You know, I used to wonder why people kept asking "what did the Nazis do?" until I visited Berlin last summer. Standing in front of those bullet-riddled buildings, it hit me – most history classes barely scratch the surface. They'll mention Hitler and concentration camps, but what exactly happened step-by-step? How did regular people get dragged into this nightmare? Let's break it down without the textbook fluff.
The Blueprint of Terror: How They Took Control
People don't wake up one day committing genocide. The Nazis were methodical. Their playbook from 1933 had phases:
Phase 1: Silencing Opposition (1933-1934)
Remember that eerie calm before the storm? Yeah.
- Burned the Reichstag (February 1933): Blamed communists, suspended civil liberties
- Enabling Act passed (March 1933): Gave Hitler dictatorial powers – legally!
- Banned trade unions and opposing parties by July
I read an interview with a Berlin shopkeeper who said: "One morning we had 5 newspapers, next week only Völkischer Beobachter." Chilling how fast it happened.
Phase 2: Legalizing Hatred (1935-1938)
This is where they weaponized bureaucracy:
| Law/Policy | Year | Target Group | Real-Life Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nuremberg Laws | 1935 | Jews | Lost citizenship, banned from parks/pools |
| Law on Hereditary Health | 1933 | Disabled | Forced sterilizations (300k+ victims) |
| Decree on "Enemies of State" | 1936 | Political dissidents | Arrest without trial |
A Jewish doctor's diary described being fired mid-surgery because new laws prohibited Jewish physicians. Just imagine that.
The Machinery of Genocide: What Did the Nazis Do Daily?
Frankly, most folks picture death camps when asking what did the Nazis do, but the killing machine had multiple gears:
Ghettoization Process
Warsaw Ghetto conditions (1940-1943):
- 400,000 people crammed into 1.3 sq miles
- Daily food ration: 184 calories (starvation diet)
- Disease mortality rate: 6,000/month at peak
Visiting the memorial, I saw children's shoes behind glass. Hit harder than any statistic.
Einsatzgruppen: Mobile Killing Units
These death squads followed advancing troops:
| Region | Massacre Site | Victims | Method |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ukraine | Babyn Yar | 33,771 in 2 days | Machine-gunned into ravine |
| Lithuania | Ponary Forest | 70,000+ | Shot in pits |
A survivor account described killers drinking vodka between executions. The brutality was... industrial.
Concentration Camp System
People often confuse camps. Here's the breakdown:
| Camp Type | Examples | Primary Purpose | Death Toll |
|---|---|---|---|
| Labor Camps | Buchenwald, Dachau | Exploiting prisoners | 100k+ at Buchenwald |
| Extermination Camps | Treblinka, Sobibor | Mass murder | 900k at Treblinka in 15 mos |
| Hybrid Camps | Auschwitz-Birkenau | Labor + extermination | 1.1 million murdered |
At Auschwitz, they calculated prisoner value: gold teeth = 50 Reichsmarks, hair for mattresses = 1 RM/kg.
The Overlooked Horrors: What Else Did the Nazis Do?
Beyond the Holocaust, their crimes were vast:
Medical Experiments
Doctors became butchers at camps like Dachau:
- Freezing experiments: Submerging prisoners in ice water (hypothermia "research")
- Twin studies: Injected dyes into children's eyes to "change" eye color
- Bone grafting: Amputating limbs to test regeneration
Many perpetrators got hired by pharmaceutical companies postwar. Disgusting, right?
Cultural Destruction
Berlin's library fires weren't accidents:
- Burned 25,000 "degenerate" books in 1933
- Looted 200,000 artworks from Jewish collections
- Banned jazz as "Negro music"
My jazz-musician friend laughs bitterly: "They feared syncopation more than tanks."
Forced Labor Network
Slaves built Germany's wartime economy:
| Company | Industry | Prisoners Used | Postwar Consequences |
|---|---|---|---|
| IG Farben | Chemicals | 83,000 at Auschwitz | Split into BASF/Bayer |
| Volkswagen | Automotive | 15,000+ laborers | Paid compensation in 1998 |
Ever driven a VW? Yeah. History's complicated.
Aftermath: What Did the Nazis Ultimately Achieve?
Stepping back, the numbers still stun:
- Total WWII deaths: 70-85 million
- Holocaust victims: 6 million Jews + 11 million others (Romani, disabled, LGBTQ+, etc)
- German casualties: 8 million dead (military/civilian)
Visiting Nuremberg's courtroom where they tried Nazis felt surreal. Those wood panels heard defenses like "I was following orders."
The Nuremberg Trials (1945-1946)
Major outcomes:
| Defendant | Role | Verdict | Execution Method |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hermann Göring | Luftwaffe chief | Death | Suicide by cyanide night before hanging |
| Albert Speer | Architect/Minister | 20 years | Served sentence, died in 1981 |
Speer's case fascinates me – the "apolitical technocrat" myth he crafted. Historians now call BS.
Why Does "What Did the Nazis Do?" Still Matter?
Because the warning signs repeat:
- Scapegoating minorities during economic crises? ✓
- Censoring "degenerate" art/media? ✓
- Leader cults replacing institutions? ✓
A Holocaust survivor told me: "They started by calling us rats. Dehumanization always comes first."
Questions People Actually Ask About the Nazis
- Adolf Eichmann: Fled to Argentina, captured by Mossad in 1960, hanged in Israel
- Josef Mengele: Drowned in Brazil in 1979 after decades hiding
- Thousands blended into society as teachers, doctors... chilling.
- Auschwitz-Birkenau (Poland): Preserved barracks/gas chambers
- Topography of Terror (Berlin): Gestapo HQ ruins + exhibits
- US Holocaust Museum (Washington DC): Shoes/hair from victims
The Uncomfortable Truth About Nazi Tactics Today
Modern extremists still copy their playbook:
- Using "globalists" instead of "international Jews"
- Claiming "ethnic replacement" theory
- Storming capitols with paramilitary gear
Last month, I saw swastikas spray-painted near my subway stop. Felt like history breathing down our necks.
So when we ask what did the Nazis do, we're really asking: how do we keep this from happening again? Look for erosion of norms. Question dehumanizing language. Protect institutions. And maybe... don't ignore those red flags at the book burnings.
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