When World War II began in September 1939, there were approximately 1.6 million Jewish children living in areas that the Germans or their allies would occupy. When the war in Europe ended in May 1945, more than 1 million - perhaps as many as 1.5 million - Jewish children were dead.
They were systematically targeted as victims in the Nazi calculated program of genocide. Liberation from Nazi tyranny brought no end to the sufferings of the Jewish children who survived - many would have to face the future without any living family members or without knowledge of their Jewish identity.
As Warsaw ghetto historian Emanuel Ringelblum wrote in 1942, “Even in the most barbaric times, a human spark glowed in the rudest heart, and children were spared. But the Hitlerian beast is quite different. It would devour the dearest of us, those who arouse the greatest compassion—our innocent children.”
- Death: Hitler made the decision in 1941 to carry out the systematic mass murder of Jews. Mobile killing squads followed the German army into the Soviet Union in June 1941, and by the end of the year, murdered almost 1 million Jewish men, women, and children. That December, the Chelmno killing center began operation. During 1942, the Nazis established five more death camps to carry out the gassing of Europe ’s Jews.
*All Jews were targeted for death, but the mortality rate for children was especially high. Only 6 to 11% of Europe ’s prewar Jewish population of children survived as compared with 33% of the adults. The young generally were not selected for forced labor, and the Nazis often carried out “children’s actions” to reduce the number of “useless eaters” in the ghettos. In the camps, children, the elderly, and pregnant women routinely were sent to the gas chambers immediately after arrival.
- Hardships: Parents, children, and rescuers faced daunting challenges once the decision was made to go into hiding. Some children could pass as non-Jews and live openly. Those who could not had to live clandestinely, often in attics or cellars. Children posing as Christians had to carefully conceal their Jewish identity from inquisitive neighbors, classmates, informers, blackmailers, and the police. Even a momentary lapse in language or behavior could expose the child, and the rescuer, to danger. MORE, http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/hidden-children-of-the-holocasut
- The Children of Izieu, Children's Homes in France During the Holocasut
http://www.yadvashem.org/yv/en/exhibitions/childrens-homes/izieu/index.asp
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