I.
You could almost say that Anti-Semitism is one of the main reasons the Holocaust happened. Anti-Semitism is the hatred of Jewish people. The Holocaust also known as Shoah was the annihilation of six millions Jews by the Nazi regime. Factors that caused the Holocaust include racism, political take over and a bad economy. After Germany was defeated in World War I there was a lot of hatred against Jews. “Between 1929 and 1933 there was high unemployment and severe poverty in Germany” (#3 no page #). Kristallnacht also known as the Night of broken glass, which took place throughout Germany on November 9-10, 1938.German troops wreaked havoc that night. They destroyed Jewish synagogues windows, homes, and businesses. After the evasion
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of Poland in 1939, Jews were imprisoned. In 1941 the Nazi party was able to take advantage of the political system in place and were successfully able to gain total control of Germany by 1943. Adolf Hitler started his campaign against Jews by stating that they were “foreign and mongrel” influences. They began to use a weekly newspaper called “The Assaulter (Der Stürmer). Over a million copies of this newspaper went out weekly. Each issue had bold printing proclaiming that Jews are our misfortune. Simmons (2014) article Anti-Semitism and the Holocaust explains how Hitler used this tactic to reach his goal of getting rid of Jews. Hitler was not satisfied after the Nuremberg Laws of 1935 were put into place. In order to get what he wanted he launched the Final Solution in 1942 at the Wansee Conference. Jewish people were slowly being isolated from society. Many Jews began to flee Germany and thousands were able to do so successfully. Immigration problems were created from the mass amounts of Jewish people leaving Europe and by 1941 Germany was sealed and Jews were trapped. Jews were taken from their homes and confined to the ghettos. II. As the situation in Germany worsened many Jews really began to feel the isolation. “The ghettos lacked the necessary food, water, space, and sanitary facilities required by so many people living within their constricted boundaries. Many died of deprivation and starvation” (#1 pg.2). Four killing groups were formed called Einsatzgruppen A, B, C, and D. These groups marched through each town gathering all the Jews and stripped them of whatever they had, lined them up and shot them automatic weapons. They were buried in a mass grave already dug. This group murdered more than 1.3 million Jews by the end of 1942. Jewish people were singled out and given “Special treatment” also known as (Sonderbehandlung). This treatment was the poisonous gassing of Jewish men, women, and children. These mass murders took place in eastern Poland, Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia. The Nazis were determined to destroy Jews and their culture. Victims of the Holocaust experienced the most inhumane treatment ever. Millions of those taken to the concentration camps rarely returned home or ever saw their families again. By 1942 there were six death camps in Poland. The camps were built close to railroads to transport Jews much easier between the different camps. Railroads were disguised as resettlement to the east. All of the camps were brutal, intolerable and served a different purpose. “Historians have estimated that at least 500,000 men participated actively in the murder of the Jews during World War II – at gassings, shootings and similar atrocities” (#11 pg. 1). During the Holocaust many people were labeled as bystanders and perpetrators. The US made it difficult for refugees from Germany to obtain entry visas (#9 pg.1). The Holocaust wasn’t a front-page story for America at the time. “Throughout the rest of the war, the Times and most other newspapers failed to give prominent and extensive coverage to the Holocaust” (#10 pg.3). The inactions of US could have saved thousands of Jewish people lives. “One can only speculate how many more might have been saved had the WRB been established in August 1942, when Gerhart Riegner’s message reached the United States” (#10 pg.3). III. On May 8, 1945 the Nazi’s surrendered. They advanced on the German troops and were able to take control of the concentration camps. “This was followed by many more liberations and takeovers as the Americans and other Allies slowly removed Hitler from power. In January 1945, Auschwitz was liberated” (#12 pg.1). After the removal of Adolf Hitler from power more than 200,000 survivors occupied Europe. Survivors of the Holocaust had a hard task to complete once the genocide was brought to an end.
They weren’t able to return to a normal life after what they endured. Some returned to their homes if they remained standing, but what is an empty house to someone who has lost their whole family and self-identity. Many feared returning home and feared for their lives. Thousands suffered from starvation and from disease. Rebuilding their lives for a very haunting thought for many of the survivors. Some migrated west toward Allies territory. Those who remained received help from The United Nation Relief and Rehabilitation Administration. Without the help of this program many homeless survivors wouldn’t have made it once they were free. Riots were happening against the Jews who survived the Holocaust. “In the town of Kielce in 1946 when Polish rioters killed at least 42 Jews and beat many others” (#13 pg.1). Many chose to flee Germany for good. Once US loosened the immigration law more than 68,000 Jews were admitted. “Other Jewish refugees in Europe emigrated as displaced persons or refugees to Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Western Europe, Mexico, South America, and South Africa” (#13 pg.2). The creation of the state of Israel became a safe haven for many displaced Jews who wanted to rebuild their
lives. The impact genocide had on a nation is it has changed Jewish people lives forever. Perpetrators have also been shown that they will be punished for their actions and held responsible for them. Bystanders have witnessed the many reasons why they should not to turn the other cheek. It is never too early to lend a hand and prevent future genocides from happening. IV. Many survivors hesitate to speak about what happened to them during the Holocaust. They still have that fear and humiliation with them after all of these years. One of the survivors I found is named Leslie Schwartz. He was 14 years old when the Holocaust happened. He was the only member of his family to survive this tragic event. He didn’t break his silence for 65 years. He was sent to the worst camp Auschwitz where he lied about his age (saying he was 17 instead of 14) while in line at the crematorium. When he was reunited with a friend he knew since 14 he noticed his friend was sharing his story and that encouraged him to tell the world. Sharing his story after 65 years has helped him feel at ease at the way his life is coming to an end. Leslie speaks about how the newer generation of Germans treats him royally and how important that is to him. “The new generation of Germany, they have been treating me royally, and I call it the healing process. And that was something extremely important for me. Suddenly, to be accepted and loved and cared for, where prior to that, I was nothing but a piece of dirt. That’s all we used to hear in concentration camp. And suddenly, they have built me up to the point where I feel really great. It’s amazing what people can do to people” (#14 pg.3 ). Leslie face many challenges while growing up without a family. He felt like he was a piece of dirt. He couldn’t even support himself in Germany once he was liberated. Today there are only a few Holocaust survivors left. There are many places for these Holocaust survivors to share their legacy and support one another. Many of them rely on government assistance since they are not able to work, however, they are able to educate the world off their personal experiences. Their descendants will have to keep their legacy and Holocaust narratives alive once they pass on. V. Rummel and Becker both have different ways in which they tend to define genocide. Rummel uses the term democide, which is the murder of people by their government. In Becker’s article she uses ethnic cleansing, which means the elimination of an unwanted group from society. Rummel’s concept of democide is there is a time to use democide and a time when we should use genocide. People murdered by the government should be considered democide instead of genocide because they are being ordered to do it by the high power officials. “Democide is any murder by government--by officials acting under the authority of government. That is, they act according to explicit or implicit government policy or with the implicit or explicit approval of the highest officials.” (Rummel, 2001) When people have power and authority they tend to overuse it and they forget that for every action there is a repercussion. The Holocaust would be considered a democide since Hitler was able to rise to power and eliminate six million Jews during his reign. It is important for teachers to teach students about genocides so they can be aware of them. As a college student there are some that I am just learning about and I’ve been in school a very long time. It’s highly important that they learn the history behind it and why it happened so that we can prevent it from happening again. Personal challenges that I faced learning about my genocide were reading all of the personal stories and events from different survivors. Having to read and listen to what they went through back then was very heartbreaking and painful. The amount of information I was able to find on the Holocaust was gargantuan I didn’t know how I would be able to use all of the information. What you need to learn in order to teach about genocide is the reasons it happened. You should definitely research thoroughly before you begin to teach any genocide so that all your information is authentic and can be verified. Once you find the roots of why the genocide happened you are able to explain it much easier to your students and help them gain a better understanding of why that moment happened in history and why it should never happen again.
During the Holocaust the Jewish people and other prisoners in the camps had to face many issues. The Holocaust started in 1933 and finally ended in 1945. During these 12 years all kinds of people in Europe and many other places had so many different problems to suffer through. These people were starved, attacked, and transported like they were animals.
This genocide happened because Hitler was put into power with a plan to rule the world. He was smart, he could persuade people, get people on his side, but he was evil. Hitler’s first step at world domination was to attack Israel and the Jewish people. After Germany went into debt after WWI the German economy was garbage. Hitler seen this as an opportunity to gain followers. He told the citizens that all the blame was to go to
Anti-Semitism, hatred or prejudice of Jews, has tormented the world for a long time, particularly during the Holocaust. The Holocaust was a critical disaster that happened in the early 1940s and will forever be remembered. Also known as the genocide of approximately six million European Jews during World War II, an assassination by the German Nazis lead by Adolf Hitler.
The Holocaust has many reasons to it. Some peoples’ questions are never answered about the Holocaust and some answers are. The Holocaust killed over 6 million Jews (Byers.p.10.) Over 1.5 million children (Byers, p.10.)They were all sent to concentration camps to do hard labor work. Jewish people weren’t the only ones sent to concentration camps. People such as people with disabilities, Homosexuals, Gypsies, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Communists, and Socialists (Byers.p.12). Everyone that was sent to concentration camps was sent via Train cars (www.historychannel.com). They had no food, water, or rest rooms up to 18 days. Many people died from the lack of food and water (Byers, p.15.). They children under 12 and elderly were sent to death camps because they were too weak or young too do the hard labor work so they were exterminated quickly (Byers, p.17.). Everybody at the camps were ordered to wear a certain colored star so they were easily spotted. The Holocaust went on from 1939 to 1945. Throughout all those years it was BAD.
When people first hear about the Holocaust, they are so surprised to hear how horrible and sick the whole time period was for Jews. Everyone is really shocked to know that so many horrible and hateful things could be done. The idea that countries were taken over, families and children were torn apart and people were tortured and murdered, is unbelievable. Propaganda and psychological conditioning played a large role in the genocide and overall indifference towards Jews during the holocaust. Not only was Hitler and his troops able to control armies, but he was able to influence other countries through precise planning and strategic moves.
Prejudice and the Holocaust Prejudice was the main factor that led to the holocaust. For some, resisting these forms of oppression was survival. Considering the dehumanizing the Nazis had forced upon the Jews, people took whatever courage and strength they had to get through this period of time. I believe luck also had a part to play in survival.
What possible reason can someone have for supporting or participating in the genocide and murder of millions of innocent people? During the period of the holocaust, the German peoples participation or indifference’s towards state sponsored genocide and murder could have been an effect of racism, national pride, and peer pressure.
Causes & Effects of the Holocaust There are times in history when desperate people, plagued by desperate situations, blindly give evil men power. These men, once given power, have only their own evil agendas to carry out. The Holocaust was the result of one such man's agenda. In short, simplicity, sheer terror, brutality, inhumanity, injustice, irresponsibility, immorality, stupidity, hatred, and pure evil are but a few words to describe the Holocaust. A holocaust is defined as a disaster that results in the tremendous loss of human life.
The Holocaust, the mass killing of the Jewish people in Europe, is the largest genocide in history to this date. Over the course of the Holocaust nearly six million Jewish people were killed by the Nazi Party and Germany led by Adolf Hitler. There are multiple contributing factors to the Holocaust that made it so large in scope. Historians argue which of these factors were most significant. The most significant contributing factor is the source of the Holocaust, the reason it occurred. This source is Adolf Hitler and his hatred for Jewish people. In comparison to the choices of the Allies to not accept Jewish refugees and to not take direct military action to end the Holocaust, the most significant contributing factor of the Holocaust is that Adolf Hitler was able to easily rise to power with the support of the German people and rule Germany.
Causes of the Holocaust The Holocaust took place for a number of reasons, some of which were long term and short term. The main reasons are for centuries. Germany was an anti-Semitic country Jews were used as scapegoats. for the German problems. Also centuries of Nazi persecution caused the Holocaust in particular.
The main focus of the post war testimony of Rudolf Franz Ferdinand Hoess, Commandant at Auschwitz from May 1940 until December, 1943, is the mass extermination of Jews during World War II. His signed affidavit had a profound impact at the Post-War trials of Major War Criminals held at Nuremburg from November 14, 1945 to October 1, 1946. His testimony is a primary source that details and describes his personal account of the timeline, who ordered Auschwitz to become a death camp, and the means used to execute and exterminate millions of Jews. Obtained while tortured nearly to death under British custody, the authenticity and reliability of this document is questioned due to arguable inconsistencies that exist. However, the events sworn to in his testimony have been recounted and corroborated by witnesses and thousands of survivors.
The Holocaust was a time period in history that is very important to learn about. We learn about it for many reasons, but I think the most important reason is to learn not to discriminate against other people. Not only is it very important to learn about the Holocaust, but it's also important to learn about Hitler's rise to power and how he came to make his decision of the discrimination affiliated with the Holocaust. The events and outcome of World War II and Anne Frank are very important topics, too. These topics are all factors that are associated with the overall events of the Holocaust and all back up the reason as to why we study the Holocaust.
( Feldman 213) The Holocaust was one of the harshest things done to mankind. What led to the Holocaust? Some state that Germany was devastated that they lost the first war. “ The Germans were forced to sign the Treaty of Versailles feeling betrayed.”
It is often a topic that many are uncomfortable talking about and tend to push to the side. There is a very big problem with that though, people in this generation need to know what happened in the past and be fully educated on everything that happened, in order to help prevent something terrible like that from ever happening again. The Holocaust was caused by a very few distinct reasons. Hitler’s very strong belief of anti semitism and his extreme hatred for the Jewish community was among the most powerful of causes for the beginning of the Holocaust. Also , the various political, economic, and social problems that the country of Germany was facing during the time leading up to the second World War massively contributed. The Nazi Party’s effective use of propaganda, scapegoating, and their military strength were also very strong factors. These causes therefore were the reason why the Holocaust occurred, and it had very many effects that arose from its happening. Millions upon millions were dead after it had finally reached an end. The survivors suffered vast amounts of physical and mental pain and challenges. Finally, lots of books and websites were made about the Holocaust in order to provide information to people about the terrible event that had occurred. All in all, the Holocaust was a very terrible and heartbreaking event that occurred in our world 's history, but also it is a very crucial thing for
Holocaust I've thought, and thought about resistance in the Holocaust and I've come to this comprehension: No phrase or verse or detailed explanation can illustrate the level of terror and oppression that took place. The Holocaust was probably the most arguably infamous series of despiteful human rights and cold blooded murder in modern history. The rise of the powerful Adolf Hitler has set his war against Jewish people, Jewish culture and Jewish memory. If the twisted philosophy of the Nazi regime was to eradicate Jewish memory, then it is our duty to remember the Jewish lives that perished and to keep Jewish memory alive. There was approximately six million Jews were sent to death camps and killed during World War II (1939-1945). So what do you think that led up to this? Why Adolf Hitler hatred towards Jews is so strong that made him did the inhuman cruel murder? Well the resolution lies in the ethnic undercurrents that ran beneath the peripheral of Germany and the world.