Holocaust By: Tessa Yates

1. The most medical of all Auschwitz killing methods was the phenol injection. A patient was brought to a treatment room and there administered a drug by a physician or (in most cases) his assistant, who wore a white coat and used a syringe and needle for the injection. This drug would kill the patient immediately.
http://www.spectacle.org/695/inject.html

2. In 1933, Hitler established a Reich Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda headed by Joseph Goebbels. The Ministry's aim was to ensure that the Nazi message was successfully communicated through art, music, theater, films, books, radio, educational materials, and the press.
http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/article.php?ModuleId=10005202

3. In 1993, there were over 9 million Jews in Europe. By 1945, the Germans had killed nearly every 2 out of 3 European Jews.
http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/article.php?lang=en&ModuleId=10005143

Relating the Book Thief to the Holocaust

How does the Book Thief relate to the Holocaust? There are many examples illustrated in the Book Thief that relate to World War II. One example is the "Aryan" people. The Aryans had light hair (blonde) and blue eyes. They were thought to be more important than other people that were not of the race. One of the characters in the book that is Aryan is Rudy. In the chapter, The Jesse Owens Incident, Rudy covers his face with charcoal to make himself look like Jesse Owens. Rudy's dad almost has a heart attack when he sees Rudy like this. Many people during the Holocaust, just like Rudy's dad, were brainwashed by Hitler to believe that the Aryan race was better than other races.