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victims because of
what they did.
These victims of the Nazi regime included Jehovah's Witnesses, homosexuals, the
dissenting clergy, Communists, Socialists, asocials, and other political enemies.
PERPETRATORS -
Although Adolf Hitler is often perceived as the chief perpetrator, there were others involved
as well. Perpetrators were Nazi party leaders, bankers, professors, military officials, doctors, journalists, engineers,
judges, authors, lawyers, salesmen, police, and civil servants. Perpetrators committed crimes against Jews and other
undesirables for many reasons. One main reason is that they wanted power, and also that they believed in an
ideology of racial cleansing. They profited financially, displaced their anger from their own failures, or were
perhaps "following orders."
COLLABORATORS -
In Europe,
nationalism, ethnic hatred, anti-communism, and opportunism
encouraged citizens of nations occupied by Germany to collaborate with the Nazi regime in the annihilation of the
European Jews and with other Nazi racial policies. Such collaboration was a critical element in implementing the
and the mass murder of other groups whom the Nazi regime targeted. Germany's Europea
partners cooperated with the Nazi regime by promulgating and enforcing anti-Jewish legislation and, in some cases,
b
their Jewish citizens and/or residents into German custody en route to
or labor camps.
BYSTANDERS -
Bystanders were ordinary people who played it safe. As private citizens, they complied with the
laws and tried to avoid the terrorizing activities of the Nazi regime. They wanted to go on with their daily lives.
During the war, the collective world's response toward the murder of millions of people was minimal.
Sources:
"People in the Holocaust: Process."
QuestGarden.com
. Web. 02 Jan. 2012.
"Collaboration."
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
. Web. 02 Jan. 2012.
Photo analysis:
1.
Ask students:
a.
Why do people take photographs?
b.
What do you take photographs of?
c.
What makes something worthy of documenting or remembering?
2.
Introduce the idea of photo analysis - using photographs to understand not only the events of a historic time
period but also its themes.
