More handpicked essays just for you.
The tragedies of the holocaust
The history of the holocaust and its effects
The history of the holocaust and its effects
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
How did the holocaust end and what happened afterwards? From 1933 onwards, Adolf Hitler and his Nazis began implementing simple discrimination laws against the Jews and others who they did not see part of their master race. Hitler and the Nazis believed that German power was being taken by the Jews. Hitler was able to convince his followers of this issue with the Jewish question as it was known, and get away with murdering millions of people in an attempt to cleanse society of anyone inferior to the master race. The Holocaust lasted for 12 years, until 1945. Starting as early as 1944, the Allies were finally advancing on the Germans and began taking over their camps. These liberations and takeovers by the Soviets, American’s and other allies slowly began to remove Hitler from power. In my essay I will go into detail on the final years of the holocaust and how it ended.(1) The Nazis were killing thousands of Jews on a daily basis and for many of the Jewish people death seemed inevitable, but for some of the Jewish population they were not going to go down without a fight as Jewish resistance began to occur. However, the Jewish resistance came in many different forms such as staying alive, clean and observing Jewish religious traditions under the absolute horrendous conditions imposed by the Nazis were just some examples of resistance used by the Jews. Other forms of resistance involved escape attempts from the ghettos and camps. Many of the Jews who did succeed in escaping the ghettos lived in the forests and mountains in family camps and in fighting partisan units. Once free, though, the Jews had to contend with local resident and partisan groups who often openly hostile. Jews also staged armed revolts in the ghettos of Vilna, Bia... ... middle of paper ... ...one of the darkest periods of history, filled with madness and murder. Following the war many people asked why the Jews succumbed to the Nazis like “Lamb at the slaughter”. One cannot forget or ignore the many shows of resistance amongst the Jews such as the Jews who fought in the forest of Eastern Europe and also the Jews who started the uprising in ghettos and in concentration camps. One result of the Holocaust is that the state of Israel was no doubt established because of the Holocaust. As a result of the great catastrophe which occurred to the Jewish people many nations realized that establishing a state was a necessary step for the protection of Jews. With the end of the war and the unconditional surrender, international courts were set up for the quick trials and sentencing of the Nazis for their war crimes against the Jewish people and against all humanity.
The Holocaust was an extraordinary event that affected the lives of millions of people, including Elie Wiesel, and led to the death of many innocent lives. It all began when Adolf Hitler became Germany’s dictator in 1933. Hitler praised the German population and seemed to ban all other competing races, specifically the Jewish population in Germany. This hatred toward the Jews led to extreme discrimination. Hitler’s main goal was to lead the Jewish race out of the country through the establishment of harsh laws against them (Barrett). After having little effect, Hitler decided to force the Jews into political imprisonment which led to the creation of the first concentration camps in 1933. However,
Israel was created as a haven for persecuted Jew as a result of the Holocaust, however, it was soon run by the military. “The new Israel seemed to be a nation where the military ruled ignoring the will of the countr...
Nazis which proved to the world the Jews are not that easy to extinguish. The Jews had several ways of exhibiting resistance, but "Organized armed resistance was the most powerful form of Jewish opposition"(Jewish Resistance). Armed resistance is an important aspect to revolting not only because it reinflicts the pain lashed upon the Jews, but it also shows the Jews have the ability to fight back and gives the world the knowledge that Jews do not go down easily. However, resistance is not only an act of violence since the Jews demonstrated several non-violent forms of resistance while locked up or being transported. Jews would escape into the forest and figured that by escaping they resisted the Nazi Party and reduced their chances of achieving their goal of exterminating all Jews on the planet(Acts of Resitance). By escaping Jews gave themselves a chance to live and warn others of their fate which was an excellent form of non-violent resistance since, generally speaking, no Germans were hurt. Resistance can take many shapes and forms which is why all Jews resisted one way or another, simply living is resistance(Acts of Resistance). The other reason Jews struggled so desperately to survive was not to merely see the light of another day, but to see the Germans become enraged by their "resistance", living.
Due to this over 60% of the Jewish population was put to torture and death.”Haaretz” During the Holocaust, Jews used armed and unarmed forms of resistance in order to retain their humanity. Unarmed resistance was a way Jewish people fought against the Nazis, not with guns and knives, but simply finding ways to survive their living hell. Unarmed resistance took for in escaping, stealing food, and not following the Nazis demands. Thousands of young Jews resisted by escaping from the ghettos into the forests.some.
During the Holocaust there were many different forms of resistance undertaken by Jewish people. These can be categorised into two main forms, armed resistance and passive resistance. Armed resistance was resistance by Jews and civilians who actively fought back, sometimes they managed to scavenge weapons and use them in attacks on Germans and the different enforcement groups such as the SS. Armed resistance took place mainly in ghettos and concentration camps however, also occurred on the streets of Nazi occupied Europe. Passive resistance was less aggressive and usually meant that Jewish people refused to deny their faith and still practiced their religion in some form. Illegal organisations, Jewish militias and underground political groups also formed, planning and executing attacks and resisting the Nazi rule in occupied Europe.
The Holocaust or the Ha-Shoah in Hebrew meaning ‘the day of the Holocaust and heroism’ refers to the period of time from approximately January 30,1933, when Adolf Hitler became the legal official of Germany, to May 8,1945. After the war was over in Europe, the Jews in Europe were being forced to endure the horrifying persecution that ultimately led to the slaughter of over 6 million Jews with about 1.5 million of them being children as well as the demolition of 5,000 Jewish communities.
"History of the Holocaust - An Introduction." Jewish Virtual Library - Homepage. American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise. Web. 8 July 2010. .
To begin with the holocaust had a great impact in history even though it was a time of disaster, murder, and discrimination. It was a time in which Adolf Hitler,German politician and Nazi party leader, wanted all Jews suffering or dead. Adolf Hitler turned everyone against the Jews because he believed that they were to wealthy and too powerful so he wanted to eliminate all of them. The Jews went through a lot of suffering and pain. The German soldiers which took commands from their leader, Adolf Hitler, put some Jews to work and killed others. Many Jews didn't get to work they were killed instantly. All women were separated from the man and woman were mostly killed instantly only some got the opportunity to work. The some ways that the jews were killed is that they were put into gas chambers by tons or shot by soldiers. Jews were also dying by starvation dehydration soldiers would not give them enough food or water. They would only want those with blue eyes and blonde hair they discriminated all the others. Soldiers would not only kill the Jews but torture them for anything they did. The Jews would be transported from camp to camp walking even in the worst weather conditions which also many died from it.
In 1933, Adolf Hitler, a leader of the Nazi Party, rose to power in Germany. The Nazi Party abused their power in many different aspects, which creating issues beyond Germany’s borders. This abuse of power lead to the horrific event we know today as the Holocaust. The Holocaust caused over eleven million deaths, with approximately one million of them being children. The Nazis targeted certain groups of individuals including Jews, Gypsies, homosexuals, Jehovah’s Witnesses, mentally or physically disabled, and anyone who did not agree with Nazi Party. The Nazi Party had excessive power, which was used to undermine the others below them. Out of all of the individuals who were targeted by the Nazis; the Jewish were the most discriminated against. Six million out of the eleven million executed were Jews. The journey of the Jews through a span of only fifteen years showed how one event in history could be so crucial. Jewish individuals’ lives took a toll for the worse as the Nazis rose to power.
These camps were known as killing centers or extermination camps. The Nazis first took them to these camps in mass arrest. Many of the Jewish people were shot dead and the rest were used for forced labor. For the first few years of the war many Jews that lived in Germany emigrated and fled the country hoping that they wouldn’t be caught. Approximately six million Jews died at the cause of the Nazis.
Despite the horrific conditions, giving up was not an option. Even in the concentration camps, those grim dens of utmost terror, Jewish prisoners found the courage to oppose Nazi rule- their determined spirit provided hope and solace to all of Europe. And this electric idea of rebellion was widespread, especially after the Treblinka Rebellion of 1943. In general, resistance calls to mind an armed struggle against the enemy, hence the fame of the rebellion stories. However, for the Jews in a diaspora, this was ironically only possible when the Nazi persecution forced them into close quarters. But the entire definition of the word includes subtler incidents of resistance. For example, daring to preserve Jewish culture is certainly a brave opposition. And everyday, by living and breathing, the Jews defied “the Final Solution”. According to Barbara Coloroso, “The three characters in the tragedy of genocide are the bully, the bullied, and the bystander”.
They resisted in spiritual ways by going to the synagogues, by practicing religious beliefs even when they were not allowed and by not allowing the Germans to get into their heads. The Jews rebelled by starting underground groups, taking down SS soldiers and stealing their weapons. Another way the Jews rebelled was by escaping the ghettos and Nazi camps and joining the Partisans. The Partisans would plain attacks against the Germans, sabotage them, and would join with other countries to make themselves bigger so they could take down the Germans. Being put into the Jew’s position would be exhausting and would take so much strength just to survive. The brave Jews that chose to try and stand up to the Germans even though they already knew that their attempts would be useless they still to this day are considered heroes. It took great courage to try to escape a ghetto or Nazi camp and it would cause 10 to 25 other
The Holocaust was a horrible time for everyone involved, but for the Jews it was the worst. The Jews no longer had names they became numbers. Also they would fight and the S.S. would watch and enjoy. They lost all personal items, then forced to look and dress the same. This was an extremely painful and agonizing process to dehumanize the Jews. Which made it easier to take control of the Jews and get rid of them.
In conclusion the Holocaust was a horrible thing. It created a world war that could only be stopped by someone winning. The Jews and other prisoners got caught in the crossfire of this world war. The Jewish people and many other prisoners that were in the camps face starvation, selection, transport, and many other
The Holocaust was one of the most tragic and trying times for the Jewish people. Hundreds of thousands of Jews and other minorities that the Nazis considered undesirable were detained in concentration camps, death camps, or labor camps. There, they were forced to work and live in the harshest of conditions, starved, and brutally murdered. Horrific things went on in Auschwitz and Majdenek during the Holocaust that wiped out approximately 1,378,000 people combined. “There is nothing that compares to the Holocaust.” –Fidel Castro