Holocaust Midterm

DIRECTIONS: Do one of the following questions. You may use your notes, texts, or even outside sources; however, if you do, please provide a full bibliography and appropriate notes. The papers should be no less than five, double-spaced pages in length. For additional help, you may look at Cybrary of the Holocaust or the links available from the Holocaust/Genocide from the Teaching History published at ESU.

  1. Hilberg and others point to the early Christian Jewish policies as precursors to the Nazi persecutions that followed Hitler’s ascension to power. How did the Medieval church foster an attitude that aided and abetted future persecutions? Explain.
  2. The twisted road to Auschwitz began with the development of the false science of eugenics? How were eugenics, anthropology, and sociology used to foster a climate that contributed to rabid political anti-Semitism in the nineteenth century? What role did Gobineau, Wagner, and Chamberlain play in the process? What did the eugenicists try to prove? What were the long-term consequences of the eugenic movement in the tragedy that we call the Holocaust?
  3. The Enlightenment allowed Jews to become a vital part of the European community since the eighteenth century; however, in the nineteenth century and early twentieth century the situation changed. Europe and the United States were no longer safe for Jews. How did that happen? What types of attacks did Jews in Europe and the United States face? How did the Dreyfus Case and the Leo Franks’ incident alter Jewish perceptions of assimilation? What was the long-term impact of those two incidents?
  4. The term "genocide" was not conceived when the Turks made a systematic effort to destroy the Armenian minority within the Turkish state in 1915. How did it happen? What was the world reaction? How could the Turkish government deny that it happened? What lessons did Hitler draw from this tragedy? Explain.
  5. The term "genocide" was not conceived when the Turks made a systematic effort to destroy the Armenian minority within the Turkish state in 1915. How did it happen? What was the world reaction? How could the Turkish government deny that it happened? What lessons did Hitler draw from this tragedy? Explain.