The Simon Wiesenthal Center's
36 Questions About the Holocaust

1. When speaking about the "Holocaust," what time period are we referring to?

 

2. How many Jews were murdered during the Holocaust?

 

3. How many non-Jewish civilians were murdered during World War II?

 

4. Which Jewish communities suffered losses during the Holocaust?

 

5. How many Jews were murdered in each country and what percentage of the pre-war Jewish population did they constitute?

 

6. What is a death camp? How many were there? Where were they located?

 

7. What does the term "Final Solution" mean and what is its origin?

 

8. When did the "Final Solution" actually begin?

 

9. How did the Germans define who was Jewish?

 

10. How did the Germans treat those who had some Jewish blood but were not classified as Jews?

 

11. What were the first measures taken by the Nazis against the Jews?

 

12. Did the Nazis plan to murder the Jews from the beginning of their regime?

 

13. When was the first concentration camp established and who were the first inmates?

 

14. Which groups of people in Germany were considered enemies of the state by the Nazis and were, therefore, persecuted?

 

15. What was the difference between the persecution of the Jews and the persecution of other groups classified by the Nazis as enemies of the Third Reich?

 

16. Why were the Jews singled out for extermination?

 

17. What did people in Germany know about the persecution of Jews and other enemies of Nazism?

 

18. Did all Germans support Hitler's plan for the persecution of the Jews?

 

19. Did the people of occupied Europe know about Nazi plans for the Jews? What was their attitude? Did they cooperate with the Nazis against the Jews?

 

20. Did the Allies and the people in the Free World know about the events going on in Europe?

 

21. What was the response of the Allies to the persecution of the Jews? Could they have done anything to help?

 

22. Who are the "Righteous Among the Nations"?

 

23. Were Jews in the Free World aware of the persecution and destruction of European Jewry and, if so, what was their response?

 

24. Did the Jews in Europe realize what was going to happen to them?

 

25. How many Jews were able to escape from Europe prior to the Holocaust?

 

26. What efforts were made to save the Jews fleeing from Germany before World War II began?

 

27. Why were so few refugees able to flee Europe prior to the outbreak of World War II?

 

28. What was Hitler's ultimate goal in launching World War II?

 

29. Was there any opposition to the Nazis within Germany?

 

30. Did the Jews try to fight against the Nazis? To what extent were such efforts uccessful?

 

31. What was the Judenrat?

 

32. Did international organizations, such as the Red Cross, aid victims of Nazi persecution?

 

33. How did Germany's allies, the Japanese and the Italians, treat the Jews in the lands they occupied?

 

34. What was the attitude of the churches vis-a-vis the persecution of the Jews? Did the Pope ever speak out against the Nazis?

 

35. How many Nazi criminals were there? How many were brought to justice?

 

36. What were the Nuremberg Trials?

[List of Questions] [1-18] [19-29] [30-36]