Rewrite this essay in your own words. WORTH 50 POINTS. WILL MARK BRAINIEST! The Holocaust was a period in history at the time of World War Two (1939-1945), when millions of Jews were murdered because of who they were.
The killings were organised by Germany's Nazi party, led by Adolf Hitler.
Jews were the main target of the Nazis, and the greatest number of victims were Jewish. Nearly seven out of every 10 Jews in Europe were murdered because of their identity.

The Nazis also killed other groups of people, including Roma ('gypsies') and disabled people. They also arrested and took away the rights of other groups, like gay people and political opponents.
Many of them died as a result of their treatment.
The Holocaust was an example of genocide. Genocide is deliberately killing a large group of people, usually because they are a certain nationality, race or religion.

Nazis were racist and believed that what they called their Aryan race was more important than others. The Nazis said an Aryan was somebody Germanic. The Nazis believed that Jews, Roma ('gypsies'), black people and other ethnic groups were inferior to Aryans.
Nazis were ruthlessly anti-Semitic and this affected all of their policies and actions.
They also believed that Germany was a better country than others and that their people's superiority meant they could and should dominate other people. This led Germany to invade and take over other countries before and during World War Two.

In 1921, a man called Adolf Hitler became leader of the party.
Then, in January 1933, the Nazis were invited to form a government after they were voted as the largest party in an election.
From the moment his party came to power, Adolf Hitler set out to impose Nazi values on all aspects of German life, taking control using fear and terror.
When the German President Hindenburg died in 1934, Hitler declared himself to be the Fuhrer or 'supreme leader of Germany'. (Nowadays, the word Fuhrer has a negative meaning of a ruthless leader who imposes brutal rule over people.)