Study Questions
Cox, Holocaust

  1. What two opening questions does Cox pose?
    Does he view the Nazi regime as an aberration, a break from Western Civilization?

  2. Summarize the history of anti-Semitism prior to the 19th century.
    What new ideology transforms anti-Semitism in the 19    th century? Is this a particularly German phenomenon?

  3. Describe the status of Jews in Germany in the early 1900s.

  4. What were the impacts of World War I that would contribute to the rise of Hitler and, eventually, the Holocaust?

  5. When the war begins in 1939, who were the primary targets of the Nazis?
    What were the Nazis’ initials plans for and policies toward the Jews?

  6. What was the Hunger Plan?

  7. Why does Operation Barbarossa lead to the Final Solution to the Jewish Question?

  8. What was Operation T-4? Who else had similar policies, even if on a much smaller scale?

  9. What was Operation Reinhard?

  10. Which regimes / regions participated significantly in the Holocaust?

  11. What were the Holocaust death tolls? When did most perish? Where were most from?

  12. Who were the primary non-Jewish victims of the Nazis and how many of them were there?

  13. What happened to the Roma and Sinti? Was their situation similar to Jews’?

  14. What happens to millions of Germans outside of Germany at the end of or shortly after the war? How many are killed?

  15. How much justice has there been for Holocaust perpetrators?

  16. What is the status of Jews today in Germany? Poland? Former USSR?