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Research Paper Holocaust Overview

Amanda Exter

English Comp 201-102 Mr. Neuburger 2 April 2012

Exter 2

Imagine communities being destroyed and families disappearing almost overnight. That is what happened in the Holocaust. During this incident millions of Jews were killed, and by the time it was over thousands were left homeless all in the course of a couple of years. Although the Holocaust appeared over a two to three year period of time, various prior events in German ingenuity put the Holocaust into motion. In order to prevent such an atrocity from occurring again, it needs to be understood how the Nazis were able to accomplish their heinous acts.

Antisemitism and Nazi views on Jewish people Antisemitism is a word used to define the hatred of Jews. In the 1870s people took Charles Darwins idea of evolution and put it on a racial scale. This type of Social Darwinism stated that there are some races, like the Jews, who are racially inferior to everyone else. It is because of this belief that people started to believe that Jews were responsible for the world's troubles" (Antisemitism).One reason antisemitism got started could be because it was the Jews who were considered to be the murderer of Jesus and the fact that Jews had rejected Christianitys embrace led to widespread hatred and suspicion (The Holocaust). The Nazis had strong beliefs about antisemitism. According to the Yad Vashem website, The Nazi Party was one of the first government programs founded on racial
Antisemitist sign http://binged.it/HLwBOK

Exter 3 antisemitism. They had a prejudice against Jews since they began and initially created racial laws that separated Jews from society. Later they would massacre people of the so called inferior race (Antisemitism).

Nuremburg Laws The Nuremburg Laws were racial laws implemented by the German Parliament in Nuremberg, on September 15, 1935 (Nuremburg Laws). They defined who would be considered a Jew. Someone was considered a full blooded Jew if they had three or four Jewish grandparents (Nuremburg Laws). The first of the Nuremburg Laws was call "Reich Citizenship Law, and it made Jews lose all of their political rights as well as reduce their citizenship to Staatsangehorige, which is a word meaning state subjects. The second law was the "Law for the Protection of German Blood and Honor," and it made it illegal for Germans to be married or have sexual relations with a Jew. Furthermore, the article states, there was no clear
A chart explaining the Nuremburg Laws http://binged.it/HMGSj8

policy on the status of the Jews in Germany and the

political leaders would argue about the Jewish Question." There was a lot of anti-Jewish rioting. The Nuremberg Laws were a way to provide a legal reason to exclude Jews from the mainstream of German culture. It also gave the Nazi Party a justification for the antisemitic riots and arrests they had carried out over the previous months (Nuremburg Laws). Don Krausz wrote his testimony about what happened during his experience with the Nuremburg Laws. He explained what happened with his schooling as a result of them. Krausz

Exter 4 states We were put into a special Jewish school which, under the circumstances, with teachers disappearing every day just about, pupils disappearing - was not really a school (Krausz). His life outside of school was not great either. He said, We were not allowed to go to the cinema, we couldnt have bicycles, we couldnt go to a playground (Krausz).

Propaganda Yad Vashem states that propaganda is a systematic promotion of certain ideas and practices in order to further one's cause (Propaganda, Nazi). The Nazi used propaganda to attract the public and gain the support of the German people. Propaganda was used even more after the Nazi Party had gained the control of the German government. It was used to reinforce Adolf Hitler's hold over Germany and to secure his dictatorship in the public eye and mind. Hitler even explained his views on propaganda in his book Mein Kempf. Hitler did not believe that propaganda should be used on scientifically trained intellectuals because, as propaganda is not logical, rational, or scientific, the intellectuals will not be swayed by it (Propaganda, Nazi). Instead, the article explains that he stated propaganda is meant for the masses who cannot comprehend logic and intellect, but can be convinced of anything if their emotions are manipulated. Hitler went on to say that since the masses are forgetful and unintelligent, propaganda is effective if the same ideas are repeated over and over again until they are engraved into the minds of everyone.
Propaganda portraying a Jew as a monkey http://binged.it/J5Ujbo

Exter 5 The article continues by stating that Hitler used many different tactics to get the German people to be antisemitists. Hitler established the Reich Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda. This ministry used many methods to express their ideas: radio; the press; films; theater; adult education (which included literature); administration and organization, and propaganda. The Nazis published antisemitic literature. Der Stuermer was a newspaper that included hostile, infantile articles which described Jews as inferior and sexually perverse, while its drawings depicted contorted, ugly Jews with hooked noses, huge ears and lips, hairy bodies, and crooked legs (Propaganda, Nazi). Movies also played an important role when it came to making people believe propaganda. Films portrayed the superiority of German military power, and the intrinsic evil of the enemies as defined by Nazi ideology. Nazi films portrayed Jews as subhuman creatures infiltrating Aryan society (Holocaust History). The movie The Eternal Jew portrayed Jews as wandering cultural parasites, consumed by sex and money.
Movie poster for The Eternal Jew http://binged.it/IZIZPX

Moshe Flinker wrote in his diary about going to see a

propaganda film when he was young. He went to a theatre in Belgium and stated, in front of every theatre is posted: By order of the Germans, entrance to Jews is forbidden. Even so I went to see the film Jew Sss. What I saw there made my blood boil (Flinker). According to Flinker, Hitler was portraying the Jews as evil because of the way they believed in God. Flinker specifically recalls that in the movie Jew Sss says to a young girl: We too have a God, but this God is the Lord of Vengeance. He is appalled by this statement

Exter 6 and says, Our Lord is the same Lord who said: Love thy neighbour as thyself, but now I pray He may appear as a Lord of vengeance. Flinker also recalled one other thing as he watched the movie. When he wrote in his diary, Flinker remembered a quote that Hitler had said. The quote was, Whichever side wins the war, anti-Semitism will spread and spread until the Jews are no more (Flinker).

Kristallnacht Kristallnacht is a German word meaning "Crystal Night" or "Night of the Broken Glass." It took place November 9-10, 1938, and started when massive riots began in Germany and Austria. Kristallnacht got its name because of all the glass windows that were smashed during the riot (Kristallnacht). Antisemitism was, of course, the main reason the riots started. Yad Vashem explains that the Nazi Minister of Propaganda told the other participants that the time had come to strike at the Jews Within hours, crazed rioting erupted. What happened during Kristallnacht was horrific. The rioters made sure that Jewish businesses were destroyed and looted. Many synagogues, as well as Jewish homes, were burned. During the event about ninety Jews were murdered, and by the time it was over, thousands were sent to concentration camps. Many people died as a result of Kristallnacht. Josephine Baehr died because of Kristallnacht. She committed suicide in Bassum, Germany, when the Nazis came to arrest her husband and then demolished her home (It Came From Within... Exhibition Marking the Events of Kristallnacht). Leonhard Plachte was also killed during Kristallnacht. Yad Vashems records state
Jewish building destroyed during Kristallnacht. http://binged.it/HOOQs8

Exter 7 that Plachte was thrown from a window in Glogau, Germany and perished (It Came From Within... Exhibition Marking the Events of Kristallnacht). These are only a couple of the tragic people who died during this devastating disaster.

Ghettos The ghetto is a word that refers to a street or an area of the city where Jews were forced to live, segregated from everyone else. Ghettos grew drastically during World War II when the Jews of Eastern Europe were forced to leave their homes and move to ghettos where they were held essentially as prisoners (Ghetto). Jews were barely given any food to eat while they were there. Supposedly the Jews were given ration cards that allowed them to buy much less than the rest of the local population. By mid-1941, in Poland, the Germans were giving out ration cards that provided only 184 calories per day (Ghetto). There were many different ghettos. Piotrkow Trybunalski was the very first ghetto in Poland, and it was established only a month after the war began. The Warsaw Ghetto was the largest ghetto in Europe and it was created in November of 1940. In March, only a few months later, the population of the Warsaw Ghetto reached an all-time high of 445,000.

Hungry children in the Warsaw Ghetto http://binged.it/II2R9J

Resistance There was a lot of resistance formed by the Jews. Not

every Jew was just going to sit back and take what the Germans were doing to them. Sometimes,

Exter 8 it was obvious when Jews were organizing a resistance group, such as the armed struggles carried out in ghettos, camps, and by Partisan units (Resistance, Jewish). Other times however, individual Jews would resist the Nazis' scheme to dehumanize them. They would do a lot of minor deeds, such as keeping themselves clean in the unsanitary conditions in the concentration camps, or by making sure to pray despite the threat of being shot if discovered. Jews would do anything they could to keep their dignity regardless of the fact that the Nazis were trying to dehumanize them. Resistance in the camps and ghettos helped boost their morale in the face of uncertainty and death. Yad Vashem explains that the Jews called this attempt to maintain their humanity Kiddush ha-Hayyim, meaning Sanctification of Life. The Warsaw Ghetto had a huge uprising. On April 19, 1943 the last of the deportation was to occur in the Ghetto. When the Germans arrived, none of the Jews greeted them in the streets. They were all
Members of Jewish resistance http://binged.it/HOyRZ8

hiding in their bunkers. The fighting began, and the Germans had to

retreat the first day. When they returned they decided to burn down the ghetto. The Jews fought the Germans, but they only had so much ammunition whereas the Germans had an unlimited supply. Most of the Jews in the resistance were killed, but a few did escape. The uprising in Warsaw had been the first uprising of an urban population in occupied Europe (Warsaw Ghetto Uprising). There were even organizations outside of ghettos and camps that formed resistance. Many people yearned to help save children, and heroes such as Yvonne Nevejean saved many children by placing them with foster families or institutions (Resistance, Jewish). Thousands of

Exter 9 Jewish children were helped by the Council for Aid to Jews. The Jewish children were put in foster homes, public orphanages, and convents (Resistance, Jewish).

The Final Solution The Final Solution was the name given to the decision that decided to murder all of the Jewish people in Europe. However, it was not a spur of the moment decision. Hitler believed that the question of what to do about the Jews was a crucial question for all Germans. Hitler obsessed over Jews and was determined to find a final solution for getting rid of them (Final Solution). After the Germans defeated Poland, the Jews were not to be immediately terminated. However, a plan
The result of the Final Solution http://binged.it/IV216j

was formed that stated all Jews living within the Reich were to be exiled to a reservation in the Lublin district of the Generalgouvernemen.t The plan did not work out however, and a new plan was introduced. It was call the Madagascar Plan. This was a plan to deport all of Europe's Jews to the island of Madagascar... (Final Solution). The plan went awry however, when the Germans were defeated in the Battle of Britain just a few months later, rendering the Madagascar idea unfeasible. After Germany attacked Russia, their former ally, they started to use murder as a way to solve the Jewish problem. This article explains that by the end of 1941, the Nazis established extermination camps, began deportations to them, and crystallized killing methods. As extermination experiments were conducted, Hitler told his intimate circle that the murder was to

Exter 10 be extended to include German Jews, thereby including all the Jews of Europe in the plans for the Final Solution (Final Solution). In late 1941 and early 1942, death camps were established as a result of the Final Solution. Overall, about 3.5 million Jews perished while in the extermination camps. At first, many Jews were shot to death. When that proved not effective enough, there were experiments with gas vans. The method the Nazis liked the best however, was the extermination camps because they were easy and could exterminate a mass of people in a short amount of time. Auschwitz was one of the biggest death camps and during its couple of years in action, about one million Jews were murdered in the camp's gas chambers (Extermination Camps).

Liberation Jews were freed from concentration and extermination camps beginning in July of 1944. Many camps were not free however, until the spring of 1945. What they found was unspeakable---tens of thousands on the verge of death as well as piles upon piles of corpses (Liberation). Being freed from the Nazis was both good and bad for the Jews. The good thing was that they were now free from Nazi tyranny, free to move on, but the bad thing was that many
People celebrating after Liberation http://binged.it/IIJH3o

of them had nowhere to go and no compelling reason to leave---

often, these Jews were the only survivors from their entire families, sometimes from their entire community (Liberation). Ya'akov Lazovik gave a firsthand account of his experiences during liberation. He did not see it as a great victory. Lazovik states, On VE Day there was dancing in the streets of New

Exter 11 York. In Moscow salvos of cannon were fired. There was no dancing in the camps, though... For many inmates the liberation came too late; their strength failed them after the long years of suffering. He continues to look at liberation in a negative light when he states, It is estimated that about 20,000 Jewish inmates in camps in Germany died in the first weeks after the liberation... (Lazovik). When Lazovik gives his thoughts on Liberation, they are not very pleasant thoughts. He describes liberation by saying, The story of the liberation is not the good ending to the bad story, it is a harsh story in its own right. It is the successful conclusion of the struggle for physical survival but the start of the longer mental struggle.

Millions of Jews were killed, and after Liberation many of them did not even have a home. There were many former events that occurred in Germany that caused the Holocaust to take place. People need to be aware of the horrendous events that happened so that nothing of this magnitude will ever happen again.

Exter 12 Works Cited "Antisemitism." Yad Vashem. Yad Vashem. Web. 16 Apr. 2012. "Extermination Camps." Yad Vashem. Yad Vashem. Web. 16 Apr. 2012. "Final Solution." Yad Vashem. Yad Vashem. Web. 16 Apr. 2012. Flinker, Moshe. "From the Diary of Moshe Flinker on Antisemitic." Yad Vashem. Yad Vashem. Web. 16 Apr. 2012. "Ghetto." Yad Vashem. Yad Vashem. Web. 16 Apr. 2012. "Holocaust History." Nazi Propaganda. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Web. 16 Apr. 2012. "It Came From Within... Exhibition Marking the Events of Kristallnacht." Pages of Testimony. Yad Vashem. Web. 16 Apr. 2012. Krausz, Don. "From the Testimony of Don Krausz about the." Yad Vashem. Yad Vashem. Web. 16 Apr. 2012. "Kristallnacht." Yad Vashem. Yad Vashem. Web. 16 Apr. 2012. Lazovik, Ya'akov. "The Pain of Liberation." Yad Vashem. Yad Vashem. Web. 16 Apr. 2012. "Liberation." Yad Vashem. Yad Vashem. Web. 16 Apr. 2012. "Nazi Germany and the Jews 1933-1939." Antisemitism. Yad Vashem. Web. 16 Apr. 2012. "Nuremburg Laws." Yad Vashem. Yad Vashem. Web. 16 Apr. 2012. "Propaganda, Nazi." Yad Vashem. Yad Vashem. Web. 16 Apr. 2012. "Resistance, Jewish." Yad Vashem. Yad Vashem. Web. 16 Apr. 2012. "Warsaw Ghetto Uprising." Yad Vashem. Yad Vashem. Web. 16 Apr. 2012 .

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