The Holocaust occurred during World War II, primarily between 1941 and 1945. It was a systematic genocide carried out by Nazi Germany and its collaborators against six million European Jews, as well as millions of others, including Romani people, Poles, Soviet POWs, disabled individuals, and others who were targeted based on racial, ethnic, or political grounds.

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The Holocaust began with discriminatory laws against Jews and escalated into mass shootings, forced labor, and ultimately the implementation of the "Final Solution" – a plan to systematically annihilate the Jewish population through mass extermination in concentration and extermination camps.

The atrocities of the Holocaust were revealed as Allied forces liberated concentration camps in 1944 and 1945. The Nuremberg Trials, held between 1945 and 1946, sought to bring Nazi war criminals to justice for their role in the Holocaust and other war crimes. 

The Holocaust is considered one of the most horrific crimes against humanity in modern history.

Connecting back to Zionism and the need for the Jewish state, the Holocaust was the ultimate proof that the Zionists needed to convince Jews who weren't on board before. 
The Zionists main claim was another catastrophe was waiting the Jews, and the Nazis atrocities provided just that. 
Fear and pain compelled every Jew to rally behind the creation of the Jewish state as a solution to prevent the next genocide. 

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