World war 2

Unit 2 • Chapter 3

Holocaust

Summary

During World War II, Lublin, Poland, known as the German SS City, was where over 2 million Polish Jews were planned to be murdered by the black uniformed Nazis presence. The desk murderers, bureaucrats, secretaries, planners, and junior officers were equally responsible for the murder. SS squads organized train timetables, dispatched killing units to Jewish towns, and rounded up Jews for death camps. Treblinka death camp operated for 15 months, with 925,000 Jews murdered. Understanding the individual stories deepens the impact of the tragedy. Teresa Gardner highlights the example of Janusz Korczak, a Polish Jewish pediatrician who chose to go to Treblinka with the children from the Warsaw orphanage. Todd and Rachel McDow felt a mixture of emotions visiting the site, feeling peace amidst the horrific tragedy. Witnessing the aftermath of evil acts leads to reflection on responsibilities and faithfulness to prevent such atrocities from occurring again.

Concept Check

How many Jews were murdered in the Trinka death camp?