Holocaust in Poland

Adyline, Celty, Francisco, Heide, & Brittney

What we know What we want to know What we learned
Terms You Should Know
The Holocaust- the mass slaughter of European civilians
and especially jews by the Nazis during WW2

Anti Semitism- hostility to or prejudice against Jews.

Terms You Should Know
Genocide- the deliberate killing of a large group of people,
especially those of a particular ethnic group or nation.

Communism- a political theory derived from Karl Marx,

advocating class war and leading to a society in which all
property is publicly owned and each person works and is
paid according to their abilities and needs.
So where is Poland?
Warsaw, Poland -- Before and After the War
A History of Poland
German Invasion
● Germany wanted more territory so they could expand their operations
● September 1st, 1939 4:45 am- 1.5 million German troops invade Poland
● Germans destroyed Poland’s navy and airforce bases
● September 3rd 1939- Britain and France declare war on Germany
● September 27th 1939- Poland surrenders after a German air raid destroys Warsaw
Mistreatment of Polish
● Lebensborn Program- 200,000 Polish children were kidnapped by the Germans
for testing on racial characteristics.
● 6 million Polish died during WWII
● Forced Labor
Anti Semitism in Poland
● Jews are forced to move to ghettos
● 1941- Nazi’s begin to build Jewish concentration camps
● Performed medical experiments and mass killings
● 90% of Polish Jews were killed during WWII
The Soviets Regains Control Over Warsaw
● January 14, 1944- The Soviets marched into the city
● Took only 3 days to get control
● Warsaw’s population went from 1.3 million to only 153,000
● They found and freed the people of Auschwitz (much too late)
Soviets Liberate Auschwitz
● January 27th, 1945
● Germans knew the Soviets were getting closer so they made 60,000 Jews march
from the camp in the middle of winter
● They found hundreds of corpses, 7,000 staving, and hundreds of thousands of
shoes and garments stored in warehouses.
Poland After the War
● Borders were redrawn - lost territory to Soviets gained from Germany
● Poland was a communist country until 1989
● Joined the European Union in 2004
The Boy in The Striped Pajamas Movie Clip
https://youtu.be/sVSaHwK8Rys
Sources
“This Day In History: The Soviets Capture Warsaw (1945).” HistoryCollection.co, 8 July 2017, historycollection.co/day-history-
soviets-capture-warsaw-1945/.

“Germans Invade Poland.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, www.history.com/this-day-in-history/germans-invade-poland.

“1945: The Red Army Retakes Warsaw.” History Hit, 12 Mar. 2017, www.historyhit.com/1945-red-army-retakes-warsaw/.

Tharoor, Ishaan. “What a Soviet Soldier Saw When His Unit Liberated Auschwitz 70 Years Ago.” The Washington Post, WP
Company, 27 Jan. 2015, www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2015/01/27/what-a-soviet-soldier-saw-when-his-unit-
liberated-auschwitz-70-years-ago/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.0bebc63be74b.