What is the Holocaust? Why did it happen? What happened to people during the Holocaust? These are the questions everyone asks. Webster's dictionary defines the Holocaust as, 1: a sacrifice consumed by fire, 2: a thorough destruction especially by fire (i. E. a nuclear Holocaust), 3 a often cap. :the mass slaughter of European civilians and especially Jews by the Nazis during World War II –usually used with the b: a mass slaughter of people; especially genocide. The Holocaust is generally thought of as the massacre of about 11 million innocent people, wiped off the earth by the Nazis regime and its collaborators.
             In 1919, the Nazi Party started as a gang of unemployed soldiers. In 1933 they became a legal government of Germany. In fourteen years, a once unknown corporal, Adolf Hitler, would become the chancellor of Germany. With Hitler's controlling influence the Nazi Party quickly consolidated its power. He maintained legality throughout the Nazification process. Over the next six years, he transformed Germany into a police state. He began to rearm the military, in violation of the 1919 Treaty of Versailles. Hitler engaged in a "diplomatic revolution" by skillfully negotiating with other European countries and publicly expressing his strong desire for peace.
             In 1939 Hitler felt the need for more living space. Britain, France and Russia tried to avoid war and calm the bully Germany. Germany seized Austria and took apart Czechoslovakia without engaging in war. Reluctantly Britain and France threatened war if Germany attacked Poland or Romania. In 1939 Germany invaded Poland. Britain and France had no choice but to declare war on Germany, World War II had begun.
             The National Socialist German Workers' Party (NSDAP) or Nazi Party controlled Germany from 1933 to 1945. Nazis labeled and isolated Jews, Gypsies, Slavs, homosexuals, political prisoners, and the mentally and physically disabled. Millions ...