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How World War 2 affected lives
Concentration Camps and the Holocaust effect
Survival in the concentration camps
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What would you do if you knew that you were endangered of being killed? Following the German invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939, more than 1,000 Jews were killed on 4 September in bombing raids on the nearby village of Sulejow,where they had fled before the advancing German army. It is September of 1939,and the persecution of the Jewish residents has begun immediately. Jewish men were caught in the streets and random killings and beatings become very common. Although over 2000 have managed to escape you are still in much danger. The occupation has begun to grow throughout the neighboring towns and cities, including Warsaw, Lodz, Belchatow, Kalisz, Gniezno and Plock. Although it might be intriguing to stay and try to fight off the German army, you must not fight, and go in to hiding so you have protection, and can stay with your family for as long as possible and be safe, during this dangerous time.
Being able to successfully go into hiding can be very difficult, but it will but you a lot of extra time to be with your family, and also survive. In Piotrkow any Jews found hiding in the ghetto were killed where they were found. It can be very dangerous. But, If you go into hiding, you have everything you need to survive and those contained in Concentration Camps are starved to death and have no means of living. Yes, you can be caught and killed, or sent to a Concentration Camp but, it gives you more time to stay safe and protected, even if for only a few months or even weeks. Imagine a life of heartache and grief. Not knowing where to go or what will happen next. You realize you need to make a move, and fast. You decide to go into hiding. You understand it is dangerous, but you know it is definitely worth it if it saves you valuab...
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...eedom. Time is everything, are you willing to give it all up?
Thus, if knowing what will happen in the next few months, you will want to go into hiding and be as protected as possible. So,what would you do if you knew that you were endangered of being killed? Within the next few years, German and Romanian authorities will murder over 500,000 Romanian Jews (Lubesckev), and then after they strike, they move around the country striking anywhere they can gets their hands on. Do you want to be in that situation, not knowing when they will strike? Although at this time hiding seems very dangerous, it is still the best option for you and your family because you can stay with friends and family and buy yourselves much needed precious time. Will you go into hiding? Will you be a victim of this terrible act of racism, or will you protect yourself, even if the cost is high?
Jan T. Gross introduces a topic that concentrates on the violent acts of the Catholic Polish to the Jewish population of Poland during World War II. Researched documentation uncovered by Gross is spread throughout the whole book which is used to support the main purpose of this novel. The principal argument of Neighbors is about the murdering of Jews located in a small town, called Jedwabne, in eastern Poland. During this time, Poland was under German occupation. With an understanding of the that are occurring during this era, readers would assume that the Nazis committed these atrocious murders. Unfortunately, that is not the case in this book. The local
In the book Night by Elie Wiesel, it talks about the holocaust and what it was like being in it. The Germans were trying to make the German race the supreme race. To do this they were going to kill off everyone that wasn’t a German. If you were Jewish or something other than German, you would have been sent to a concentration camp and segregated by men and women. If you weren’t strong enough you were sent to the crematory to be cremated. If you were strong enough you were sent to work at a labor camp. With all the warnings the Jewish people had numerous chances to run from the Germans, but most ignored the warnings.
The events which have become to be known as The Holocaust have caused much debate and dispute among historians. Central to this varied dispute is the intentions and motives of the perpetrators, with a wide range of theories as to why such horrific events took place. The publication of Jonah Goldhagen’s controversial but bestselling book “Hitler’s Willing Executioners: Ordinary Germans and the Holocaust” in many ways saw the reigniting of the debate and a flurry of scholarly and public interest. Central to Goldhagen’s disputed argument is the presentation of the perpetrators of the Holocaust as ordinary Germans who largely, willingly took part in the atrocities because of deeply held and violently strong anti-Semitic beliefs. This in many ways challenged earlier works like Christopher Browning’s “Ordinary Men: Reserve Police Battalion 101 and the Final Solution in Poland” which arguably gives a more complex explanation for the motives of the perpetrators placing the emphasis on circumstance and pressure to conform. These differing opinions on why the perpetrators did what they did during the Holocaust have led to them being presented in very different ways by each historian. To contrast this I have chosen to focus on the portrayal of one event both books focus on in detail; the mass shooting of around 1,500 Jews that took place in Jozefow, Poland on July 13th 1942 (Browning:2001:225). This example clearly highlights the way each historian presents the perpetrators in different ways through; the use of language, imagery, stylistic devices and quotations, as a way of backing up their own argument. To do this I will focus on how various aspects of the massacre are portrayed and the way in which this affects the presentation of the per...
If the collection of the Jews occurred when I was in Europe, I would have resisted to a point. I would not want to put myself in grave danger. I would have hide in people's attics, but if caught I would not flee. That would be worse than going to a concentration camp. For I would rather take my chance in a "deathcamp" then run away from the Gestapo.
Dear Mum, How are you getting on? I hope Dad's cold is better. Send my best wishes to everyone! I am writing to you from the barracks of our regiment. My training is going well; I have many good friends here, and although the training I have been getting is necessary, I cannot wait to finish it, and get out to the Front. because the chances are that the war will be over within a few months, and I want to get a good chance to have my go at the Boche. & nbsp ; & nbsp ; & nbsp ; & nbsp ; & nbsp ; All kinds of rumours are spreading through the regiment about things that the Boche are doing.
When the infamous Hitler began his reign in Germany in 1933, 530,000 Jews were settled in his land. In a matter of years the amount of Jews greatly decreased. After World War II, only 15,000 Jews remained. This small population of Jews was a result of inhumane killings and also the fleeing of Jews to surrounding nations for refuge. After the war, emaciated concentration camp inmates and slave laborers turned up in their previous homes.1 Those who had survived had escaped death from epidemics, starvation, sadistic camp guards, and mass murder plants. Others withstood racial persecution while hiding underground or living illegally under assumed identities and were now free to come forth. Among all the survivors, most wished not to return to Germany because the memories were too strong. Also, some become loyal to the new country they had entered. Others feared the Nazis would rise again to power, or that they would not be treated as an equal in their own land. There were a few, though, who felt a duty to return to their home land, Germany, to find closure and to face the reality of the recent years. 2 They felt they could not run anymore. Those survivors wanted to rejoin their national community, and show others who had persecuted them that they could succeed.
The National World War II Memorial sits between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Memorial on the National Mall. It was created to honor the 16 million people who served in the armed forces during World War II. Out of these service members, 400,000 gave their lives during the war effort. Placed at the east side of the Reflecting Pool, the World War II Memorial is open to the public 24 hours a day. From 9:30 AM to 10 PM, individuals can ask questions from park rangers that are available on-site.
By definition, a ghetto is an area, usually characterized by poverty and poor living conditions, which houses many people of a similar religion, race or nationality. They served to confine these groups of people and isolate them from the rest of the community because of political or social differences. However, the Jewish ghettos established throughout Europe were more than just a way for the Germans to isolate the Jewish community. They were the first step in making Hitler’s final solution possible. The ghettos were the means of organizing all of the Jews together and preparing them to be shipped to concentration camps. However, these ghettos soon evolved into political, religious and social entities that served the community and began to resemble a form of self-ruling government. Furthermore, many of these ghettos were different from one another because of different internal structures of the Jewish community or the diversity of the personalities of the leaders of the council in the Jewish community. However, the ghettos must be analyzed as if they are all “one history.”(Holocaust) In fact, many of the communities were the same with regards to Jewish perceptions and reactions concerning life and the difficulties being faced by each community in its occupied territory. This research paper discusses the common everyday trials and tribulations faced by all the ghettos and looks at the ghettos from a political and socio-economic point of view. (Holocaust)
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”.
In addition to this, 30,000 Jewish men were arrested and sent to the Sachsenhausen, Dachau and Buchenwald concentration camps. “The swine won’t commit another murder. Incidentally…I would not like to be a Jew in Germany.”
The resistance was a key part of survival for many of the Jews during the Holocaust.
Today on April 10th, 1775 I awoke with a terrible hangover. Last night I was at the pub and already had a lot to drink, when a gentlemen approached me from the Royal Navy’s Recruiting Squad. I accepted the “kings Shilling” I was so naïve to fall into their trap. What have I done? I am now enlisted for life. I’m so upset; I can’t believe this is happening now. I feel as if my heart is in my stomach, and, my stomach is on the floor. This fells like a nightmare that I have yet awoken from. I just keep thinking what can I do to get myself out of this terrible nightmare? I was naïve enough to accept the kings sign on bonus, Since I accepted the sign on bonus, theirs no backing out, for the rest of my life!
I’m only 17 years old and it’s only the 1940s. Living in Germany I’m stressed out as if I have a thousand homework papers not started that are due tomorrow. my religion had put me in a state of trouble with some soldiers in green suits I dread to say their name but they go by the Nazi I was under their control because I wasn’t perfect I didn’t have the blue eyes or the blonde hair so they hated me worst of all I am a Jew and they wanted all Jews dead. I don’t understand why we are harmless people but rumors be told is that because Hitler believes we started ww1 and engineered Germanys defeat. Hitler is the boss the big man the devil over all the madness. One day just like any other spotless day sitting in front of the fireplace drinking hot cocoa full of laughter we sat but today The Nazi soldiers rushed in our homes uninvited and forced us out only giving us a small minimum amount of time to pack our belongings. Knocking over our hot cocoa putting out the fire and turning the laughter into tears.
They were confused and had no clue what great danger was headed their way. More than one million of the Holocaust victims were children. Thousands of children survived because they were hidden. The children of the Holocaust lived in the shadows. Rahel Mann was among the many Jewish children hidden from the Nazi’s during WW2. She was passed from cellar to cellar always staying one step ahead of the death squads. She was underground being passed from family to family. 'I spent all day on a cold stone floor sitting on a mattress, just a sliver of light coming in through a nailed down, grimy window,' she said. According to the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, there was no official organization for hiding children. Parents had no clue if their children were safe or even if they were going to survive. Hiding children often required money, and not every family could handle the cost. Many children were sent off
During the Holocaust, many children were forced to go into hiding, whether it meant staying in the worst of conditions or staying there for years at a time. “I am begging for help… A few days later…. I am full with lice and other kind of crawly stuff…. I live in that attic for nearly 2 years…” (Altman 46).