TCHJSG655

Enforced Deportations of Jews 1938 to 1945

Peter Klein

Hinweise für Studierende

online - LV an der Touro University

Kommentar

The expulsion of national or ethnic minorities was euphemistically referred to as 'ethnic cleansing' and became a hallmark of the 20th century in Europe. This practice was already employed before World War I, for example, during the Balkan Wars starting in 1912, and was later legitimized by the Treaty of Lausanne in 1923. The genocide of the Armenian people (Aghet) beginning in 1915 developed out of violent expulsions. From 1938, the forced emigration of Jews from Germany and annexed Austria was supplemented by early considerations of using deportation transports to compel expulsions. Early actions of deportations to Nisko am San in occupied Poland and Gurs in Vichy-France inspired imitators, such as in Croatia and Romania. This seminar traces the historical development through several key locations, addressing the role of the department IV B 4 and its German actors, and highlighting the shift from 'ethnic cleansing' as a genocidal strategy towards deportation with the goal of active murder of Europe's Jews, which continued up to the death marches of 1944/45. The aim is to identify a historical trajectory and mark turning points in the Holocaust, so that the commonalities and differences between Genocide Research and Holocaust Research become transparent. Schließen