Examples Of Passive Resistance During The Holocaust

Jewish Resistance During the Holocaust

During World War II people decided to resist Nazi oppression, but in different forms; some people used active resistance and some people used passive resistance.There are many examples in history showing both passive and active resistance.By looking at the “ The Diary of Anne Frank,” “Resistance During the Holocaust,” and “Violins of Hope,” one can see that, although people believe active resistance led to the downfall of the nazi regime, but in truth, passive resistance brought hope, survival, and human worth.

People who had hope during this time resisted the Nazis by not being put down by their mistreatment and kept their will to live. Anne Frank, a young, hopeful girl during the holocaust used passive

resistance by writing in her diary while hiding from the Nazis. In “The Diary of Anne Frank,” Otto Frank read Anne’s diary with a quote of Anne’s hope in people, even during the Holocaust: “ In spite of everything, I still believe that people are really good at heart” (Frank 352).

Anne’s hope and optimism is known to today because of how she never doubted that humans can be kind and beautiful. Many people may argue that hope cannot stop evils, but people such as Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. used there hope to fight against injustices and sparked the indian and black rights movements; Anne’s diary influenced hope, just as Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. influenced activists during times of inequality.Passive resistance makes survival simplistic and the wisest way to peacefully protect family and culture. During World War II Jewish people who were in Ghettos and concentration camps would be killed if they tried to run or cause undesirable violence. The best way to survive was through silently defying the rules. In “Resistance During the Holocaust:” “Jews felt that their only choice was to flee to the forests...Belorussia had the largest

concentration of partisans in Eastern Europe”(21 Resistance). If the Jewish people had not chosen to hide, they would have been put in the concentration camps. It might seem that hiding is ineffective, although, almost everyone around them were Nazis and discriminated Jews. In 1897, Harriet Tubman led people through underground tunnels to stay safe by staying hidden. The Jewish people hid for the sake of safety and survival, just like how Harriet Tubman secretly took people to a safer place for more chance of safety. Passive resistance is the best way to survive.
Using Passive resistance shows human worth because this form of resistance uses peaceful methods.

Human worth is shown through trying to save as many people as possible, like Oskar Schindler, Raoul Wallenberg, and Chiune Sugihara did and remembering the people that died. In “Violins of Hope,” David Russell explains “...each carries out a different playing style of its previous owner” (9 Russell). Russell is saying that each violin is unique to the person who played it, showing the worth of each musician. Some may argue that Active resistance ended the war and saved multiple people, although passive resistance kept human worth throughout World War II. Jane Goodall is an animal rights activist, mainly for chimpanzees, that wanted to show how chimpanzees are much like us; each chimpanzee has a unique personality. Both are showing the worth of each human and chimpanzee. Passive resistance shows human

worth.
Passive resistance is the best way to resist a tyrannical ruler because it is the safest and most peaceful form of protection and defiance. The Holocaust forced people to decide which path of resistance they would take, and passive resistance helped end the Holocaust. Anne Frank never gave up her hope for the goodness in people, just like Martin Luther King Jr. and Gandhi, who never gave up hope. Survival was important during World War II and the mass murders, passive resistance used safe ways to hide, just as Harriet Tubman did when she helped slaves get to a safe place secretly. The human worth during this time was important because of all the death and killing during this time Jane Goodall and David Russell saw that every person is special for their own reasons and each life is valued. The use of Passive resistance brough hope, survival, and human worth.