did not understand their own history and refused to recognize their prejudices

35. 20th Century Anti-Semitism II • Countries tried to find ways to get rid of their Jews; this is a de-facto policy of blood purification • The French claimed that the only thing the Jew loves is money, so they belong in London where the Stock Exchanged was • German writers said the Jew belong in radical and revolutionary France where they could get “Liberty, Fraternity, Equality” • Progressive thinkers who wanted equality both economically and politically saw they Jews as money grubbing and opportunistic • There was clearly no place for the Jews

36. 20th Century Anti-Semitism III • These money-based stereotypes arose from the Middle ages when the Gentiles would not allow Jews into traditional lines of work • As previously mentioned the Jews had to rely on Banking, and later the Stock Exchange to survive • As the centuries grew on, so did the value in this line of work • Gentiles failed to realize that the Jewish stereotypes that they were perpetrating were because of the actions of their own ancestors

37. 20th Century Anti-Semitism IV • The Communists, under the influence of converted Jew Karl Marx, despised material wealth and thus hated the Jews • The Germans felt the Jews were trying to overthrow the government and set up a Jewish State, something they linked with Bolshevism • The Jew could never be German, because the Jew was always trying to overthrow the government and was therefore communist

38. New Anti-Semitic thinkers • Two important figures emerged in the social life of ordinary Germans in the late 19th, early 20th centuries • Composer Richard Wagner and the philosopher Frederich Nietzsche took the nationalistic fervour into the realm of blood typing • Hitler was greatly influenced by these theories and expanded it to include the pure “Volk”

39. Nietzsche • Nietzsche was misunderstood by Hitler and the Nazis • Nietzsche proposed the idea of Uebermenschen or “over man” • Nietzsche used this as a way to discuss the evolution of ALL peoples • Hitler misunderstood this and applied to blood purity and thus his “Aryan” idealism

40. Fear of the Jew • With mainstream thinkers advocating an inferior Jewish race, the Germany people began to become fearful • Between 1868-1914 millions of Jews migrated from Russia and Ukraine seeking a better life • Many went to the US, but they needed to pass through Germany to get west • Many decided to settle in the seemingly modern and progressive country of Germany • Many regular German people felt that their country was being invaded by Jews

41. “Jewish Problem” • This became known as the Jewish Problem • Germany political and social thinkers sought ways to “solve” this problem • Answering the “Jewish Question” became a major political play by Adolf Hitler in his rise to power

42. The Dreyfus Affair • Anti-Semitism was not confined to only Germany • In 1894 a French Jews called Alfred Dreyfus was charged with selling military secrets to the Germans • He was convicted almost immediately on very little evidence

43. The Dreyfus Affair II • All across France calls of “You can’t trust Jews” went up • Anti-Semitism reared its ugly head as even more calls for the “exclusion of Jews” were heard • In the home of the enlightenment and in the country of Revolution for the equality of all, the Jews were no longer equal

44. The Dreyfus Affair III • However, Emile Zola sought to find the truth • Eventually evidence came out that proved Dreyfus was innocent • However, the true colours of France had been shown. Anti-Semitism was alive and well

45. World War I • When the war came all of Germany was swept up with Nationalistic fervour • Jews and gentiles alike joined together to fight for the 1st Reich • Celebrations were rampant and for a brief moment Jews and Gentiles worked together for a common goal

46. World War I (II) • However, by 1916 things had soured • The war was dragging on, and claims that the Jews were not pulling their weight could be heard • An investigation was undertaken which proved that the Jews were in fact pulling their weight • However, the damage had been done. From that point on Jews were labelled as war dodgers • The war became a “German” experience that Jews were no longer a part of

47. Armenian Genocide • One of the worst episodes of the war was the Armenian Genocide by the Turks • The Armenians were a separate ethnic group living in Turkish territory • They wanted their own country within Turkey • The Turks viewed them as the “enemy within” (the Germans would refer to the Jews in this very manner some years later)

48. Armenian Genocide II • With Turkey fighting on the German’s side, the Russians staged an attack • A militant group of Armenians took this opportunity to join the war in the hopes of securing their homeland • Unfortunately, the Russian attack did not last long and the Armenians were abandoned

49. Armenian Genocide III • This was all the Turkish government needed • They soon overran the Armenian fighters and undertook Genocide against all the Armenians • 1.5 million Armenian men, women, and children were executed, starved to death, gassed, or put on “death marches”

50. Armenian Genocide IV • In 1939 just before Hitler invaded Poland he said this “Genghis Khan had millions of women and Children killed by his own will and with a gay heart. History sees him only as a great state builder. What weak Western European civilization thinks about me does not matter. Who still talks nowadays of the extermination of the Armenians”