The Holocaust is one of the greatest crimes ever committed against humanity. At first, the Nazis put pressure on Jews, snatching them from high status by boycotting their stores, and eventually by physically persecuting them. However, several Jews emigrated, particularly to North America. After the annexation of Austria and the invasion of Poland in 1939, Nazi control eventually extended to the Netherlands, Norway, northern France, and Czechoslovakia; As the Nazis' power grew, so did the number of executions. Jews who wanted to flee had difficulty because several countries refused to accept Jews en masse, including the United States. The Jews were without defenders and when World War II was declared, they were trapped. Hitler then began to exterminate all European Jews. Jews in Nazi-controlled countries were identified and forced to wear yellow stars in public, then eventually deported to concentration camps. When the Jews arrived in these camps, the SS, or whoever was in charge of this camp, divided them into two groups. One group consisted of individuals strong enough to work, mostly men, in which they either had to help transport bodies from executions to crematoriums or search the bodies of the deceased for valuables. The second group included mainly women, children, the sick and the elderly, who were immediately sent to be gassed or shot at the camp hospital. Arriving at these camps on overcrowded trains, they were rounded up by rogue guards on the arrival ramp, where German SS and Ukrainian guards forced them to hand over their belongings and clothes. Most individuals thought they were going to move east for gambling...... middle of paper ......ington, DC: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, 2011. Web. “Killing centers.” Holocaust Encyclopedia. Washington, DC: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, 2011. Web. “Concentration camps, 1939-1942.” Holocaust Encyclopedia. Washington, DC: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, 2011. Web. “Nazi camps”. Holocaust Encyclopedia. Washington, DC: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, 2011. Web. “Classification system in Nazi concentration camps.” Holocaust Encyclopedia. Washington, DC: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, 2011. Web. .