Before WWII, millions of Jews lived in Europe, with Poland having the highest population. The Nazi party rose to power in 1933 in Germany. Hitler passed the Nuremberg Laws in 1935, which denied Jews their civil rights. Kristallnacht in 1938 saw violence against Jews and their property. Germany then invaded Poland in 1939. Jews were forced to live in overcrowded ghettos with little food or heat, and faced violence, disease and deportation to concentration camps. The Wannsee Conference in 1942 coordinated plans for the "Final Solution" of annihilating the Jewish population of Europe.
1. Persecution: Laws and Ghettos Lisa Pennington Social Studies Instructional Specialist Portsmouth Public Schools
2.
3. Before the War What was the Jewish population in Poland compared to the rest of Europe? Which part of Europe had the highest Jewish population? http://www.ushmm.org/lcmedia/map/lc/image/eur77040.gif
![Before the War ,[object Object]](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)