The Holocaust
What was the Holocaust?
The Holocaust was one of the darkest events in history. It was an ongoing, hidden war between the Jews and Nazi Germany throughout WWII. Hitler was responsible for the slaughtering of roughly 6,000,000 Jews, as well as around 10,000,000 (1) more from other groups such as gypsies, homosexuals, blacks, and communist POWs during this time. The Holocaust was an organized, systematic, and fairly quick operation. Hitler had been promoting his anti-Semitism and discriminating views to the Nazi Party and the rest of Germany ever since he was elected in 1933, though it already existed in society all over Europe. Hitler’s aim was to eliminate the “Jewish problem”, and arrive at the “Final Solution”. (2)
Why Were Jews Targeted?
It was believed that Hitler targeted the Jews for a few reasons. The first being that he thought they were to blame for the economic depression that Germany was in. Hitler figured that since many of the private Jewish banks were doing well through the depression, Jewish brokers were a major player on the stock market, and Jews ran nearly half of Germany’s newspapers as well as 80% of chain stores, it must have been them who brought the depression upon Germany. Hitler also thought that Jews were to blame for the loss of WWI. He thought that the Jews had “stabbed Germany in the back”, since Jewish financiers, journalists, and socialists had apparently sabotaged the war effort. It is strange that Hitler had such a hatred for Jews, because he supposedly had a Jewish background. (3)
What Happened During the Holocaust?
The Holocaust started when Hitler gradually created new laws that restricted Jewish freedoms and singled them out from the rest of the population. In 1934, he made it law that Jewish newspapers couldn’t be sold publicly, and over the following years he took away German citizenship from the Jews, the right to vote, and he cut off Jewish businesses. On November 9-10, 1938, the Nazi’s terrorized the Jews by smashing all the windows and breaking into their businesses and homes. This was called Kristallnacht (Night of Broken Glass), and 30,000 Jews were arrested.
Jewish passports were marked with a “J”, which made it even harder for Jews trying to emigrate to do so, since other countries did not want them. An example of this is in 1939, when the St. Louis, which was carrying 930 Jews, was heading to Canada, Cuba, and the U.S. looking for sanctuary. The ship had to return to Europe when all the countries refused to take them in. (4)
In 1940, German Jews were transported to Poland and forced into ghettos, which were small apartment blocks surrounded by a wall or barbed wire. Jews had set curfews and were on a very short leash: if they stepped out of line they were usually shot (5). Jews were then split into two groups: those that can work and those that cannot. The elderly and women with children were all deemed not able to work. Men and strong women were seen fit and sent to work in concentration camps (6). In these camps, they would be forced to work until they died, either from illness, malnutrition, torture, or exhaustion. (7)
The Jews that were deemed unfit to work were directly sent to death camps. Mass executions would be held there, usually by mass shootings, and then burying them in mass graves. However, this proved to be quite inefficient and a waste of ammunition that was needed for the battlefield, so they came up with a more effective way of mass murder. Nazi’s created gas chambers, which could hold hundreds of Jews at a time. They gassed them with carbon monoxide, but later switched to Zyklon-B gas. The bodies were then cremated in huge facilities. In 1944 in Auschwitz, one of the biggest concentration camps, there was reportedly 12,000 Jews being killed a day. (8)
As Germany continued to expand their empire, more Jews were being captured and sent to these inhumane camps.
Jewish passports were marked with a “J”, which made it even harder for Jews trying to emigrate to do so, since other countries did not want them. An example of this is in 1939, when the St. Louis, which was carrying 930 Jews, was heading to Canada, Cuba, and the U.S. looking for sanctuary. The ship had to return to Europe when all the countries refused to take them in. (4)
In 1940, German Jews were transported to Poland and forced into ghettos, which were small apartment blocks surrounded by a wall or barbed wire. Jews had set curfews and were on a very short leash: if they stepped out of line they were usually shot (5). Jews were then split into two groups: those that can work and those that cannot. The elderly and women with children were all deemed not able to work. Men and strong women were seen fit and sent to work in concentration camps (6). In these camps, they would be forced to work until they died, either from illness, malnutrition, torture, or exhaustion. (7)
The Jews that were deemed unfit to work were directly sent to death camps. Mass executions would be held there, usually by mass shootings, and then burying them in mass graves. However, this proved to be quite inefficient and a waste of ammunition that was needed for the battlefield, so they came up with a more effective way of mass murder. Nazi’s created gas chambers, which could hold hundreds of Jews at a time. They gassed them with carbon monoxide, but later switched to Zyklon-B gas. The bodies were then cremated in huge facilities. In 1944 in Auschwitz, one of the biggest concentration camps, there was reportedly 12,000 Jews being killed a day. (8)
As Germany continued to expand their empire, more Jews were being captured and sent to these inhumane camps.
The Results and Consequences
In 1945, when the war ended in Europe, the Allies took back their land to find hundreds of concentration and death camps. These were a shocking discovery to the western countries, who claimed that they didn’t know about such things. In 1946, the Nuremberg Trails were held to try the Nazi leaders for war and humanity crimes. They were charged for the murder of over 6,000,000 Jews, the cruelty of the concentration camps, and for starting the war. 11 of these leaders were hung for their crimes, while 7 others had sentences for 10 or more years in jail.
Many surviving Jews found refuge in displaced persons camps created by the Allied powers. The last of these camps closed in 1957. (9)
To prevent future genocides like the Holocaust happening, and to help the Jews find a place they could feel safe, the United Nations created Israel in British-controlled Palestine in 1947-48. Nearly 700,000 Jews immigrated to the new Jewish homeland between 1948 and 1951. Others went to the U.S. or other countries. (10)
The Holocaust killed millions resulting in many Jewish communities all over Europe being completely destroyed. This awful period is still remembered and still affects people today. (11)
Many surviving Jews found refuge in displaced persons camps created by the Allied powers. The last of these camps closed in 1957. (9)
To prevent future genocides like the Holocaust happening, and to help the Jews find a place they could feel safe, the United Nations created Israel in British-controlled Palestine in 1947-48. Nearly 700,000 Jews immigrated to the new Jewish homeland between 1948 and 1951. Others went to the U.S. or other countries. (10)
The Holocaust killed millions resulting in many Jewish communities all over Europe being completely destroyed. This awful period is still remembered and still affects people today. (11)
1.
http://www.realjewnews.com/?p=412
2. Ibid
3. http://www.realjewnews.com/?p=412
4. http://www.historyplace.com/worldwar2/holocaust/timeline.html
5. Ibid
6. http://www.theholocaustexplained.org/ks3/the-final-solution/auschwitz-birkenau/selection/#.VIUj_75gpbw
7. http://www.hitlerschildren.com/article/1646-a-brief-holocaust-summary
8. http://www.historyplace.com/worldwar2/holocaust/timeline.html
9. http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005143
10. Ibid
11. Ibid
12. http://www.ushmm.org/outreach/en/article.php?ModuleId=10007697
13. http://madworldnews.com/muslims-marking-christians-like-nazis-marked-jews-holocaust/
14. http://www2.holocaust.cz/en/history/camps/auschwitz
15. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Holocaust
16. http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/media_ph.php?ModuleId=10005220&MediaId=670
2. Ibid
3. http://www.realjewnews.com/?p=412
4. http://www.historyplace.com/worldwar2/holocaust/timeline.html
5. Ibid
6. http://www.theholocaustexplained.org/ks3/the-final-solution/auschwitz-birkenau/selection/#.VIUj_75gpbw
7. http://www.hitlerschildren.com/article/1646-a-brief-holocaust-summary
8. http://www.historyplace.com/worldwar2/holocaust/timeline.html
9. http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005143
10. Ibid
11. Ibid
12. http://www.ushmm.org/outreach/en/article.php?ModuleId=10007697
13. http://madworldnews.com/muslims-marking-christians-like-nazis-marked-jews-holocaust/
14. http://www2.holocaust.cz/en/history/camps/auschwitz
15. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Holocaust
16. http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/media_ph.php?ModuleId=10005220&MediaId=670