The Fallacy of Race and the Shoah

GLOSSARY

GLOSSARY Aktion is the German word that refers either to organized pogroms, riots against Jews, or the roundup of Jews in ghettos or towns prior to deportation to camps or subsequent "special treatment."Systematic Aktionen began in the spring of 1940. At first, these roundups, instituted by Himmler, were for the purpose of providing forced labour to the war economy. Aktion was the order in the ghettos and towns given before the Jews were marched to the outskirts of towns and villages and made to dig their own graves before being shot by the Einsatzgruppen. Until the Wannsee Conference, Jews in annexed areas where no camps as of yet existed were deported to Germany to be used in factories as slave labour. Whether Aktionen were followed by deportations directly to death factories or first to labour factories, they were the first step in the systematic process of killing. Allies refers to the nations that united in the war against Germany and the other Axis nations. They included Great Britain, the Czech government-in-exile, unoccupied France and Poland, the United States, and the Soviet Union. American Jewish Congress is an affiliate of World Jewish Congress. Under the leadership of Rabbi Stephen S.Wise, AJC and WJC attempted to alert the Allied governments and public of the atrocities being committed against Jews during the Shoah. American Joint Distribution Committee (AJDC) was founded 27 November 1914 from three separate representations of American Jews. The organization was formed in response to the misfortunes brought upon the Jews by WorldWar I.It was a conglomerate of relief committees, of workmen's groups, wealthy members of the American Jewish community and groups representing various towns in Europe from which Jews had emigrated. Millions of dollars were raised annually for relief of the distressed in foreign lands.They joined efforts in 1939 with the UnitedJewish Appeal,spending more than $75 million dollars between 1939 and 1945 on relief and rescue efforts in Europe. These efforts continued from 1945 to 1953, during which time they report having spent $34 million for food, shelter, and repatriation of displaced persons.The Joint is the name most commonly used for the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee. Anschluss is the German word for connection and refers to the German annexation of Austria on 13March 1938 by the Nazis.At the time of the Anschluss, there were approximately 185,000 Jews in Austria,the great majority of them in Vienna.Antisemitism was zealously vented after this time and more than 65,000 Jews emigrated by December 1938.Soon after the Anschluss the Mauthausen concentration camp was established at the town of Mauthausen for the purpose of holding Austrian prisoners, primarily Jews, in protective custody . Antisemitism is a term meaning hatred and opposition to the Jews. It was first used in Europe during the 1870s following the Emancipation.The sources of this hatred are based in the religious creed of Judaism and the role Jews have traditionallyplayed in the economiccommunity . Aplicing is the German term used to refer to the removal of lice.Although this activitytook place on an ongoing basis, in some labour camps every second Sunday was a day without work and inmates' efforts were usually concentrated on Aplicing. 317 Appelplatz is the area in the concentration camps where the roll calls or the counting of inmates took place. Every day, morning and night, prisoners were forced to stand, sometimes for hours on end, while every person was located. These roll calls occurred in all types of weather. Arbeit Macht Frei is German for "work makes free."A sign with this inscription was found at the entrance to most of the concentration, death, and labour camps. The sign has come to symbolize all the Nazis' deception techniques, such as the promise of resettlement made to Jews prior to their deportation to death and forced-labour camps. Arrow Cross Party was the Hungarian fascist movement and party founded by Ferencz Szalasi in 1937. Aryan originally meant peoples speaking IndoEuropean languages.The Naziscorrupted the term and used it to apply to those ofTeutonic or Germanic background . To the Nazis, a usual Aryan was blond, blueeyed , and of a tall stature, and such people constituted a "race." Aryanization referred to the expropriation of Jewish businesses and property by German authorities and the powers of the Axis nations. Asocial Elements was a category that included people the German police thought were not fit to live in Germany.They included Gypsies, homosexuals, pimps, prostitutes, and migrants...