The Holocaust was the state-sponsored mass murder of millions of Jewish people, queer people, people with disabilities, and other persecuted groups by the Nazi regime during WWII. The word comes from the Greek word “holokauston,” which refers to a sacrifice by fire.[1]
While a majority of the killings occurred from 1941-1945, Jews were persecuted by the Nazi regime starting in 1933 when Adolf Hitler came to power in Germany.[2]
Jewish people were excluded from public life on September 15th, 1935 when the Nuremberg Laws were issued. These laws also stripped German Jews of their citizenship and their right to marry Germans.[3]
