Creation of ghettos to isolate Jewish populations from "summary" of The Holocaust by Laurence Rees
The Nazis' decision to create ghettos to isolate Jewish populations was a key step in their plan to segregate and ultimately exterminate European Jewry. This policy was implemented throughout occupied territories in Eastern Europe in the early stages of the Holocaust. The ghettos were typically located in the poorest, most crowded areas of cities and towns, where the Jewish population was already concentrated. The creation of these enclosed areas served to physically separate Jews from the rest of society, restricting their movement and ability to interact with non-Jews. Conditions within the ghettos were deplorable, with overcrowding, lack of food, and inadequate sanitation leading to widespread disease and death. The Jewish inhabitants were forced to live in cramped quarters, often without basic necessities such as clean water and heating. The ghettos also served as staging grounds for mass deportations to concentration camps, where Jews were systematically murdered in gas chambers. The Nazis used the ghettos as a way to gather large numbers of Jews in one place before transporting them to their deaths. The creation of ghettos was not only a means of isolating Jewish populations, but also a tool for psychological warfare. By confining Jews to these squalid, impoverished areas, the Nazis sought to dehumanize them and break their spirits, making them easier targets for further persecution.- The establishment of ghettos was a crucial aspect of the Holocaust, marking the beginning of a systematic campaign of discrimination, persecution, and ultimately, genocide against European Jewry. The ghettos symbolized the Nazis' brutal and inhumane treatment of the Jewish people, setting the stage for the horrors that would follow.
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