--- title: "The Holocaust" description: "The Holocaust was the systematic persecution and murder of about six million Jews by Nazi Germany, its allies and collaborators. Study escalating persecution, different routes to mass murder, survivin" canonical: https://lightmysky.com/learn/history/the-holocaust-mt_HeDd-GMdo- source: https://lightmysky.com/learn/history/the-holocaust-mt_HeDd-GMdo-.md retrieved: 2026-11-12 --- > **Agent view.** This is the Markdown twin of the page, for tools and assistants. > When to use this site, and the call that answers each job: https://lightmysky.com/agent-instructions.md > API description (OpenAPI 3.1): https://lightmysky.com/openapi.json · Authentication: https://lightmysky.com/auth.md > Pricing: https://lightmysky.com/pricing.md · Catalog: https://lightmysky.com/llms.txt · Full catalog: https://lightmysky.com/llms-full.txt > Every machine-readable file on this domain: https://lightmysky.com/.well-known/ai-catalog.json > Ask for Markdown with `Accept: text/markdown`, a `.md` address, or `?mode=agent`. # The Holocaust The Holocaust was the systematic persecution and murder of about six million Jews by Nazi Germany, its allies and collaborators. Study escalating persecution, different routes to mass murder, surviving evidence, resistance and rescue. Other groups also suffered Nazi persecution and murder. Subject: History · Area: The Modern World · Ages 15 to 16 Page: https://lightmysky.com/learn/history/the-holocaust-mt_HeDd-GMdo- ## Ready when they can - Describe how Nazi anti-Jewish persecution escalated into wartime mass murder, without assuming that every victim followed the same route - Say roughly how many Jewish people were murdered and name other groups that were targeted - Name a kind of evidence historians work from, such as survivor testimony, camp records, or the perpetrators' own paperwork - Give one example of resistance or of rescue ## Lesson: The Holocaust: persecution, murder and evidence The Holocaust was the systematic persecution and murder of about six million Jews by Nazi Germany, its allies and collaborators. It was genocide: an attempt to destroy the Jewish people. Antisemitism means prejudice or hatred directed at Jews. Nazi racial claims were false. Jewish people were targeted because the regime classified them as Jewish, not because of any wrongdoing. The Nazis took power in Germany in 1933. Propaganda, boycotts and laws excluded Jews from public life. The Nuremberg Laws of 1935 removed Jews' citizenship rights. After war began in Europe in 1939, Nazi occupation placed millions more Jews under their control. Many were forced into ghettos, confined areas of towns and cities. Escalation varied by place; not every victim followed the same route. *(drawing: Persecution began before the war. These dates are not a route through which every victim passed.)* Jews were murdered in mass shootings, especially in occupied eastern Europe, and in killing centres reached through deportation. Starvation, forced labour and camp conditions also killed many. Not every victim passed through a ghetto or killing centre. Nazi Germany also persecuted and murdered Roma and disabled people, and persecuted political opponents. Different groups did not all face identical policies. Evidence includes survivor testimony, diaries, photographs, official documents and surviving sites. The Nazis destroyed many records, but extensive evidence remains. Historians check who made each source, when, why and what it can show. They compare relevant details and investigate differences. Agreement can support a conclusion. A survivor's account does not need a matching official record to count as evidence. Resistance included armed ghetto uprisings, partisan fighting, secret record keeping and efforts to sustain community life. Rescue included hiding Jews or helping them escape, often at risk of severe punishment or death. Some people resisted or helped, but threats, resources and opportunities differed. Victims faced force, deception and extreme danger. Responsibility for the crimes lies with those who committed and helped carry them out. Public laws, exclusion and violence showed escalating persecution. They were warning signs, not an exact timetable of later crimes. Recognising danger did not mean knowing every later decision or having the ability to stop it. When judging actions, examine a person's role, knowledge and circumstances. Do not assume that everyone faced the same choices. Wartime conquest put more Jews under Nazi control, expanding the reach of persecution and mass murder. Some Jews were murdered in shootings near their homes without deportation to a killing centre. Others were deported, and forced labour and starvation also killed people. These were different routes. Evidence of one different route challenges a claim that every victim passed through the same stages. **Recap.** Nazi persecution escalated into the murder of about six million Jews. Extensive evidence survives. Resistance and rescue occurred under dangerous and unequal conditions. *Original lesson, questions, diagrams and flashcards written for this learning dataset.* ## Practice 8 questions on this page, each with its working shown. ## Needs first - [The Second World War](https://lightmysky.com/learn/history/the-second-world-war-mt_BKXKdNc51v) ## Optional connections - [Evidence versus interpretation](https://lightmysky.com/learn/history/evidence-versus-interpretation-mt_Lu4H4mbsqO) ## Opens up - [The Cold War](https://lightmysky.com/learn/history/the-cold-war-mt_vod9wscQjU)