📜 Shoah–Holocaust Tutorials
Fascism, National Socialism, and Neo-National Socialism
To begin let me say…
Holocaust research is in many ways similar to other genealogical research, but in other ways it is quite unique. For the purpose of this section of our Holocaust-Shoah tutorial, I will focus on the underlying politics that contributed to a world where the Holocaust was perpetrated by the National Socialists and how these ideologies have evolved since World War II.
“I will permit no man to narrow and degrade my soul by making me hate him.” – Booker T. Washington
Konzentrationslager, Dachau
💡 Overview: From Ideology to Atrocity
The Shoah—or Holocaust—was not a spontaneous event, but the horrific culmination of a totalitarian political ideology that placed radical nationalism, racial supremacy, and the elimination of perceived enemies at its core.
The foundations of this catastrophe lie in the early 20th-century movements of Fascism (originating in Italy) and its more racially focused German offshoot, National Socialism. These movements rejected liberal democracy, advocated for a single, supreme state, and glorified political violence. In Germany, this culminated in the state-sponsored persecution and systematic murder of six million Jewish people, as well as millions of others deemed "unfit" or "enemies of the Reich," including the Sinti and Roma, people with disabilities, and homosexuals.
In the decades since World War II, these foundational ideas have persisted, transforming into decentralized, digitally sophisticated movements known as Neo-National Socialism. Understanding the core tenets of these successive political ideologies is essential to grasping the historical context of the atrocities committed and recognizing their contemporary echoes.
📚 The Tutorial Series Index
This collection of guides provides a comprehensive approach to researching the Shoah–Holocaust, covering the political roots, the historical atrocities, and the methodological steps required for genealogical and historical inquiry.
1. Fascism, National Socialism, and Neo-National Socialism
This guide provides a comparative political analysis of these interlocking ideologies. It details the origins of Fascism in Italy, the distinct racial component of National Socialism in Germany, and how these totalitarian principles survived World War II to form today’s Neo-National Socialist and far-right movements in Europe and North America.
2. Aktion T4 and 14f13 Guide
This guide details the first systematic mass murder programs carried out by the National Socialist regime. It focuses on the so-called "euthanasia" initiatives, Aktion T4 and Aktion 14f13, which targeted people with physical and mental disabilities and illnesses. It provides historical context, identifies key perpetrators, and supplies victim statistics.
3. Shoah–Holocaust Research Tutorial
This is the primary genealogical and historical research guide. It sets the context for the unique challenges of Holocaust research, provides a foundational understanding of the geographic and demographic scope of the events, outlines the largest targeted populations, and provides an extensive directory of crucial archives, databases, and institutional resources for locating records and victim information.
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All content is based on information from publicly available sources. No classified or speculative information is used. We do not track or sell any user information or use patterns.
Note on Content and Attribution: The methodological content and external resource lists in this tutorial were compiled based on the extensive research of Mark Rabideau (ManyRoads/Ardens Genealogy) and structured in collaboration with the Gemini artificial intelligence model to optimize for the Ardens Documentation System.
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