The Holocaust was the systematic, state-sponsored persecution and murder of six million Jews by the Nazi regime and its collaborators during World War II. This genocide, which was part of a broader program of racial purification, also targeted other groups considered undesirable by the Nazis, including Roma, Sinti, disabled individuals, political dissidents, homosexuals, and Slavs, among others.
The ideology behind the Holocaust can be traced back to Adolf Hitler's rise to power in 1933, where anti-Semitic policies were implemented. Hitler's book "Mein Kampf" outlined his hatred for Jews and his vision of an "Aryan" racial state. The Nuremberg Laws of 1935 stripped Jews of German citizenship and prohibited marriage or sexual relations between Jews and non-Jews.
Despite the overwhelming odds, there were instances of resistance, both armed and cultural, within ghettos and camps. The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising of 1943 is one notable example. Liberation came with the defeat of Nazi Germany in May 1945, but not before millions had perished.
Post-war, the Nuremberg Trials prosecuted Nazi leaders for war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide. The Holocaust has since become a symbol of human rights violations, leading to the establishment of International Holocaust Remembrance Day on January 27, the anniversary of Auschwitz's liberation.