Victims Of Persecution By The Holocaust

Victims of Persecution by the Nazis

The number of victims persecuted by the Nazis is truly jaw dropping. The Holocaust is largely remembered for the genocide of six million Jews, but many are unaware of the other victims. According to A Teacher’s Guide to the Holocaust persecution occurred if you had undesirable genetic or cultural origins, not to mention health conditions. In the Nazis eyes, this included Jews, Gypsies, Poles/Slavs, political dissidents, disabled, Jehovah’s witnesses, homosexuals, and African- German children (“Victims”). Hitler planned to wipe out anyone deemed of limiting the Germans, and vowed prosperity to the Nazis who were humiliated in the world war. Hitler took over power in the time of economic depression for Germany, and planned to make change happen for the Germans. Hitler blamed the loss of World

War I on the Jews, and this contributed to the increase of their discrimination from other Germans.

As stated by Jewish Virtual Library, Hitler had a vision of a “Master Race of Aryans that would control Europe” and he used powerful propaganda to gain power and influence (“Non-Jewish Victims”). Once Hitler gained severe influence, nothing could be done to hinder his ideas or persecutions. The Wansee conference to establish ghettos took place in the early 1950’s, and people were swept up for no reason other than the fact of who they were. The Germans imposed strong racism onto their subjects and on top of that, the world was unaware of the slaughter that the Nazis participated in at this time.

One of Hitler’s arguments was that if you weren’t German you were inferior, which was very egocentric as well. Jews were blamed for the loss of World War I, and therefore faced discrimination previous to the

Holocaust. Hitler viewed the Jews as limiting the superior race and therefore planned their extermination, and ultimately killed six million of them through camps. Like the Jews, the Gypsies were ultimately killed for their race as well. Hitler stated at one point that the Germans needed Europe for their own room in the world and that Poles and Slavs were to be slaves of this so called master Aryan race. According to Jewish Virtual Library, the Germans believed both the Gypsies and Jews were degenerate and racially inferior and therefore worthless, which contributed to half a million killed Gypsies (“Non-Jewish Victims”). Therefore, Hitler and the Nazis felt threatened by a group that did not match German qualities and sought to eliminate them. Hitler’s unlimited source of power only made the process faster and more effective. The Nazi party wanted to dominate Europe and felt they could only do so by exterminating them in mass numbers. According to A Teacher’s Guide to the Holocaust, Slavs and Poles were considered nothing other than obstacles to gaining territory needed for the German race that was superior. This philosophy appears in Hitler's remark, "The destruction of Poland is our primary task. The aim is not the arrival at a certain line but the annihilation of living forces..." (“Victims”). Hitler vowed other races besides German as threatening and stated the need to exterminate them. Pols, Slavs, Gypsies, Jews, and others were killed not for their actions, but just for their genetic origins that made them who they were.
Hitler’s ideology also argued that if you held different beliefs or health conditions other than superior, you didn’t deserve to live or be affiliated with any Germans. According to Jewish Virtual Library, Jehovah’s witnesses did not vow their loyalty to the Nazi ideology, only believing in Jehovah (Non-Jewish Victims”). Therefore, Hitler could not allow them to influence the citizens of Germany and sought the transportation of them into labor camps. Lack of loyalty to the Nazi ideology deems you a traitor. Hitler wanted to remove all influence besides that of the Nazi party, and thought that Jehovah’s witnesses’ extreme opposition may spread to other victim groups. According to A Teachers Guide to the Holocaust, homosexuals were discriminated and sought after by a secret Gestapo, and between 5,000 and 15,000 of them were sent to camps. African German children were considered “Rhineland Bastards” by Hitler himself and they were forcibly sterilized, numbering of to 400 of them who were sterilized (“Victims”). Hitler truly only liked three qualities in Germans: blonde hair, blue eyes, and strong nationalism. Any other element that you carried gave him a reason to exterminate you and your family. According to Jewish Virtual Gallery, priest and pastors were eliminated since Hitler wanted to replace Jesus Christ. The disabled were exterminated since Hitler viewed them as a waste for government spending, and they were secretly starved or overdosed (“Non-Jewish Victims”). Believe it or not, if someone had a relative who was viewed as a target for persecution, they themselves could also become a target just for having similar blood. Interracial marriage was not even a question; it was strictly against the law and constitutional principles of Nazi ideology.
The disturbing principles of the Nazi ideology were a prime cause for the killing of 11 million people during the Holocaust. Genetics, religion, physical features and other factors played a large role and false reasoning in the murder of millions of innocent people. According to Hitler’s Children, one reason the Holocaust started was that Jews were blamed for every problem that the Germans were faced with, and Hitler built on legends that declared Jews and others as inferior to the German race. At first, Jews and others lost rights and the sudden conflict became warped with violence and the Holocaust took root (“Why did the Holocaust Start?”). Therefore, this maniac ideology took root in the Nazi party. Towards the prime of his term, Hitler had unlimited power over the subjects of Germany and surrounding areas. Outside countries practically turned their back on the Holocaust, and to this day civilization is scarred with such a catastrophe. Just imagine the possibility that Hitler could have followed through with his agenda and wiped out multiple races and a surplus of other populations.