Actual+History

**Actual history** **Wannsee Conference to the end of WWII** Shortly after the U.S entered the war, In January, 1942 at the Wannsee conference, 15 Nazi officials decided to agree with General Reinhard Heydrich and authorized the Final solution. “The final solution was the Nazi regime’s code name for the deliberate, planned mass murder of all European Jews (USHMM 19). However, even earlier in late 1941 Germany had invaded Russia and began an extermination of all Russian Jews. Four Mobile SS units swept through Russia after the main German army and destroyed entire Jewish community's and their inhabitants. Meanwhile new camps specially designed for mass murder were becoming operational. The most infamous of these was Auschwitz-Birkenau which had 4 gas chambers which could kill hundreds of Jews in a very short time. By the end of the war over 1,000,000 people died at Auschwitz alone(USHMM 24) The already existing anti-semitism in Europe made it easier for the Nazis to operate. Many local authorities helped with transport and logistics while the the majority of governments were indifferent. Even the U.S failed to do anything to directly save Jewish prisoners besides fight the German army. At the camps the majority of woman, children, and people incapable of working were immediately killed while those who could work were sent to forced labor camps. The body's were then burnt in crematoriums by other Jews called Sonderkommandos. Despite the enormity of the operation, it was somewhat successfully covered up. Many Jews simply thought they were being relocated. “However, there were instances of organized resistance. For example, in the fall of 1943, the Danish resistance, with the support of the local population, rescued nearly the entire Jewish community in Denmark.”(USHMM 20) There were also major Jewish uprising in various concentration camps. By this time the Allied forces were turning the tide of battle in the west, and in February 1943 The Soviets won the battle of Stalingrad and begun the push to Berlin. As the Allied forces closed in on Germany from both sides, They began killing Jews at a frantic pace. The Germans led thousands of Jews on multiple mile death-marches in the bitter winter away from the front to Labor camps in the center of Germany. Jews were killed until Germany surrendered in may of 1945. **WWII to today** Nazi solders fled and the Jews were liberated by both Russian, American and British divisions. As the Americans won the war in the pacific, Jews were placed in relief camps if they could not find any other home. “The Nuremberg War Crime Trials began, With 22 surviving top Nazis charged with crimes against humanity”(Gavin 4). Nazis were punished and Germany was placed under the control of the victorious countries. Some Jews were able to find homes and work in Europe. However, Many could not stand to live in Europe so they emigrated elsewhere. Many Jews went to Palestine to form the nation of Israel and, after much conflict, became one of the most powerful countries in the middle-east. Other Jews fled to America where they were relatively safe from persecution. After WWII the Hebrew race survived the holocaust but will never forget it. **Why was this decision important?** The decision to start the final solution will forever be one of the most infamous decisions in history. A large part of an entire race and culture was destroyed forever. it wasn't just a loss for the Jewish race it was a loss for humanity as a whole. In our alternate history Hitler delays this decision and wins the war which results in the deaths of even more people. There were many ways the Germans could of handled the Jews and there is an equal number of possible outcomes that could have been worse or better than what actually happened. This decision is important because the final solution may have been a factor in Germany's defeat and because it took a terrible toll on the Jewish race

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