Knowledge of the Holocaust in Nazi Germany and German-occupied Europe
The question of how much knowledge German civilians had about the Holocaust whilst it was happening has been studied and debated by historians. In Nazi Germany, it was an open secret among the population by 1943, Peter Longerich argues, but some authors place it even earlier. After the war, many Germans claimed that they were ignorant of the crimes perpetrated by the Nazi regime, a claim associated with the stereotypical phrase "Davon haben wir nichts gewusst".
In German-occupied Europe, governments were acutely aware of the implications of their complicity, and that the general population, to varying degrees, were usually not aware of the implications of ghettoization and deportation. Governments such as the Vichy government in France are believed to have been keenly aware of their complicity with the Nazis' genocidal policies. With regard to general populations, the overall consensus amongst historians appears to be that many were aware of a hatred towards the Jewry, but not insofar that a significant comprehension of the Nazis' genocidal policies was reached.
Nazi Germany
Knowledge of the Holocaust in Nazi Germany is a recurrent historical issue. The precise number of people who knew of the Final Solution is unknown. The larger population were at least acutely aware of the Nazi Party's antisemitism, if not advocates of the movement themselves. Numerous perspectives emerge when examining the degrees to which the larger population were aware that antisemitic practices enabled by the Nazi Party would eventuate to ethnic cleansing of the Jewish population. However, many historians argue that Germans were provided information explicit enough to indicate that the Jewish people were being massacred.Although the mass murder of Jews took place outside of Germany, the mass killing of Soviet prisoners of war occurred within it and at an early date. By mid 1942 an estimated 227,000 had died after being deported to Germany. Many Germans were aware of these killings. Some Germans tried to help the prisoners, by giving them food or even aiding escapees. According to the Security Service reports, many Germans called for the death of these prisoners out of fear that feeding them would reduce their own rations.
Availability of genocidal policies to the German public
Nazi policies were widely available to the population. Berlin Radio broadcast the mass-execution of Jews in Białystok and the burning of synagogues in July 1941. Numerous speeches spoken by Hitler in 1942 allude to the destruction of Jews. Notably, on 24 February 1942, Hitler's speech celebrating the Nazi Party's foundation alludes to his prophecy of 30 January 1939 in which he foresaw the destruction of European Jews. This speech was then reported the following day in the Niedersaechsische Tageszeitung. Hitler publicly referenced his original 1939 prophecy at least four times in the year 1942. Historians such as Confino and Koonz argue that Hitler's emphasis on this prophecy during the height of the Holocaust meant that it became a shared ideal among the society.From the analysis of primary sources circulating during the Second World War, historian Ian Kershaw deduces that areas of Germany closer to Poland and Russia had more knowledge of the ongoing extermination of Jews, as they were physically closer to the killing areas. The names of extermination camps are rarely mentioned in primary sources originating from the Western side of the Reich. Comparatively, areas near the east of Europe make references to the camps. Particularly, primary sources report the Polish resistance movement comparing the Katyn massacre to the Auschwitz concentration camp.
Understanding the implications of deportation
Kershaw argues that there is a strong likelihood that German people understood the implications of deportation for evacuated Jews. There were numerous reports of mass shootings conducted in the Soviet Union, and it was known to the general German public that this was where German Jews would be deported to. Similarly, Kershaw argues that local SD reports provided enough information such that Germans who wanted to seek the purpose of deportation would likely find the answer. In July 1942, Karl Duerckefaelden, a Celle engineer, noted three instances in his everyday life where rumours of deportation circulated. A conversation with a Dutch lorry driver, news from the BBC, and the wife of a Jew all spoke of the deportation of Jews, and the potential implications of death. In 1942-43, the White Rose, an anti-Nazi resistance group, produced a series of leaflets that were distributed amongst students at the University of Munich. One such leaflet stated,Knowledge of mass shootings
A report from Minden in December 1941 outlined how Jews were being deported to Warsaw in cattle cars, and, upon arrival, worked in factories, whilst the old and sick were shot. SD reports in April 1942 also outline how the Sicherheitspolizei were tasked with exterminating the Jews in German-occupied territories, where victims would dig their own graves before being shot. This information reached the Erfurt area of Germany. Kershaw also explores the accessibility of this information by referencing diaries of German people. German people who travelled for work were more likely able to access information on mass shootings. Karl Duerckefaelden's brother-in-law, who travelled to Dnieper, spoke to him of informants who had seen mass shootings first-hand. One informant spoke of the mass shooting of 118 Jews no longer fit for work, and two different mass burials of 50,000 and 80,000 Jews on the trip home. Another trip involved interaction with people on the front who stated that all the Jews in Ukraine were dead.
Knowledge of concentration camps
According to Gellately, the German public initially understood that Nazi concentration camps were educative institutions for criminals. However, despite censorship, the German public eventually came to understand the likelihood of fatality if sent to a concentration camp. Prisoners began to appear in public spaces such as factories and city streets, and they often wore distinctive clothing with badges that signified their nationality and crime. The nature of concentration camps was made further obvious by the SS's public displays of violence towards inmates. Numerous interviews with German people mention either a cruel or murderous incident between guards and inmates. Usually, the inmate was beaten to death or shot for either disobeying or being unable to work.Knowledge of gas chambers
Longreich purports that it was not widely known that Jews were exterminated using gas chambers. Bankier purports that by 1943, gas as a killing method was widely discussed, although there were inaccuracies that gave rise to misconceptions of how the gassings were practiced. Reports and interviews only have vague and infrequent references to victims being gassed in cattle trucks of trains in tunnels. This information, if disseminated, was done so via foreign broadcasts and rumours from soldiers. Indictment of German individuals reveal that some of the public knew of the gas chambers, but were censored. In the Munich Special Court in 1943, a woman recalls discussing foreign broadcasts with her neighbour which outlined how Jewish women and children were segregated from the "Aryan" population, and then killed with gas. In 1944, also in the Munich Special Court, an Augsburg furniture removal man was indicted for having declared that the "Führer" was a mass-murderer who had Jews loaded into a wagon and exterminated by gas.German-occupied Europe
The Netherlands
There are competing views amongst historians regarding the Dutch public's knowledge of the Holocaust. Some historians argue that the majority of the Dutch had a complete understanding of the Holocaust. After analyzing Queen Wilhelmina's wartime speeches, social scientist Jord Schaap concluded that the Holocaust was known in the Netherlands between 1940 and 1945. According to Schaap, the key issue was whether or not the Dutch would believe the information. Similarly, Vuijsje in his book Against Better Knowledge: Self-Deception and Denial in Dutch Historiography of the Persecution of the Jews, argues that public knowledge was extensive, but the Dutch public denied the information because of their inability to act against the reality. Other historians contend that many of the Dutch had fragmented knowledge of the Holocaust. Loe de Jong, director of the Dutch State Institute of War Documentation and Dutch historian, argues that while information about the Holocaust was available to the general public, a large proportion of Dutch Jews thought it incomprehensible that their deportation would result in deaths by gassing. De Jong argues that knowledge of mass extermination was only acquired after World War II had ended. Similarly, historian Friedlander argues that even those who were in close proximity to the killing sites had little knowledge of what happened to deported Jews.Public awareness of Nazi policy of systematic murder
Van der Boom's analysis of Dutch diaries reveals that the public knew the Jewish people were deliberately singled out to be sent to concentration camps in Poland. The Jewish people were also aware of the Nazi's wish to practice genocide. Many diarists from Amsterdam particularly, conclude that death would be imminent for Jews. Diaries from Etty Hillesum, an aspiring writer and Joop Voet, a young accountant, both discussed a recognition that Jews were the enemies of Germany and that the Nazis would seek their extermination. Deportation was famously described by Anne Frank as a march of death. However, most diarists were convinced that whilst they would be treated harshly and potentially face death, they did not think they would be killed immediately upon arrival.Awareness of Nazi methods of prisoner treatment
Some of the Dutch heard about prisoners' death by Nazis' experimentation, that is, where Jews would be compelled to be subjects of supposed science experiments. This story circulated in the early 1940s in response to the mortality rates in Mauthausen. This story was mentioned by four diarists analysed by Van der Boom.Knowledge of mass shootings first appeared in a BBC report in 1942. Later that year, eyewitness stories of Jews forced to dig their own graves were recorded by two diarists. Ten other diarists also spoke of mass executions by shooting.
Nazis' infliction of death by gassing was spoken of by diarists, and many did believe in the information. Thirty-five out of the 164 diarists wrote of Jews being gassed. This knowledge originated from detailed reports on Auschwitz, the deportation of Hungarian Jews, news reports and eyewitness accounts of the liberation of camps. A number of diarists did not believe it to be a real practice by the Nazis because they deemed that there was either not enough evidence or that the evidence was not reliable.