The Holocaust Essay, Research Paper

The millions of Jews who were taken from their places of residence, ghettos or transit camps did not in any way know that they were being brought to extermination camps nor did they know what fate awaited for them. Most of them had not even heard of the existence of such camps. Rumors about death camps did, it is true, reach Warsaw and other ghettos in Poland, but the public for the most part did not want to believe them. Hitler pulled off one of the biggest genocide s ever in the world, the holocaust. The goal of the Nazi Holocaust was to exterminate all Jews in Europe. Hitler and the Nazi power gained power in 1933 and lost power in 1945. In this twelve (12) years many people were mislead and brought to death.

The killing of the Jews took place from 1938-1945. The Jews were stripped of social roles, driven from respected jobs, rights, citizenship, material and goods. Many of the Jew owned businesses were vandalized and boycotted. The Jews wealth and property was confiscated. Jews had to wear the star of David around their arm so that the other Germans would not treat them fair. Many of them were ridiculed and beat up in the street, just for so innocently being Jewish. On the nights of November 9th and 10th of 1938 called, the Night of Broken Glass, nearly every Jewish synagogue in Germany was destroyed along with many other Jewish organizations. By the Nuremberg Law of 1935 they lost their citizenship and were forbidden to intermarry with other Germans. This was just the start of an awful ending.

I ask myself, why did they just not do as they were told, just resist. There was no where for the Jews to turn. If they resisted, they would be gunned down within seconds; so they had to obey the Nazi rule. There were many public executions to prove the power of the Nazis and SS. This showed the Jews that there was definitely no way out. The Jews were relocated from their homes to ghettos where the conditions were terrible. Living conditions were compacted and crowded. It was very dirty and filled with germs and diseases. In the ghettos the Jews worked for very long hours and ate very meager meals.

The SS was in charge of the extermination of the Jews. Himmler was in charge of the SS. The first style of killing the Jews was to gun them down. When Himmler saw this for the first time, he got very pale and almost passed out. There had to be an easier way to exterminate the Jewish race. Gunning the Jews down was to personal; a one on one activity. On January 20, 1942, fifteen (15) Nazis headed by Reinhard Heydrick, made plans for the Final Solution, an effective way to kill the Jewish race in Europe. This was the start of concentration camps. The camps were built along railroads for easy access and mobility. At these camps the most effective massacre of the Jews took place in the gas chambers. In the gas chambers they packed the Jews wall to wall and Zyklon B was sent throughout the air. When the Jews breathed this air, they died. This was very effective because it was fast, simple, and without personal contact with the Jewish race. After and sometimes before they were killed, they were stripped of every valuable possession they had, clothing, eyeglasses, jewelry, gold teeth and even their hair.

This massive genocide detracted Germany from the effort they put forth to the War, because it required cooperation from the government., industry, and railroads.

When the War ended the Allied troops entered Germany and Eastern Europe. News of the Holocaust had a shattering effect upon the world; but, especially upon a German public already dishearten by defeat.

Many pictures were taken of the Holocaust. Some, of these pictures were too gruesome to be published. Altogether 6 million Jews were killed in the Holocaust.

On April 22, 1993, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum was dedicated to the 6 million Jewish casualties. The Museum is a five (5) story building which includes; a 20,000 volume library of the Holocaust archives; a 414 seat auditorium; a 176 seat movie theater; and a children s remembrance wall. The Holocaust was such a tragic event in history. It will never be forgotten!