From 1934 , forced sterilisation of the hereditarily diseased had commenced in Germany . Based on eugenic theories , it proposed to cleanse the German nation of " unhealthy breeding stock " and was taken a step further in 1939 , when the regime commenced its " euthanasia " . This was the first of the regime 's infamous series of mass extermination programmes , which saw the Nazis attempt to eliminate " life unworthy of life " from Europe : first the handicapped , then Jews , Gypsies , homosexuals , Jehovah 's Witnesses , and others deemed " subnormal " . Ultimately , the Jews suffered most in numerical terms , while Gypsies suffered the greatest proportional loss . The Jews later termed the tragedy The Holocaust ( or '' Shoah '' )
The Holocaust
The Holocaust
Rescue of Jews by Catholics during the Holocaust