What kinds of people were killed in the Holocaust and how did the Nazis know?

Question

I know Jews and gay people were but who else? How did the Nazis know that they were Jewish, gay, etc.?

Answer 1

The nazis killed anyone who had brown hair and brown eyes, how ironic that hitler had brown hair and brown eyes. If you had blonde hair and blue eyes you were safe, what a tragedy!

Answer 2

Well, Jewish people would be identifiable by the fact that they attended synagogues, ate kosher food, and followed other traditional Jewish practices. Even non-religious Jews would probably be known to be Jewish by their connections, they would probably have relatives and friends who followed traditional Jewish practices even if they did not themselves. Also they might have to identify their religion when filling in medical forms etc.



I believe homosexuality was not actually illegal in pre-Nazi Germany, so many gay people were probably living openly as gay, so they could be easily targeted by the Nazis. And even if people were keeping it secret, there would always be those who would know their secret, and who might betray them.



Other people would be easily identifiable in other ways. Gypsies for instance usually live with other gypsies and travel in groups, so they would be easy to pick off. Communists would be known through their party membership. anyone physically or mentally handicapped would be easy to identify. And Slavs (the second largest number killed next to the Jews), would presumably be identified by the region they came from. Jehovah's Witnesses (another target group) would be idnetifiable by the fact that they preached their religion openly and were pacifists.

Answer 3

They knew who Jews were because they stole attendance lists from synagogues. Also, it had been a tradition for some time for Jews to live close together, even before Nazis forced them into ghettos.



How did they know who was gay? I don't know. Gays weren't sent to camps in anywhere near the same numbers as any other group, so maybe they were 'caught in the act' on a case-by-case basis.



They also sent gypsies (easily recognizable by their lifestyles); Nuns (also easily recognizable); and people who had obvious genetic mutations, like autism, Downs, dwarfism, etc.

Answer 4

Well, some Jews simply wore the star of David. Others tried to hide, of course. But the Nazis were in their communities. They knew these people, so many of them knew who was Jewish, who has gay, who was mentally handicapped, etc. They basically killed anyone they didn't like.

Answer 5

Jews, Homosexuals, Political dissidents, Gypsies, Slavs, Russian POW's, mentally ill and disabled...all were sent to their deaths in significant numbers.



In Germany in the 1930's, it wasn't a case of proving someone was Jewish, it was a case of them having to prove that they weren't Jewish. For a large section of the population, that meant producing certificates of baptism going back three generations. All over Germany, Churches were inundated with requests to provide certification of baptism/christening, and to their eternal shame, the church leaders obliged.



In the Eastern and Balkan states particularly, the Jews were more Orthodox and much easier to spot from their dress, habits and traditions (Orthodox Jews also lived in other parts of Europe too, such as France). In many cases, families were reported to the authorities if they were known to be Jewish. The Nazis also looked for certain facial features they deemed generic to the Jewish people, and if you fell under suspicion, you had to provide your proof of ancestry.



One of the more disturbing aspects concerning how Jews were gradually rounded up was that in occupied countries, the responsibility to identify and register Jews fell onto local Police forces. As many people were of course completely unaware of the fate that would befall these people, those Police Forces regretfully obliged the ruling Nazi authorities. Even in France and the Channel Islands, this is known to have taken place.

Answer 6

Basic profiling.



The Nazis believed in racial superiority, and had several branches of "science" that characterized the races based mostly upon outward appearance. That was the primary reason how they "knew", but in a totalitarian state, people were guilty until proved innocent, meaning that the burden of proof to show that you weren't one of the untermenschen was upon yourself.



The racial thing didn't happen overnight- the Nazis had been gathering data on the population for years before what we think of the holocaust had occurred.

Answer 7

MisBoss your wrong



They took people that they new or were suspected of being Jewish. Gays and other races were taken an killed. It was nothing about having hair or color eyes. Blonde hair and blue eyes was the ideal Germans but you did not have to have them. As long you were not Jew, Gay or another race you would be fine.

Also remember many German people would rat out their neighbors and friends. Even an accusation would get you thrown into a jail or concentration camp.

Answer 8

The Nazis relied on people to denounce their neighbors, for one thing. They punished anyone who was caught helping a Jew or other targeted person, and they rewarded people who turned them in.



The Nazis also targeted gypsies, the handicapped, the mentally ill and developmentally disabled, the seriously physically ill and elderly, and anyone who protested their policies.



Not everyone who died in the Holocaust died in concentration camps. People in hospitals and institutions were killed inside those places. People were also shot in their homes and in the streets.

Answer 9

pretty much everyone that wasn't what the Nazis thought they should be. They had eye and hair charts that show the 'proper' hair and eye colors and if yours wasn't one of them you were a jew. Gay people I guess was more of a witch hunt. If someone said you were too bad for you. There's all kinds of interesting/sad stuff about it at the Holocaust museum. They even have some of the eye/hair charts.

Answer 10

they kept records from Sinagogs where the Jews worshipped to know who was Jewish and who was not. I never heard about Gay people but if i had to guess on that, i'd say just rumors going around. I know men were normally killed before women and children. Children normally died with their mothers. It sickens me

Answer 11

You should go to library and get a book on this also Google it. You won't learn anything by people giving you your answers. Also in light of the subject matter and the people who died during that era, you should take the time and learn about it out of respect.

Answer 12

people who wernt 'perfect'

so that was

The black race

Jews

Jehovah's witnesses

Soviet POWs

Gypsies

Homosexuals

Political Prisoners

common criminals

Nuns



and most were obvious like nuns,people that war the star of david,criminals,prisioners

and the rest were caught in the act :)

Answer 13

That's the kicker.

Answer 14

idk good question