Essay On Jewish Life Before The Holocaust

Jewish life before the Holocaust:

In 1933 before the Holocaust, 9.5 million Jews thrived throughout Europe with the majority of them living in the Poland, Romania, and the Soviet Union. The total number of Jews in these three countries was 6,281,000. The three countries in central Europe with the highest Jewish population were Germany, Hungary, and Czechoslovakia, home to 1,327,000 Jews. In western Europe, Great Britain, France, and the Netherlands contained the largest number of Jewish residency with 706,000 Jews. Lastly, in southern Europe, Greece, Yugoslavia, and Italy contained the least amount of Jews with only 189,000. Jews played in important part in Europe’s society before the Nazis came to power due to their highly influential and richly diverse culture. Many of these cultures had flourished in Europe for hundreds and thousands of years. Their ever-changing culture varied from country to country allowing for growth and prosperity. Jews were an inspiration for others culturally and politically. For example, non-Jews and Jews in the same communities dressed alike, and the Jews had fought

side by side with non-Jews in previous wars like World War I (“International School for Holocaust Studies”). About a decade later, after the Nazis came to power, most of Europe considered Jews inferior (“Jewish Population of Europe in 1933: Population Data by Country”).

The United States during the Holocaust:
During World War II, the rescue of Jews was not a priority for the United States. Because they had just moved out of the Great Depression, the US State Department did not allow all Jewish immigrants to enter the States due to their fear of having another depression. Instead, they restricted the number of entry visas. The entry visas of immigrants were further limited by the Immigration Act of 1924. Along with limiting entry to immigrants, the United States also did not publicize the wrongdoing of the Nazis. The U.S. press tried to limit information on the Jews by making the mass murdering of Jews seem insignificant. This all changed in August 1942 when the U.S. State Department received a letter from a representative of the World Jewish Congress that was intended for Stephen Wise, an American who was President of the World Jewish Congress. Instead of passing the letter to Wise, the State Department ignored it until Wise received a British broadcast about the mass murdering in Europe. On November 24, 1942, after approval from the State Department, Wise announced to the citizens of the United States that the Nazis were persecuting the Jews. A few weeks later, the Allies and the United States declared that Nazi Germany would be held accountable for all their crimes (“The United States and the Holocaust”).

Ghettos:
Ghettos were used throughout Europe to annihilate the Jews during World War II. First, Jews would be separated from the rest of society and put into ghettos. At the ghettos, Jews would be persecuted and forced to do labor. They were not allowed to congregate socially and they were not allowed to go to school. Most Jews died at ghettos from disease or sickness from the horrible living conditions. Lastly, the Jews who did live were sent to killing centers and work camps. In 1941, all ghettos were being destroyed as part of the “Final Solution,” the Nazi’s plan to destroy all Jews in Europe. The Nazis shot all Jews who remained in the ghettos resulting in a mass murder all throughout Europe.

Why We Need to Remember the Holocaust:
Primo Levi once said, “It happened, so it can happen again.” This is true for the Holocaust, war, and just about anything else in life.

It is important to remember this event in history so that it can be prevented before it takes too many lives. This carnage showed how racism can change the whole society and kill millions of innocent people. The Holocaust is still occurring today through racial stereotypes, discrimination, and abortion. Abortion is even worse than the Holocaust because Jews during the Holocaust had a choice. They could go into hiding or attempt to escape. Babies being aborted do not. Since babies cannot speak for themselves, others must speak for them; however, many people believe that abortion is normal and some even encourage it. Although the Holocaust was a terrible time in history, it shows that the good human spirit will always prevail over

evil.

Star of David meaning:
According to Judaism, the Star of David, also known as the Shield of David, has several meanings. The two intertwining triangles connote the souls that interlace with God’s essence. The Star’s seven sections- six points extending from a center- symbolize God’s seven spiritual pillars (Silberberg). The six points symbolize that God rules over the universe in six directions: North, South, East, West, Above, and Below. The last meaning of the Star of David is that God will help all people to accomplish his or her goal just like He helped King David accomplish King David’s goal of defeating the armies (“Jewish Star of David”). Today, the Star of David is associated with Jews and the persecution of Jews in the Holocaust. This star is placed on Jewish temples, sewn onto some Jewish athletes’ clothing, and seen on the flag of Israel (“The Star of David-Magen David).