Research Paper Holocaust Overview

Cassidy Bradley

English 102-102 Larry Neuburger 11 July 2012

Bradley 2 The Holocaust has been a black mark against humanity since it began around 1933. The removal and extermination of the Jewish people in Germany and the surrounding nations in Europe set the bar for hatred, showing the people of the world how powerful one person can truly be and the importance of not only practicing tolerance but also speaking it. Adolf Hitler began driving his anti-sematic wedge into the heart of Germany long before the killings started, grooming the population for the single largest act of mass murder toward a culture of all time. Having not been successful in winning the war, the Nazi party did succeed in removing over 11 million people, not all of which were Jewish. Being able to understand how something of this magnitude could happen allows us to gain insight as to how to avoid it in the future. Nazi Rise to Power The story of Nazi partys rise to power begins with the end of World War I when Germany surrendered and the Treaty of Versailles was signed, stating Germany was to accept full responsibility for the war and pay restitution. As stated by the article, The Nazi Rise to Power, this left the Weimer Republic, the new German government, with high taxes and a feeling of betrayal. Before the war, Adolf Hitler wrote his autobiography, Mein Kampf, while
Adolf Hitler looking out at Nazi troops.

in a prison in Vienna. In this book he brought forth his

http://bit.ly/NrmlB4

anti- sematic opinions and described how the Jewish people had contributed to his life struggles. When the First World War began, Hitler served as a corporal until he was injured and sent to a hospital during which time Germany surrendered, ending the war and leading to Hitlers decision to enter politics (ThinkQuest). According to an article from The History Channel called Nazi Party, Adolf Hitler found his place in The German Workers Party which promoted German

Bradley 3 nationalism and anti-Semitism. They felt the Treaty of Versailles was extremely unjust and burdened the country with a debt it could never pay. The site goes on to explain, through his involvement with the party, Adolf Hitler discovered his talent for public speaking and began attracting new members with speeches blaming Jews and Marxists for Germanys problems and backing extreme nationalism and the concept of an Aryan master race. In July 1921, he assumed leadership of the organization, which by then had been renamed the Nationalist Socialist German Workers (Nazi) Party. Hitler quickly made his way through the political chain and became Chancellor of Germany in 1933, beginning the Nazi dictatorship and ultimately The Holocaust (History). Kristallnacht After Hitler became Germanys chancellor, he began to institute laws and policies that targeted Jews and subjected them to persecution. In the article Kristallnacht, it is stated in the months leading up to the infamous November night the German people were told to boycott Jewish business and a burning of Jewish and other non-German literature was held at the Berlin Opera
A Jewish synagogue set on fire during Kristallnacht. http://bit.ly/PZ3Ohp

House. In September 1933, the Nuremberg laws were passed declaring only Aryans could be full Germans and

outlawing interracial relations. Up until 1938 most of the anti-sematic protests were nonviolent, but on November 9, 1938 the Nazi party decided to tighten their grip on the Jewish people. Kristallnacht came to be after a young Polish Jew assassinated Ernst Von Rath, a German official, in Paris. This enraged Nazi officials and Kristallnacht was set into motion. In the late evening of November 9, Jewish synagogues, businesses, homes, and schools were set on fire and

Bradley 4 vandalized by the Nazi troops. Police officers and firefighters were ordered to do nothing unless Aryan businesses were threatened by the fire. On this night, almost 100 Jews were murdered as well as more than 300,000 Jewish men arrested and sent to a mix of concentration camps specially designed to hold Jews, political prisoners, and other enemies that threatened the efforts of the Nazi party. The article goes on to state that in the immediate aftermath of Kristallnacht, the streets of Jewish communities were littered with broken glass from vandalized buildings. The Nazis held the German-Jewish community responsible for the damage and imposed a collective fine of $400 million (History). Propaganda Shortly after the Nazi party seized power of Germany, the Reich Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda was established. According to Nazi Propaganda from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM), the Nazi party wanted to make sure their message was spread through all forms of communication including art, films, music, and educational material (USHMM). The article goes on to state propaganda reached a large audience and kept the Nazi ideas constantly present in the lives of the German people. Before laws were put into place to restrict Jews, propaganda campaigns seemed to push a tolerance for violence against Jewish citizens. Films were a major contributor in circulating racial antiSemitism. Nazi films portrayed Jews as less than human creatures
Nazi Propaganda poster. http://bit.ly/OdknUs

trying to destroy Aryan society. According to USHMM among those made, two films, Riefenstahl works, Festival of the Nations and Festival of Beauty, showing the national pride under the Nazi regime at the 1936 Olympic Games being held in Berlin Germany. Important

Bradley 5 German newspapers would also print anti- sematic political cartoons. After World War II began, Nazis used propaganda to drive the idea that not only were Jews less than human, but they were dangerous enemies of the German Reich (USHMM). Ghettos Ghettos were specifics parts of town where the Jews were required to relocate. These places were often enclosed and heavily guarded with little access to food and healthy living arrangements. USHMM article, Ghetto, explains the Germans would fill small amounts of area with as many as Jews were separated from the non-Jewish population and from other Jewish communities. At least 1,000 ghettos were set up throughout Poland and the Soviet
Typical Scene in the Warsaw Ghetto located in Poland. http://bit.ly/NvHxpy

Union alone with the first one being established in 1939.

In the ghettos the Jews were forced to wear arm bands identifying them with the Star of David as well as work for the German Reich. The article continues by stating the largest ghetto was the Warsaw Ghetto in Poland where more than 400,000 Jewish people were forced to live within 1.3 square mile (USHMM). The ghettos were the first step to the plan to exterminate the Jewish population, setting the stage for The Final Solution. When it was decided upon the Germans began to destroy the ghettos and deport the Jews to killing centers. The Wannsee Conference- The Final Solution Before the ghettos were liquidated, a meeting was held on January 20, 1942 amongst 15 high ranking Nazi officers at the order of Reinhard Heydrich, Chief of the German State police. The conference took place at a German villa next to Wannsee Lake, thus giving the gathering its infamous name. According to the Holocaust Education and Archive Research Team (H.E.A.R.T)

Bradley 6 the meeting was called to discuss the final solution of the Jewish question (H.E.A.R.T). The powers that be wanted to make sure everyone involved with the Final Solution was organized and on the same page about the orders to be carried out in the coming months. As stated in an article called Wannsee Conference, Heydrich disclosed the plan for the Jewish population was total annulation (Yad Vashem). The article continues by stating the immigration of Jews was to stop in 1941 and a more
Reinhard Heydrich http://bit.ly/hnRpv5

efficient way of extermination had to be put into place in order to carry out the Nazi goals. The Final Solution was to include all European Jews including those living in territories not yet occupied by Germany with the camps set up only as a temporary solution until said method was decided upon. It was also discussed that the strong and healthy prisoners were to be used for labor but were not to survive. After killing methods were discussed all were in agreement about what they felt had to be done. Soon after the conference was held, construction of the remaining extermination camps began (Yad Vashem). Selection- Selektion The term selection was used by the Nazis when separating the Jews into two different groups; those to be used for labor and those to be killed. When the decision to exterminate the European Jewish population was made and the camps built, it was up to the Nazi soldiers and SS officers at the camps to decide which people were to work and which people were to die. This was done by lining the prisoners
Jews undergo the selection process upon arrival at a death camp. http://bit.ly/O9aM1f

up and dividing the men and women and then again by

Bradley 7 age, health, and physicality. The elderly, sick, pregnant women and young children were sent straight to the gas chambers while all others were kept for labor until it was their time to die. Extermination Methods The Holocaust introduced several new methods of murder, the most famous being the use of Zyclon B, a chemical pesticide, and Carbon Monoxide to poison prisoners inside gas chambers. Among stationary gas chambers were mobile gas chambers which consisted of a cargo van with the exhaust being pumped into the back of the sealed vehicle. Camp prisoners were also subjected to medical experiments performed by German doctors in order to test new procedures and for research purposes. As stated by USHMM, doctors subjected inmates to pseudoscientific medical experiments, including testing levels of testosterone, experimenting with delousing chemicals, medicines for tuberculosis, and nutrition
Empty Zyclon B cans. http://bit.ly/PIE8RS

experiments, (USHMM). A physician at Mauthausen, a concentration camp located in Austria, would remove vital organs from living patients just to see how long a person could survive without that specific organ. Possibly the most famous doctor of the Holocaust was Dr. Josef Mengele who was stationed at Auschwitz in 1943. In an article from USHMM it is stated Mengele would participate in the selection process, seeking out twins for his experiments in weighing determining factors in heredity and environment (Josef Mengele). Death Camps Eventually all concentration camps became death camps in some sense. The guards had the power to shoot inmates for little to no reason and toward the end of the war concentration

Bradley 8 camps were liquidated and the remaining prisoners were sent on death marches, long marches through intended to kill the malnourished and diseased survivors. In the article Nazi Camps around 20,000 camps were established between 1933 and 1945 (USHMM). Poland held the majority of the killing centers as it w.as the country with the largest Jewish population. The article goes on to state Chelmo was the first killing center established in December 1941 following with Belzek, Sobibor, and Treblinka. Gas chambers were constructed to make killing more efficient and make the murders less personal for the administrator. At the Auschwitz camp complex, the Birkenau killing center had four gas chambers. During the height of deportations to the camp,
Sign at the entrance of Auschwitz. http://bit.ly/8tv7vwitz

up to 6,000 Jews were gassed there each day (Nazi Camps). More than 3 million people were put to death at

extermination centers alone, leaving few survivors when liberation came around. Liberation Liberation came on June 6, 1944 when the western allies finally landed in Normandy France with 150,000 soldiers storming the beaches. By the end of the day infamously known as D Day, more than 850,000 soldiers from the U.S., Canada, and Britain were on the ground taking back freedom for the people of Europe. According USHMM, as the troops made their way across German occupied territory they encountered mass graves, concentration camps, other Nazi crime sites. As the discoveries were made, people were freed from camps and given food and much needed medical attention while collecting evidence for the war crime trials to come. Auschwitz had around 7,000 prisoners remaining, having been left when the Nazi soldiers liquidated the camp and took people on a death march. The Nazi party made their official surrender on May 8, 1945 thus ending World War II (Liberation).

Bradley 9 Conclusion World War II and the Holocaust will forever be remembered not only for the death of so many innocent people but also for the survival of a culture despite the unrelenting efforts of the Nazi party. Though the number of survivors is unknown, it is undeniable too many lives were lost for a cause that, in the end, was pointless; leaving in its wake an air of destruction and sorrow. What the future generations of the world can learn from this heinous crime is to value our individualities and to walk through life with a love of humanity and the courage to fight for what is truly right. Freedom.