Ghetto Dbq

History repeats itself. Why exactly it does so is a nearly-answered mystery, but humans, especially oppressors tend to use the same tactics as other oppressors did beforehand. The Europeans copied Egyptian slavery, Western society took on the European notion of homophobia, and most recently, the German Nazi party created their own ghettos similar to the living spaces Blacks were systematically pushed into after being freed from slavery. This isn’t to say that Nazi germany looked into America, saw how they were treating their undesirables and went “Hey! We should do that too!” but the ideology and structure of the Jewish and Black ghetto are very similar, while not exactly the same.

Clearly, both of the ghettos were the result of systematic
discrimination. How else would a country let those conditions happen? We know exactly how it happened in the Jews’ case. “Jews would be uprooted from their homes and sent to live in concentrated, miserable neighborhoods until the fourth and final stage could be affected.” Bascomb, Neal Nazi Hunters (2013). The Nazis used their power to break the Jews spiritually and physically, and no one could object thanks to the Socialist government that was currently in place. The history of American ghettos is a little muddier and less known. They originally began during the late 19th century when Blacks were suddenly citizens with the right to buy and own land, go to court, and most importantly, live an unslaved, free life. The thing was, no one wanted to hire Blacks, or give them land, or scandalously, let them live on equal terms near or with Whites. “‘It was an explicit, racially purposeful policy that was pursued at all levels of government, and that's the reason we have these ghettos today and we are reaping the fruits of those policies.’”* npr.org The racists were in power, treating the selected group horribly to push their agendas, gain popularity and thus gain more power. However, the Jews had been the scapegoat of Europe for centuries, being blamed for everything from the economy to the Black Plague. They weren’t considered inhuman, merely associated with money and trade and heresy, the former two fluctuating all the time and making everyone suffer and the latter just plain religious hatred. True racism started in Western society during the Atlantic Slave Trade and the newfound boom of capitalism. Capitalists were forced to make an excuse that sold in order for them to actually sell, resulting in the “Blacks aren’t human and thus lesser” rhetoric that still carries over in Western society today, be it in internalized or outward racism. These outdated, prejudiced views influenced the government of both nations/majority of an entire continent, which is why these things were allowed to happen. Governments were corrupt, and so were the mentalities of the nations.

To further elaborate on the purpose of Jewish/European ghettos; “The first Nazi ghettos were never intended to be more than temporary, an interim concentration of Jews pending a decision concerning what the “Final Solution of the Jewish Question” was going to be.
That decision went through many convoluted changes before its ultimate determination.”* holocaustresearchproject.org Hitler never considered the idea of ghettos until he realized that Jews would make good labor, and that they were much easier to isolate and transport this way. It became the third step in the four-step answer to “The Jewish Question” that consisted of first isolating them from society (yellow patches, labeling businesses as Jewish), removing their rights (curfews, Jew-only areas, restricting business), transporting them to ghettos, and finally transporting them to concentration or extermination camps. Jews were rounded up and transported to town in empty factories in which they would live in wall-less or roofless buildings, living on scraps of food and drops of water and working for a majority of the day. “His family now lived on factory grounds, in a shelter with a roof with no walls, and with little food besides spoonfuls of potato soup. There was hardly any water-- only two faucets for the whole ghetto.” Bascomb, Neal Nazi Hunters (2013). Besides the physical benefits that the ghettos provided for the Nazis, a bonus was the emotional effects it had on the Jews. The cruel conditions of the
ghettos are obviously enough to cause severe trauma and evoke feelings of hopelessness in Jews, limiting resistance and making them more pliant, as they probably believed that their lives couldn’t get any worse. “ There is no justice in the world, not to mention in the ghetto. Right now they are deporting people on welfare. People are in a state of panic. And this hunger. A struggle against death from starvation. Life is terrible, living conditions are abominable, and there is no food . . .”* Diary entry from Jewish girl in ghetto, facinghistory.org. Overall, the ghettos served to begin destroying the Jews mental and physical health. Compared to Jewish ghettos, American Black ghettos never had any deliberate purpose behind them. They were moreso the result of general racism and denial of Blacks having rights and deserving them. Yes, the creation of Black ghettos was purposeful and calculated, the government and higher-ups knowing full well that Blacks would not have good lives living in crowded areas, but as long as they were kept out of the eyes of white folks, they could do whatever. With the industrial revolution that came into play during the early twentieth century, many Southern Blacks migrated northwards looking for opportunities, much like the European immigrants of that time. Unlike the immigrants, they didn’t gain enough money after a generation or two to move out of the slums. Add drugs to the mix during the late 70’s and 80’s and the modern day ghetto was born, with drug trade, fatherless children, and an increase of Black-on-Black crime. The build of the modern day ghetto in crowded cities such as New York or Los Angeles has proven effective at controlling Blacks; not controlling crime, but controlling their rate of success. The ghetto is known for being crawling with uneducated, unclassy people that rarely go to college, and are involved with crime in some way. Ghettos keep the Black Urban communities pliant, unconcerned with any racist schemes the government might be planning, allowing things such as the rich to become richer or the drug trade to continue. Putting down the minorities of each nation allowed the government to gain power, be it with exterminating the Jews or running a corrupt country successfully.

Unless they’re going through the World War 2 unit in their history class, the average American wouldn’t know about the Jewish ghettos and what happened to the Jews before the concentration camp. This can be blamed on U.S centralization and the fact that what they only really drill into students’ heads is that the U. S. of A. is the reason the war ended in order to fester patriotism that’ll prevent them from speaking out against the nation once they’re fully grown adults, but I digress. What Americans do know about, however, is about Black ghettos, because they are, of course, American. Even the Whitest of the White who live in, like, the Midwest and Upper Northeast know about ghettos. This may be due to the media and the popularity of channels like BET, which results in Whites having only one notion of what Black people are truly like: ghetto. Ghetto is an adjective as well as a noun, and is most frequently used to describe Blacks who come from the “streets”, or low-income areas where crime is high. The negative connotation most likely came from the belief that Blacks could not amount to anything, which is why they live in such poor run-down areas. The overall problem with it is that ghetto has come to mean Black, restricting someone from the second their skin is known to be dark. The urban ghetto does not allow success, and is a form of quiet oppression. This is what makes it different from the Jewish European ghettos. Jews weren’t born into them, but forcefully taken to them, meant to suffer before the grand gruesome finale. Blacks slums are a true American creation, instilling prejudice into anyone who isn’t from one. Before the Holocaust, there were, in fact, Jewish-only areas, since the prejudice against them had been entwined in European history for centuries. It wasn’t really a true restriction on them, as they could come and go to Christian towns and even own businesses there, and the Jewish bible encourages for them to live together, so many weren’t too unhappy about it. The Holocaust was a flash bout of anti semitism that wreaked havoc, and American anti-blackness had been integrated into American culture the very moment a slave stepped foot onto American soil.

When the Holocaust comes to mind, one is most likely going to conjure an image of a starving concentration camp prisoner.
It’s the iconic image, the one that evoked sympathy in the hearts of many, making them even prouder of what their country has been doing in the war. Behind gassing and plain ol’ guns, starvation is the cause of most of the deaths during the Holocaust. It began in the ghettos, where Jews would get merely 300 calories each day. Enough to keep them moving but clearly not enough to be healthy. The trend of malnutrition in ghettos is not unique to the Holocaust, unfortunately. Thanks to the way America’s agriculture is, many in low-income areas cannot afford the good, nutritious food that is required for someone to be properly fed. However, this doesn’t mean that they’re viciously underfed like those in concentration camps. In America, how fat you are often correlates with how poor you are, as those without money are more likely to buy the cheaper, fat-sodium-and-preservative ridden food. This, in turn, helps the healthcare business, as they have more people signing up for their services while they can’t even pay for them. A shining example of capitalism. Those in low-income areas are also more likely to not be aware of foods that unhealthy, which is why they buy those foods in the first place. This problem is not systematic oppression, just capitalism that transcends race. The diets Jewish people had were (obviously) discriminatory, and they also applied to
any civilians of the countries the Nazi party invaded, as they were also taken as workers and fed 600 calories a day, compared to the German soldiers’ 2,000. It’s similarity in actions, not in motives, between the two governments.

The construct of a ghetto at this point, after stating similarities and minor differences, is really just a systematic oppression of a group in one area. Even White American ghettos conform by this; they’re oppressed by their low-income. Both ghettos are examples of what exactly a government can allow happen (purposefully), and what happens if bigots gain too much power. And while Jewish ghettos are thankfully eliminated, America still has a long road to go before things stop being systematically unjust.