Rhetorical Analysis Of The Holocaust Speech

This speech was articulated to the Holocaust survivors, their descendants, and political individuals. Chancellor Gerhard Schröder presented the speech on the 60th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz death camps. He gave this speech on January 25, 2005, right before his time in office was up. The focus of his speech was meant to express the shame of what had happened in concentration camps during the Holocaust. Chancellor Gerhard Schröder expressed his anger toward those that were responsible for the agonizing pain they made these individuals go through, claiming that this was the "the greatest crime in the history of mankind." He contends that "words by the government leaders are inadequate" in regards to this horrific event.

Throughout this speech; Chancellor Gerhard Schröder utilized two out of three appeals associated with writing to provide a more effective speech. They were emotional and ethical.
Throughout Chancellor Gerhard Schröder's speech, he utilized the emotional appeal multiple times.

For example, he said, "there will never be anything that can make up for the horror, the torment, and the agony that took place in the concentration camps." His exact words were "Now, sixty years after the liberation of Auschwitz by the Red Army, I stand before you as the representative of a democratic Germany. I express my shame for the deaths of those who were murdered and for the fact that you, the survivors, were forced to go through the hell of a concentration camp." As a democratic leader, he also promised that this would never happen again. He states a direct effect of the Holocaust was the creation of the "Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide." This convention "requires people of different cultures, religious, and racial origins to respect and protect life and human dignity throughout the world." Throughout his speech, it was evident that he wanted to express his sorrow and regrets for what had

happened.
When one considers something to be ethical, they think of it as trying to persuade a person/group of individuals to believe in the credibility of what they are presenting. Chancellor Gerhard Schröder's had many different ethical appeals within his speech. For example, he said "Together with you I bow my head before the victims of the death camps. Even if one day the names of the victims should fade in the memory of humanity, their fate will not be forgotten. They will remain in the heart of history." The reason this quote is considered ethical is that he is trying to convince all the people in the crowd that he was remorseful for what happened in the past. Another quote is " There will never be anything that can make up for the horror, the torment, and the agony that took place in the concentration camps. It is only possible to provide the families of those who died and the survivors a certain amount of compensation." Ethically he is trying to convince the audience that even though this horrific event took place many years, there will never be another event like this moving forward.
Throughout the speech Chancellor Gerhard Schröder used repetition.

Repetition is the act of repeating words/expressions multiple times. The first repetition Chancellor Gerhard Schröder used were the words "what is left." What he means by that is that what is left is the aftermath and hurt feelings from this horrendous event in history. Also, he kept mentioning how the Nazi's and Hitler were "malevolent," "evil" and "cynical." Lastly, he frequently repeated about how many Jews there are in Germany today. According to Chancellor Gerhard Schröder "Today, the Jewish Community in Germany is the third largest in Europe." He went on the say that "The vast majority of the Germans living today bear no guilt for the Holocaust. "However, they do bear a special responsibility." "Remembrance of the war and the genocide perpetrated by the Nazi regime has become part of our living

constitution."
The intended audience seemed appropriate based on the nature of Chancellor Gerhard Schröder's speech. His point was to inform the current legislation that events like this can never happen again. However, his primary focus for this speech was on the survivors and descendants, frequently expressing how remorseful he was of the past events. Throughout this speech the tone was apparent, and you honestly could feel in your heart how remorseful he was. The past events and circumstances of what happened 70 years ago are still fresh in people's minds. This speech is still highly regarded today because it is still a part of everyday history. There are still people alive today that has lived through this horrific event in history and have descendants that are well aware of the appalling treatment that their loved ones faced. There are facilities throughout Europe and the United States that memorialize this particular event in history.