Introduction
The Holocaust was a tragic event that occurred in the years between 1933 and 1945. 1945 was the year when the Germans were defeated and the six year long war ended. The Holocaust was responsible for the death of approximately 6 million Jews across Europe and many other people who got in the way of the Nazis.
What is the Holocaust?
The Holocaust was the mass murder of Jews which took place during WW2. Hitler was responsible for the death of approximately 6 million Jews as well as many other people who got in his way throughout this event in history. Factories were built in different locations in Europe just for the mass murders to take place at. When Hitler came to power he took away many of the Jews’ rights and then took them to death camps where they would be murdered. The Nazis also targeted physically and mentally disabled people, gypsies, male homosexuals, Jehovah’s Witnesses, the Poles and Soviet POWs but the Jews suffered the most out of everyone.
Why did it happen?
The Germans, Poles, Austrians, French, Croats, Slovaks, Ukrainians, Lithuanians and some others believed that Jews were evil and the minions of the devil. They had been taught that the Jews rejected Christian revelation and that they were the ones who murdered Jesus Christ. The Jews had been forced out of many countries because of the beliefs people had but the Nazis wanted to find a permanent solution to getting rid of them. The only solution they had was extermination. Hitler had planned the extermination of the Jews years before they acted on it. The Nazis managed to pull off this plan called the ‘Holocaust’ thanks to the help of the local populations.
How was it disguised?
The Holocaust was a secret that the Nazis wanted to keep amongst them and they went to took great measures to keep it as secret and hidden as possible. Hardly anything about the planning of the murders was written down and what was documented got destroyed before it could be found. Orders given were verbal and they made up code words such as ‘special treatment’ which meant killing. The mounds of dead bodies were buried and later reopened and set fire to. This eliminated the physical evidence but due to there being so many bodies not all of it was destroyed. The Nazis did their best to keep the Holocaust secret but the truth eventually came out.
Experiences of prisoners
Charlene Schiff was the only survivor of her Jewish family during the war. She had an older sister, mother and father. The Germans invaded the USSR (Russia) in 1941 and set up a ghetto in her hometown of Horochow, Poland. In 1942 when she was 13 years old, there were rumours going around that the ghetto was going to be destroyed. Charlene and her mother fled and hid in the bushes by the river. They heard gun shots so they hid in the river underwater and all night they could hear machine guns. Others had fled and hidden in the bushes as well. Charlene could hear a Ukrainian guard yelling, “I see you there Jews; come out!” Most of the other people obeyed and came out of hiding but Charlene and her mother stayed in the water for several days until one day when Charlene woke up to find her mother was gone. She never saw any of her family again.
Lonia Goldman Fishman, after finishing high school, moved to Warsaw with her family in the mid-1930s. In 1940 the ghetto they were living in was sealed off so they were trapped. At the age of 18 Lonia married Sevek who was also trapped in the ghetto. 1n 1942 Lonia and Sevek escaped to a village near Wegrow, Poland where a peasant couple agreed to hide them. They dug a “grave” and lined with straw which was where they laid motionless for 18 months. The peasant couple brought them food and emptied their chamber pot every day. They were washed once a week. In 1945 Lonia and Sevek were liberated by the Soviets and after 18 months of not moving they had to learn how to walk again.
When Leo Schneiderman was taken to Auschwitz late at night the first things he heard when the gates opened were screams and barking dogs. He got off the train and saw children being torn from their mothers and husbands being separated from their wives. The elderly people were being chased around while the sick and disabled were treated like garbage. Leo’s mother ran to him and told him that she wouldn’t see him again and to take care of his brother.
Lonia Goldman Fishman, after finishing high school, moved to Warsaw with her family in the mid-1930s. In 1940 the ghetto they were living in was sealed off so they were trapped. At the age of 18 Lonia married Sevek who was also trapped in the ghetto. 1n 1942 Lonia and Sevek escaped to a village near Wegrow, Poland where a peasant couple agreed to hide them. They dug a “grave” and lined with straw which was where they laid motionless for 18 months. The peasant couple brought them food and emptied their chamber pot every day. They were washed once a week. In 1945 Lonia and Sevek were liberated by the Soviets and after 18 months of not moving they had to learn how to walk again.
When Leo Schneiderman was taken to Auschwitz late at night the first things he heard when the gates opened were screams and barking dogs. He got off the train and saw children being torn from their mothers and husbands being separated from their wives. The elderly people were being chased around while the sick and disabled were treated like garbage. Leo’s mother ran to him and told him that she wouldn’t see him again and to take care of his brother.
Anne Frank
Anne Frank was a young girl who lived when the Holocaust was happening. She was born in 1929 to a Jewish family living in Germany. When the Nazis came to power in Germany her family thought it was best to move somewhere safer. Anne and her family moved to Amsterdam, Holland in 1933. In 1940 the Germans took over Holland and Anne and her family were unsafe again. Anne’s father Otto made plans to hide his family until the war was over so in 1942 they went into hiding in part of Otto’s office building. The family survived with the help of four of Otto’s staff members who knew where the hiding place was. In August 1944 Anne’s family were betrayed and the Nazis found the hiding place. Four other people had been hiding with the Frank family and all of them were taken to Auschwitz. Anne’s mother, Edith died in Auschwitz shortly after they arrived. Anne and her sister Margot were sent to Bergen-Belsen in the October of 1944. The conditions there were horrible and in March 1945 Anne and her sister both died of typhus. Typhus is a disease that gives you a very high fever that makes you very weak and you develop purple spots on your body. Anne died at the age of 15.
Before the Franks went into hiding Anne was given a diary for her 13th birthday. For the whole duration of her time in hiding Anne wrote in her diary about her personal experience of what happened during the Holocaust. Anne created an imaginary friend called Kitty. Kitty was the person Anne imagined talking to about her thoughts and everything she was going through. Anne’s diary is the testimony of a girl who didn’t give up and held on to her culture, ideals, hopes and dreams. It is a historical document that is inspirational to many. Anne’s father was the only family member who survived the Holocaust and he went on to publish the diary which his daughter kept.
Before the Franks went into hiding Anne was given a diary for her 13th birthday. For the whole duration of her time in hiding Anne wrote in her diary about her personal experience of what happened during the Holocaust. Anne created an imaginary friend called Kitty. Kitty was the person Anne imagined talking to about her thoughts and everything she was going through. Anne’s diary is the testimony of a girl who didn’t give up and held on to her culture, ideals, hopes and dreams. It is a historical document that is inspirational to many. Anne’s father was the only family member who survived the Holocaust and he went on to publish the diary which his daughter kept.
How were the perpetrators dealt with after the war?
The majority of the perpetrators got away with the crimes they committed and returned to their prior jobs or fled the country. The ones that were captured were put on trial by the Allies. Most were sentenced to serve time in prison and a few even to life imprisonment. Some of those convicted were even sentenced to death. Hermann Goering was one of the perpetrators sentenced to death but the night before his execution he committed suicide in his cell. Witness testimonies were given by the survivors of the camps.
Hitler blamed the Jews for the war and destruction that he had started. Germany was in ruins and Hitler could see that defeat was coming his way so he took his own life. This ended the six years of war which he had created.
Hitler blamed the Jews for the war and destruction that he had started. Germany was in ruins and Hitler could see that defeat was coming his way so he took his own life. This ended the six years of war which he had created.
Disguised showers
Many of the prisoners at the death camps were killed by a gas called Zyklon B. The prisoners who were considered to be too weak to work were sent to gas chambers where they would be killed. They were told that they would be having a shower but little did they know that the showers actually contained the poisonous gas.
Conclusion
The Holocaust was an event in history that affected many people in different ways. It is shocking to read about the experiences victims went through and the discrimination against the Jewish people. Having to live like that is something no one should have to go through. Let's hope that the world never sees anything like the Holocaust again.
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Bülow, L 2013 Adolf Hitler , N.A., accessed 16 April 2013, http://auschwitz.dk/hitler.htm
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