The holocaust
What was the holocaust?
The Holocaust was the systematic mass genocide of about six million Jews and other persecuted groups, by the German Nazis during World War II. Adolf Hitler viewed the Jews as an inferior race and also a threat to the purity of the Germans as well as to their community. The Holocaust was mainly focused around Hitler’s “final solution” to exterminate the Jewish population. He was an extremely anti-semitic man. He believed that the Jews caused Germany to lose World War I and therefore felt Jews were responsible for all of the consequences of losing the war. Hitler believed that the world must include and be dominated by the Aryan race alone. The Ayran race were those people with blue eyes, blond hair and pale skin; he demanded that Aryans be only of pure blood. He targeted not only the Jews but anyone who did not meet his standards of the Aryan race. Christians, Gypsies, Homosexuals, African Americans, also did not fit criteria of the Aryan race and were similarly targeted for extermination by Hitler and the Nazis.
Wannsee Conference and Final Solution
On January 20, 1942, fifteen Nazi Party and German government officials held a meeting in the Berlin suburb of Wannsee to discuss and coordinate the support of the already authorized "Final Solution." The purpose of the conference was to inform various government authorities that a decision had been made to exterminate the Jews in a systematic and widespread manner. The participants were advised of the means by which the genocide would occur and to ensure support for the implementation of the Final Solution. During the conference, immigration/emigration, evacuation to labor camps, ghettos, and classification of Jews were discussed. Before the Final Solution was formally introduced, Jews were already being slaughtered on a mass basis by the Nazis. As part of the Final Solution, and to organize the extermination, Hitler and the Nazis forced the Jews into concentration camps. Although the Allied forces eventually were able to liberate the Jews from the camps, Hitler's Final Solution was ultimately responsible for the annihilation of 6 million Jews or 67 percent of the European Jewish population.
CONCENTRATION Camps
The German Nazis established approximately 20,000 concentration camps. The camps were established as places to systematically kill the Jews. These camps imprisoned millions of victims who were forced to engage in strenuous labor.The prisoners lived in tight and unsanitary barracks. They were given little to nothing to eat. Many prisoners died from the harsh living conditions while others were either simply shot by the Nazi officials or sent to die in gas chambers. These infamous chambers of death were masked as showers but were truly killing stations. Victims were forced to take of all their clothing and belongings before being locked into the chambers. They were herded into the "showers" where instead of water, poisonous gas poured forth filling the room. Nazi’s choose the poisonous gas to be the most effective way to kill them. They used a pesticide called Zyklon B which was an effective and efficient killer.
Auschwitz is known to be one of the largest and perhaps most infamous concentration camps established by Nazis. Located about 37 miles west of Krakow near the German-Polish border, this notorious camp was split into three smaller camps. Auschwitz streamlined a mass killing of 1.1 million people. Auschwitz I which was known as the “The Main Camp,” housed most of the prisoners; it was also the location of Block 11 where many of the German medical experiments on human subjects took place. In 1942, Auschwitz II, known as “Birkenau” was built; it was located about 2 miles away from “The Main Camp”. Auschwitz II was the main location in the Auschwitz complex for the ruthless killing of the prisoners. Auschwitz III, known as “Buna-Monowitz," was built primarily for the purpose of housing additional forced laborers/prisoners. Although Jews were mainly targeted, Gypsies, homosexuals, criminals and prisoners of war, were also victims of the Nazis' genocide; individuals from all of these groups were sent to Auschwitz. Upon arrival, the prisoners were stripped of their belongs and told whether to go “left or right.” Those sent to the right were sentenced to intense forced labor in the camp. Those sent to the left were immediately murdered in the horrific gas chambers.
Pogroms
The word Pogrom translated literally means “to wreak havoc, to demolish violently.” In World War II pogroms were violent attacks on Jews. These pogroms were often organized or encouraged by the government and police. During the pogroms Jewish victims were robbed, raped, beaten, and in some cases murdered. Their homes and property as well as schools and places of worship were pillaged and destroyed.
Kristallnacht is one of the most well known pogroms that took place over a widespread area. This multi-nation pogrom was organized by the Nazis and took place on November 9th and 10th. The literal translation of Kristallnacht is “Night of Crystal” and the event is also known as the “night of broken glass.” This pogrom transpired in many locations occupied by the Nazis, including Austria and Sudetenland in Czechoslovakia. During Kristallnacht, Nazi Party officials, members of the Sturmabteilung (SA) and Hitler Youth destroyed synagogues, Jewish-owned businesses and Jewish homes, killing and arresting many Jews. The scene on morning following this horrific event, was streets that were lined with the broken glass from the thousands of shattered windows. German officials claimed that Kristallnacht was a spontaneous public reaction to the killing of Ernst Vom Rath, a German diplomat, by a Jewish man. The truth was that Kristallnacht was an organized anti-semitic campaign that was directed and commanded by the German Nazi leadership. Kristallnacht was one of the major turning points in the Holocaust in which civilian populations either participated in or sat silently by as their Jewish countrymen were terrorized.
Ghettos
As part of the Nazis' campaign to annihilate the Jews, ghettos were created as a place to segregate and control the Jewish population. Ghettos were contained and often walled areas where the Jews were ordered to live and work. The Jews were not allowed to leave the ghettos without written permission. Conditions in the ghettos were horrific; disease spread easily, the Jews were given little to no food or water, and the area itself was very claustrophobic. There were often many families living together in cramped quarters. As a result of the lack of food and sanitation, many people died in the ghettos.
As the reality of the ghettos and the genocide became increasingly apparent, Jews began to resist. Many Jews in the ghettos began to organize large-scale resistance movements. Outraged by their living conditions and discrimination and fearing the transportations, the Jews fought back with whatever resources they had. The most famous of these uprising occurred in the Warsaw Ghetto in Poland.
In 1940, the German Nazis created a designated area in the city of Warsaw where all Jews from Warsaw and from some nearby areas were forced to live. The Ghetto was sealed off from the rest of the city and closed off by a ten foot wall. Close to 450,000 Jews were cramped in a 1.3 square mile space with terrible living conditions. As part of their annihilation policy, between July and September of 1942, German Nazis deported or killed about 300,000 Jews from the Warsaw Ghetto. The Jewish Military Union and Jewish Combat organization within in the Warsaw ghettos initially tried to resist the liquidation of Jews. They infiltrated into the Jewish deportation lines and started shooting officials. This stopped the liquidation for a while. The Jews then starting building bunkers where they could hide from the Nazis. When the Nazis resumed deportation efforts, the Jews fought back with gunfire and grenades. The uprising continued until Nazi officials began systematically destroying each building in the Ghetto. This forced Jews to either come out of hiding or die. The end of the uprising was on May 16, 1943. The Warsaw uprising inspired Jews in other areas to rebel as well.
Death marches
At the end of the war, as the German military was collapsing, and the Allied forces were closing in on the Nazi concentration camps, the Germans quickly moved prisoners out of the concentration camps. First, the Nazis were fearful of having the stories of what happened in the camps revealed to Allied and Soviet liberators. Additionally, the Nazis wanted their prisoners to continue production of armaments and so they needed to move their labor force to more secure areas. Lastly, some of the Nazi leaders believed that the concentration camp prisoners could be used as hostages to bargain for separated peace and the survival of the Nazi regime. These marches led Jewish prisoners to labor camps further into Germany. The marches took place over long distances in the bitter cold, with little to no food, water, or rest. Those who became weak and could not walk or travel were immediately killed. These marches took place during the winter of 1944 through the spring of 1945.
Literature relating to the Holocaust:
Maus 1 is a comic book depicting the author, Art Spieglman, as a mouse interviewing his father (also a mouse) about his experiences as a Polish Jew and Holocaust survivor. His father, Vladek, tells the story of his experience during the Holocaust while his son, Artie, who records the story of his father. His father's descriptive experiences relate how horrific and inexplicable the Holocaust was and why it should never be forgotten. The book also deals with the emotional and psychological struggles of the children of the Holocaust survivors.
Maus 2, the sequel to Maus 1, continues the story of the Holocaust events through the form of a comic book. The Jewish characters are shown as mice, and the Nazis are drawn as cats as a metaphor for the stronger over the weaker, the hunters and the hunted. Throughout the novel, the author interviews his father Vladek, a Holocaust Survivor, to gather his stories of his time spent in the concentration camps. The book shows the suffering and pain that Jews faced during the Holocaust.
Anne Frank, a young girl who wrote short stories, fairy tales, essays, and beginnings of novels between the ages of 13 and 15, also kept a diary which has become an iconic piece of literature about the Holocaust. During her two years in hidiing from the German Nazi’s, Anne Frank wrote five notebooks about her experience. Her hiding place, known as the “Secret Annex,” was eventually discovered and raided by the Nazis, and she and her family were taken to the concentraion camps where they soon met their death; only her father survived. Miraculously, Anne Frank's diaries were kept safe by the family friend with whom they were staying and were later published by her father Otto Frank. The Diary of Anne Frank provides an insight into the experience and emotions of Jewish teenager hiding during the Holocaust.
Mein Kampf, translated in English to “My Struggle,” was a book written by the German leader Adolf Hitler. Hitler wrote his book between 1923 an 1924 while serving time in jail. The book includes both an autobiography and Hitler's views and ideology. It speaks of Hitler's youth and early days in the Nazi Party as well as his future plans for Germany. His book is considered a blueprint for his “Final Solution”.
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas is about a young boy named Bruno and his wealthy family who lived in Germany during World War II. His father is an SS Commandant. During the novel, Bruno's family moves to the countryside where his father is assigned to be a commander at a concentration camp. Soon after the move, Bruno meets a young boy dressed in striped pajamas, named Shmuel, who lives behind an electrified fence. Later, Bruno discovers that contact with his new friend is forbidden because Shmuel is a Jew. Bruno also learns that the neighboring yard is actually a prison camp for extermination of Jews. The book takes a surprising twist when Bruno dons striped pajamas.
The Devil’s Arithmetic is a story about a young Jewish girl named Hannah who lived in New Rochelle, NY. Hannah is tired of hearing about her grandfather’s experience in the concentration camps during the Holocaust and therefore she does not want to go to the family Passover Seder. She ends up going to the seder and when she goes to open the door for Elijah she is transported to the year 1942 in Poland where she lives the life of Chaya Abramowicz. She is soon transported along with the other villagers to one of the concentration camps. The novel explores the awakening of a child to the history and suffering of her family during World War II.
Blame for the Holocaust is traditionally laid solely at the feet of the Germans. However, those who collaborated are equally as guilty as active participants in the systematic extermination of 12 million people. Another question remains regarding the culpability of those who sat by and watched as the genocide of the Jews occurred.