Final answer:
Hitler's implementation of the Holocaust targeted approximately 12 million people, chiefly aiming to exterminate the Jews of Europe as well as other groups deemed undesirable by Nazi ideology. Six million Jews were killed during this genocide, with extermination camps and gas chambers being central to the mass killings. The Holocaust was driven by extremist racial ideologies and persecution of minorities.
Step-by-step explanation:
Adolf Hitler and the Nazi regime orchestrated the systematic killing of approximately 12 million people, among which 6 million were Jews, in an event historically known as the Holocaust. This genocide, fueled by extremist racial ideologies, was part of what the Nazis called the 'Final Solution' to the 'Jewish problem', aiming for the eradication of European Jewry. The Holocaust also targeted multiple other groups such as Roma (Gypsies), people with disabilities, homosexuals, political dissidents, and others who did not fit the Nazi ideal. Millions were killed through various methods in concentration and extermination camps with gas chambers being notoriously used for mass executions.
The Holocaust began as early as 1933 and reached its height between 1941 and 1945, with the construction and operation of six major extermination camps in Poland. These horrifying events stand as some of the darkest moments in human history and have left an indelible mark on the world. Hitler's regime pushed forward with these genocidal policies even when faced with the imminent loss of World War II, prioritizing the extermination efforts over military operations at certain points.