---
title: "The Holocaust"
description: "How a state organised the murder of six million Jews, along with Roma, disabled people, and others it classed as enemies. It happened in steps, from law and propaganda to exclusion, ghettos and killin"
canonical: https://lightmysky.com/learn/history/the-holocaust-mt_HeDd-GMdo-
source: https://lightmysky.com/learn/history/the-holocaust-mt_HeDd-GMdo-.md
retrieved: 2026-09-12
---

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# The Holocaust

How a state organised the murder of six million Jews, along with Roma, disabled people, and others it classed as enemies. It happened in steps, from law and propaganda to exclusion, ghettos and killing centres, and the record of those steps survives.

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 the sequence from law and propaganda through exclusion and ghettos to mass murder
- 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: Built step by step

The murder of six million Jews did not happen in one burst. It came in steps: harsh laws, hateful propaganda, boycotts, exclusion, ghettos, then deportations to killing centres. Each step made the next one easier for the killers, so step by step is the key idea you must hold.

Jews were the main target, and Roma people, disabled people, political opponents, and others the regime classed as enemies were targeted too. The state ran the killing with paperwork, trains, and guards. Because it was organised on paper, so much evidence survives.

**Example.** Weigh two kinds of proof side by side. On one side sit camp lists, orders, and photos the killers kept themselves. On the other sit diaries and spoken memory from survivors. Historians trust the picture where both kinds agree, and that is how we know what happened.

**Tip.** Not everyone behaved the same: some joined in, some watched, some hid neighbours at mortal risk, and a few fought back in ghetto uprisings or partisan groups. Genocide is built through choices, which means early steps like sorting people into enemies can be spotted and opposed.

**Recap.** Murder came by steps, the paperwork left proof, and choice at each step is why early warnings matter.

## 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)
- [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)