Es war ein Edelweiss (English: "It Was an Edelweiss") is a march, with music and lyrics composed by Herms Niel in 1941 for the German Army.
About the Holocaust:
The Holocaust was the systematic and planned genocide carried out by Nazi Germany during World War II. Its aim was to exterminate millions of people, primarily Jews, as well as other groups deemed "undesirable" by the Nazi regime, such as Romani people, disabled individuals, Poles, Russians, and homosexuals.
Statistics:
- Approximately six million Jews were killed during the Holocaust, which accounted for around two-thirds of the Jewish population in Europe at that time.
- In addition to Jews, an estimated five million non-Jewish victims were targeted, resulting in a total death toll of around 11 million people.
- The largest extermination camp was Auschwitz-Birkenau, where an estimated 1.1 million people, mostly Jews, were murdered. Other major extermination camps included Treblinka, Sobibor, Belzec, Majdanek, and Chelmno.
- The Einsatzgruppen, mobile killing units, were responsible for the mass shootings of Jews and other victims in occupied territories of Eastern Europe.
- The Holocaust also involved forced labor, medical experiments, and other forms of persecution and cruelty.
You can learn much more visiting these websites:
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM)
Yad Vashem: The World Holocaust Remembrance Center
Holocaust Encyclopedia: a USHMM online source.
"The Holocaust: A New History" by Laurence Rees: This book provides a comprehensive and well-researched account of the Holocaust, combining historical analysis with personal narratives of survivors and perpetrators.