The Holocaust: The Genocide Of The Jewish Race

The Holocaust: The Genocide of the Jewish Race (1933-1945)

"That is my major preoccupation –memory, the kingdom of memory. I want to protect and enrich that kingdom, glorify that kingdom and serve it." (Wiesel, Elie). The Holocaust has synthesized uncountable horrors in the minds of those discriminated against as well as challenge the rest of the world to envision the torture, heartbreak, and ultimately death of its victims.

In 1933, the Treaty of Versailles left Germany in shambles. It was humiliating to the government to accept total responsibility for the lives of millions. Not only was their pride demolished, but Germany was sentenced to pay for the entire war. Germany 's economy plunged into an abyss. Much of Germany 's population
was struggling to put food on their tables and roofs over their heads.
Many turned to Darwin 's philosophy of "only the strong survive" and the "kill or be killed" mentality kicked in.

Germany was longing for a united nation with a stable economy. The Nazi party, lead by Adolf Hitler, came to power. "And then there is another fundamental error: they have never got it clear in their own minds that there is a difference or how great a difference there is between the conception 'national' and the word 'dynastic' or 'monarchistic.' They do not understand that today it is more than ever necessary in our thoughts as Nationalists to avoid anything which might perhaps cause the individual to think that the National Idea was identical with petty everyday political views. They ought day by day to din into the ears of the masses: 'We want to bury all the petty differences and to bring out into
the light the big things, the things we have in common which bind us to one another. That should weld and fuse together those who have still a German heart and a love for their people in the fight against the common hereditary foe of all Aryans. How afterward we divide up this State, friends - we have no wish to dispute over that! The form of a State result from the essential character of a people, results from necessities which are so elementary and powerful that in time every individual will realize them without any disputation when once all Germany is united and free." (Speech of Adolf Hitler, April 1933). Hitler's anti-Jew campaign began soon afterward with the "Nuremberg Laws", which defined the meaning on being Jewish on ancestry. These laws forced segregation between Jews and the rest of the Germany 's population. It was only a dim indicator of what the future held for European Jews. The stage was set for the holocaust.

Anti-Jewish aggression continued for years after the signing of Nuremberg Laws. A key statement in the bill declared "aryzanization" of Jewish property and businesses. "No human race is superior; no religious faith is inferior. All collective judgments are wrong. Only racists make them". (Wiesel, Elie). Citizens belonging to synagogues countrywide were progressively forced out of the German economy, their assets turned over to the government. Jewish Germans were at the tops of their leagues. They held positions of top doctors, authors, and businessmen within the country. Adolf Hitler used the Jews as a scapegoat to unify Germans and often gave speeches promoting the idea of the "final solution". The idea suggested exterminating Jews and in return, all of the world's problems would be solved.

Ten years later, Germany had a leader who promised a prosperous nation with cause to subsist. Average citizens turned into cold-blooded murderers. Routine policemen who were once protecting nationals were absorbed into the Einsatzgruppen. The Einsatzgruppen were battalion sized, mobile killing units made up of SS and supported by order police. (Wikipedia). In September 1939, Germany invaded western Poland. By June 1941, all Jews were forced to wear yellow Stars of David on their arms or coats and anyone not wearing the stamped brand in public could be killed with little repercussions.

Jews were rounded up by Nazi police and placed into ghettos or concentration camps. They were treated like slaves and lived like animals. Ghettos were located inside

cities and conditions were much like what United States federal prisons are today. These communities were overcrowded, had lack of food and lack of sanitation.

When the camps were opened, most of the families who were shipped out together ended up being separated. Captives sampled what was to come for them while being transported. They were packed into small, overcrowded, and filthy train cars where disease ran rampant. The most notorious death camps were located in Poland. "These included Auschwitz: 1 million Jews killed, Treblinka: 700,000-800,000 Jews gassed, Belzec: 600,000 Jews gassed, and Sobibor: 250,000 Jews gassed."(Google statistics).

In the early days of Hitler, concentration camps were locations that held people in protective custody. Prisoners included those who were both physically and mentally ill, gypsies, homosexuals, Jehovah Witnesses, Jews and anyone against the Nazi regime. Camps were set up for varied purposes. Some were forced labor, others for medical experiments, and later on, death. Joseph Mengle, scientist and right hand man to Hitler established facilities within concentration camps for scientific research. "The Angel of Death" performed cruel research on twins, dwarves, and other genetically different subjects in the hopes of advancing and breeding the Aryan race. Areas set aside for medical experiments were where the torture transpired. Joseph Mengle handpicked women usually between twenty-thirty years of age. Mengle then proceeded to inject a substance into women's ovaries to sterilize them. The injection resulted in inflammation. Others were frozen to determine the best way to revive German soldiers.

Once in death camps the prisoners were divided once more. Women were sent to one side to have their head shaven and men to the other. This action was down to prevent lice from transferring to the Nazi police. Death on the other hand was primarily done execution style by a shot to the back of the head or by gas chambers. In Auschwitz, a chemical agent called Lykon B killed Jews. It was hydrogen cyanide that was poured through the ceiling of the gas chambers and turned into gas. "They were all sent to the showers, naked with a bar of soap, to deceive them into believing that they were truly going into a shower. Most people smelled the burning bodies and knew the truth." (Wiesel, Elie). "Never shall I forget that first night in camp, which has turned my life into one long night ... Never shall I forget that smoke. Never shall I forget the little faces of the children, whose bodies I saw turned into wreaths of smoke beneath a silent blue sky."(Wiesel, Elie). "It took 30 minutes to kill 2,500 people, but close to 24 hours to burn the bodies." (Google statistic).

Many tried to escape from Auschwitz in the like nineteen thirties; some succeeded.
Those who escaped told vivid horrors of their suffering. Enlightment spread to many countries, yet no one seemed to help. As the war progressed, the number of detainees increased. "In total, between 1.5 and 3.5 million Jews were murdered at Auschwitz between the years 1940 and 1945." (Google statistic).

In 1945, the World War in Europe came to an end. When the concentration camps were liberated and the body counts tallied, the subsequent figures appalled people the

world over. Millions lay dead and dozens of top Nazi officials faced discipline for unspeakable war crimes.

All told, the senseless slaughter of millions of innocent lives at the hands of maniacal Nazi butchers will be inscribed in history forever and the holocaust should not be an event we dwell upon, but rather one we make sure never happens again. "I swore never to be silent whenever and wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation. We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented." (Wiesel, Elie).

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