Holocaust Memorial Museum Case Study

The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum believes a total estimate of 6,673,900 non-Jewish people were persecuted and murdered at the hands of the Nazis due to the Nazi policies and Hitler’s orders. Many people believe that the Jews were the only race that suffered during the Holocaust and the reign of Hitler, but this is not the case. Non-Jewish people also suffered hardship during this time period, almost as much as the Jews themselves endured. The number of casualties they had surpasses those of the Jews themselves. The Nazis targeted not only the Jews, but other races/people during World War II. To begin, the Roma, or Gypsies, were specifically targeted by the Nazis to be exterminated. Secondly, the Nazis also had the idea of “purifying” society by disposing of those who were incurable. Thirdly, some subcultures were
targeted for reeducation, and often not murdered. To begin, the Roma, or Gypsies, were specifically targeted by the Nazis to be exterminated.
The Nazis looked upon the Gypsies as inferior by racial means. The Nazis were also supported by several other Germans who also despised the Gypsies. Since the Nazis, and many others, thought of the Roma in this way, they proceeded to mass murder them, force them into internment and into labor. 30,000 Gypsies were deported to labor camps, where they often died due to the harsh environment. According to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, “Nearly half the Roma died within the first months of their arrival due to lack of adequate food, fuel, shelter and medicines.” The Gypsies were also prone to illnesses, like smallpox and dysentery, due to the lack of medicines and bad living conditions. The very few Gypsies that managed to survive these labor camps were immediately taken to killing centers across Germany. They were exposed to poisonous carbon monoxide gas, or “gassed,” in these centers alongside the Jews. To conclude the Jews were not the only race segregated and persecuted by the Nazis, the Gypsies suffered almost as much as the Jews
did. Secondly, the Nazis also had the idea of “purifying” society by disposing of those who were incurable. These “incurables” were the mentally and physically disabled. To put a stop to the birth of disabled children, the Nazis ordered a “Sterilization” Law for the poorer people, since they were more likely to give birth to the deformed. The Nazis believed that these kinds of children “burdened society.” To be relieved of this “burden,” Germans strived to purify their civilizations by getting rid of people with various illnesses, or handicaps. “Hitler himself initiated a decree which empowered physicians to grant a ‘mercy death’ to ‘patients considered incurable to the best available human judgement of their state of health.’ The intent of the so called ‘euthanasia’ program, however, was not to relieve the suffering of the chronically ill.” (Nazi Euthanasia Program: Persecution of the Mentally and Physically Ill 1) The Euthanasia program was put into action to “cleanse” society of the people who did not fit the Nazi belief of a perfect and superior race. This resulted in the massacre of the disabled and deformed. The mentally and physically ill were taken to killing centers in Germany and Austria. When the Euthanasia program was still new, the disabled were injected with a lethal serum used to kill. Later, they were also gassed in these centers. All in all, the Nazis killed off individuals who were not perfect, and those who did not fit their “Aryan” image. Thirdly, some subcultures were targeted for reeducation, and often not murdered. One of these subcultures are the homosexuals. The Nazis believed that the behavior of these people could be corrected simply through reeducation. Political prisoners, Jehovah’s Witnesses and Homosexuals were all taken to concentration camps to be reeducated. The goal of this action was for the prisoners to abandon the behavior they were exhibiting. Hitler personally thought of homosexuality as a way of thinking that couldn’t be changed. He believed that it could only be blocked if the thoughts of it were eliminated. Homosexuals in concentration camps were given pink triangles to wear which would signify who they were. Sometimes harsh, and often extreme, conditions were used to force the homosexuals to be reeducated. Due to the extreme measures that were taken, many homosexuals met a horrible fate. On top of this, many homosexuals were treated as lower beings. They were afraid to make any contact, even within the walls of the concentration camps. According to the Jewish Virtual Library, “Since every contact outside was regarded as suspicious, homosexuals did not even dare to speak with one another inside (as numerous survivors have reported in interviews). Since homosexuals were generally regarded as worthless, their fellow prisoners had a lower regard for them.” The harsh treatment of the homosexuals was considered “normal” by Nazi standards and the Nazis approved of the police raids that were organized with the goal of exterminating the homosexuals completely. To summarize, some people were not massacred by the Nazis, but that does not mean that they did not suffer as much as the ones who were. To conclude, the Nazis attempted to eliminate all other races/people that they deemed inferior and who did not fit their perfect Aryan image. The Nazis targeted the Gypsies, the mentally and physically disabled, and other subcultures such as homosexuals. As a result of the discrimination of all these people, ordinary German civilians also adopted Nazi beliefs that these races/people should be eliminated for the good of society. The Nazis got much support from German authorities in their attempts to exterminate the Gypsies. Regular German police officers herded the Roma into “Gypsy camps,” and the citizens of these towns repeatedly complained of this decision, saying that the Roma should be deported to preserve public morals, health and security for citizens. Along with the Gypsies, the mentally and physically disabled were also segregated and persecuted by the German citizens. The Nazis started a huge, influential propaganda campaign against the disabled, insisting that they be exterminated so society would be “pure.” Lastly, homosexuals were regarded as inferior and worthless by the Nazis. This belief rubbed off on regular citizens, and even other prisoners in reeducation camps. To sum it up, prior and during World War II, non-Jews were massacred, persecuted and discriminated from society.