The Germans were also very systematic in their approach to the genocide that was the Holocaust. Part of that approach included misleading the Jews until the very last possible moment. They were told they were being "resettled in the East", and "Arbeit Macht Frei" work would set them free. They were told they would be taking showers when they arrived in the death camps, when in fact many were being gassed instead.
There is a very strong human tendency not to wantto believe the worst in possible, and the Germans very systematically gave them an option that seemed more hopeful.
Add to this the fact that Jews had been persecuted in Europe for 600 years by that point, and while it was horrible to endure, such persecution had always eventually passed. Jews wanted to believe this was just a difficult period that would get better if they just waited it out.
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