1. After World War I, Germany's economy was in the pits. They were the losers of the war, and other European powers wanted to punish them for their part. The Treaty of Versailles was the tool used to punish Germany. It devastated the German economy. People were in a really bad mood and were looking for something different. This was one of the reasons that Hitler was able to talk himself into power. It's also one of the reasons that Jews became an easy target for German unhappiness. Jews were in professional positions – bankers, lawyers, doctors, shop owners. Hitler pointed to the Jews and told the German people that the Jews controlled the money system, and that's why they had money when others didn't.
  2. After coming to power, Hitler had a great propaganda team. He spoke of the superiority of the Aryan race and the inferiority of the Jews and others.
  3. Hitler did not believe in religious anti-Semitism (hatred of Jews), but in racial anti-Semitism. If a Jewish person converted to Christianity, he was still a target because his grandparents were Jews.
  4. Other countries around the world did not step in to stop the elimination of the Jews. Many let Jews immigrate, but they did not encourage the immigration.

Every cause has an effect. Use the causes that we've given you, and decide for yourself the effect. What have we learned from each of these causes? How is our world different today because of the Holocaust? Fill out the cause/effect chart below. We've given you some leading questions to help you decide on an effect.

Causes of the Holocaust
Effects of the Holocaust
German dissatisfaction with the results of the Treaty of Versailles allowed Hitler to point the finger at the Jews as the cause of all the country's problems. (How was the Treaty of Versailles handled after WWII? How does Germany's government work today?)
Hitler used propaganda to convince the German people of a master race. (After WWII, how do we protect ourselves against government propaganda?)
Hitler believed in racial anti-Semitism. (How does the world protect against racial discrimination today? What is the purpose of the state of Israel?)
Other countries around the world stood by while the Jews were being exterminated. (What lesson did we learn from the Holocaust? How do countries in the world handle genocide today?)