Who is Responsible for the Holocaust?

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Directions: You will be determining who was most responsible for the Holocaust and to what extent they are guilty of crimes against humanity. Create a pie graph in which you assign a percentage of responsibility for each person below. Remember, all percentages must add up to 100%. Use the colors listed for each section of your graph.

After you have made the designations of responsibility for each person(s), write a detailed explanation defending the choices below. Each section (color) much include at least a ½ page defense that utilizes historical and/or literary evidence to support your stance. Some sections may use more historical evidence and other more literary evidence, but the paper should reflect both subject areas and be rich in analysis.

RED: Residents of Auschwitz and other towns near concentration camps who knew about the camps but did nothing to stop them.

BLUE: Minor Nazi soldiers who carried out the mass extermination orders without questioning their superiors.

GREEN: Hitler, the leader of the German nation who hated Jews and wanted them destroyed.

YELLOW: German citizens who voted for Hitler and the Nazi Party to revitalize their morally and economically depressed country.

ORANGE: The Jews who did not try to escape.

PURPLE: Top SS officers who designed and executed the "final solution" for Hitler.

BROWN: Non-Jewish Europeans who turned against their Jewish friends and fellow citizens for fear that they too would be imprisoned as Jewish sympathizers.

WHITE: Leaders of the Allied countries who constructed the Treaty of Versailles and saw evidence of the Holocaust but refused to get involved or voice opposition to Hitler's plan of extermination.

PINK: Churches of all denominations who remained silent and refused to intervene when confronted with evidence of the Holocaust.

BLACK: Yahweh, the God of the Jewish faith, who seemed absent and silent during this destruction of His chosen people.