Karan Patel

Professor Wertz-Orbaugh
UWRT-1103-034
14 January 2016
Previous Holocaust Education
The holocaust involved the genocide of millions of Jews in Europe. This started in
the mid to late 1930s. After World War 1, Germany was in debt and was struggling for
power. The dictator that rose was Adolf Hitler who created the Nazi group. The Nazis
persuaded all of Germany to believe that they were far superior to the Jewish community.
This led to the Nazis targeting all of the Jews not matter if it was woman or child. Almost
two-thirds of the Jewish population in Europe was annihilated. Not only were the Jews
targeted, but also many other minority groups were. Many Jews were placed in
concentration camps. These camps were like prisons, but much worse than anyone could
ever imagine. Concentration camps were used to hold Jews until they would be put into
gas chambers or burned alive. The Jews would be put through large amounts of labor that
would benefit the Germans only. Concentration camps main use was to serve at a type of
propaganda to trick the outside world into believing that they were actually kind to Jews
that were contained. Although the propaganda made it seem like the concentration camps
were great places to live, the camps were actually unsanitary beyond belief, the Jews
were terribly mistreated, and the labor was backbreaking. Through these camps,
thousands of Jews were killed, including men, women, and children. The conclusion of
World War 2 with the Allied leaders win brought an end to the holocaust and the reign of
terror that the Nazis held over the Jews. As a result of the holocaust, there were millions

dead including mostly Jews, as well as homosexuals and other minorities. A lot of Jews in
Europe were forced to move out of Europe and move into the Middle East and the West.
This is all of what I learned in past history classes, mostly in eighth and ninth grade of
school.
In eighth grade, when I was exposed to the holocaust the most, my history class
watched The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. The movie was about two boys, one who is the
son of a wealthy German and the other is a Jew in a containment camp. The German boy
has little knowledge of the Jewish community and what is happening in the holocaust.
When the German boys father gets a promotion, the family moves far to the countryside.
The German boy is lonely because he has no one to play with, but goes out towards what
he thinks is a farm and meets a boy in a striped costume to which he thinks is his
pajamas. The two boys from different background become friends and learn about their
different lives. The movie gives a good perspective from both sides of the spectrum.
In this class I hope to achieve a better understanding of the holocaust. It is an
interesting topic that has only been gone over vaguely to me. I have many unanswered
questions that this class can hopefully answer. The Holocaust went on for many years and
caused the death of millions of Jews, so there are a lot of details that I would like to find
out. I would like to learn about the infamous Anne Frank because I have only heard of her
through others and various movies or T.V. shows. She was a very symbolic figure in the
holocaust and had a diary, which she wrote in while she was hiding from the Nazis. My
knowledge of the subject of the holocaust is vague and I hope that this class goes in depth
and answers all of my unanswered questions.