Affected by the Holocaust
Michael Horst
10/22/14
English 254
Final Draft
Affected by the Holocaust
Introduction
“I thought that the whole world was a concentration camp. And I concentrated on one single thing. How to survive one more day. How to survive one more experiment. How not to get sick” - Eva Kol, Auschwitz concentration camp survivor, Forgiving Dr. Mengele Survive. Can you imagine making this your priority every single day? Not living, but surviving. This quote is 50 years after WWII had ended and this lady, Eva Kor, still thinks in that same way. One event was able to affect someone in such a way. She wasn’t the only one either. 60,000 people were liberated from these camps and many, if not all, of which were given a different view on life. It’s not hard to understand why. Seeing people every day who were sick or diseased with no treatment or people who were malnourished with little food. Smelling the burning flesh of dead human corpses being burned in a giant oven. Sleeping on wooden bunks every night and having to do excruciating work for little to no payment. People were dehumanized. Having their name removed in place of a number. They were not human anymore. They were objects to be used however seemed fit and they had to oblige. No matter how gruesome the task may have been. The emotion felt by survivors holds so much power and has such important meaning to the understanding of the life of those who were affected. Many people were affected by the war. The adults, the children, and even those of us who live in the present day have been affected by the holocaust. Those affects vary from being negative and even positive.
The Survivors
In the film Forgiving Dr. Mengele, Eva Kor talks about the process of forgiving German Doctor Josef Mengele also known as the “Angel of Death” for his inhumane treatment and experimentation on her and her twin sister as well as the killing of millions of human beings. What she said was, in a way, hard to believe. In the same sense, it’s easy to
10/22/14
English 254
Final Draft
Affected by the Holocaust
Introduction
“I thought that the whole world was a concentration camp. And I concentrated on one single thing. How to survive one more day. How to survive one more experiment. How not to get sick” - Eva Kol, Auschwitz concentration camp survivor, Forgiving Dr. Mengele Survive. Can you imagine making this your priority every single day? Not living, but surviving. This quote is 50 years after WWII had ended and this lady, Eva Kor, still thinks in that same way. One event was able to affect someone in such a way. She wasn’t the only one either. 60,000 people were liberated from these camps and many, if not all, of which were given a different view on life. It’s not hard to understand why. Seeing people every day who were sick or diseased with no treatment or people who were malnourished with little food. Smelling the burning flesh of dead human corpses being burned in a giant oven. Sleeping on wooden bunks every night and having to do excruciating work for little to no payment. People were dehumanized. Having their name removed in place of a number. They were not human anymore. They were objects to be used however seemed fit and they had to oblige. No matter how gruesome the task may have been. The emotion felt by survivors holds so much power and has such important meaning to the understanding of the life of those who were affected. Many people were affected by the war. The adults, the children, and even those of us who live in the present day have been affected by the holocaust. Those affects vary from being negative and even positive.
The Survivors
In the film Forgiving Dr. Mengele, Eva Kor talks about the process of forgiving German Doctor Josef Mengele also known as the “Angel of Death” for his inhumane treatment and experimentation on her and her twin sister as well as the killing of millions of human beings. What she said was, in a way, hard to believe. In the same sense, it’s easy to