Blog Questions for 11/20

JAH 386-404:

Why did the Nazis change their method of extermination from mass shooting to gassing in the death camps? How many Jews, and from which countries, were killed in the camps?

There was a horrific group of Nazi’s who committed mass murders and mass shootings called the Einsatzgruppen. They either would shoot Jews into a ditch, or just throw them in.The number of Jews that were killed by Einsatzgruppen A-D was jaw dropping and sickening. Some of the groups killed up to of 33,000 Jews. The Nazis began to feel that shooting was laborious and to dependent on man power. Additionally, it began getting too emotional for the men doing the shooting. At the Wannsee Conference, 15 members discussed the "Final Solution," which was meant to find a solution for a more efficient way to kill all the Jews in Europe. Concentration camps were fixed killing institutions, which makes me sick to even talk about. The gassing started with carbon monoxide poison in busses and then was switched to gassing in camps. By 1943 1.7 million Jews were killed by gas. The gassing method was used in all major extermination camps in Trebinka, Chelmno, Auschwitz, Sobibor, Belzec and Majdanek. The number of Jews that were murdered in camps was overwhelming. From 1942-1944 107,000 Dutch Jews were gassed at Auschwitz and Sobibor. In 1944- 77,000 French Jews were killed. 25,000 Belgium Jews were sent to Auschwitz.

pp. 491-493 Report of the Iraqi Commission of Inquiry on the Farhud

The Farhud was an attack on the Jews of Baghdad in 1941 - what happened and why did it happen?

The Farhud was a horrific attack on the Jews of Baghdad in ’41. What happened was soldiers punched and stabbed Jewish people near the Khurr bridge. The individuals that were stabbed were sent to a nearby hospital. Then, a mob formed outside of the hospital demanding that they release the Jews so they can kill them. The hatred of these people is disturbing. Additionally, soldiers began to hurt and even kill other civilians. Jews and Muslims were the main targets of the hate crimes. The mayhem in Baghdad also involved robberies. The reason all of this was happening was because of Nazi propaganda such as The German Legation.