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Julian Hardy
Professor Wertz-Orbaugh
UWRT 1103
14 January 2016
What I Know: Holocaust
Throughout my entire life I have learned bits and pieces about the Holocaust. In my 18
years of schooling in New Jersey, the public school system has showed me that the Holocaust
was a very dark and depressing time in Germany. The Holocaust began during World War II.
Under the reign of Adolf Hitler, Jews or people who didnt fit into his Arian race description
were forced into concentration camps. These camps were described as worst than hell itself. The
prisoners inside were beaten, mutilated, and starved to death. The only camp we really focused
on in school was Auschwitz. I know there were many others in operation but this is the only one
I have knowledge of. The camps closed when the Holocaust ended in 1945 because the U.S.
invaded Germany and freed the survivors from the camps. The only Holocaust literature I know
of is the Diary of Anne Frank in 8th grade and Number the Stars in 5th grade. Although I have
only read two Holocaust books, I have seen a few Holocaust movies. I have seen The Boy In The
Striped Pyjamas, Defiance, The Diary of Anne Frank, and X-Men First Class. All of these films
depict the Holocaust differently, but convey the same message-The Holocaust was bad.
One of the events that led to the Holocaust was Kristallnacht. Kristallnacht means the
night of broken glass. One night German soldiers walked past the stores of Jews and smashed all
the windows and burnt down all their stores. This night destroyed what the Jewish people
worked so hard to create. They knew from this point on that things will never be the same again.

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Hitler was a very powerful man in Germany. He controlled his group of soldiers called
the Nazis. The Nazis wore swastikas on their uniforms. The swastika meant well-being until
the Holocaust began, which gave it a whole new meaning to the world. The reason why Hitler
targeted the Jewish people is because they were in charge of the money during the Germanys
depression. Hitlers strong and persuading voice convinced and entire nation to turn against the
Jews and treat them with no respect. Hitler also made Jews wear gold stars on their clothing to
let others know the person was Jewish.
Another interesting thing I learned about the Holocaust was about the famous Dr.
Mengele or better known as the Angel of Death. Dr. Mengele was a physician in the Auschwitz
concentration camp. He is famous for his gruesome experiments he did on people inside the
camps. He would take a set of twins and began terrible tests. The doctor would mutilate one twin
to see if the other twin could feel the same pain. Some of his experiments were so barbaric that
he would kill his patients. With no sympathy, he would even keep some of their body parts to do
further research.
Over 6 million Jews were killed in the Holocaust. When the U.S. army invaded the
beaches of Normandy on D-Day, this brought much hope for the prisoners and survivors of
WWII. Hitler was hiding so that they would not kill him. When the army drew nearer, Hitler then
killed himself. The Holocaust was a tragic event that will remain in history forever. I do not
believe I have the strongest Holocaust background, but I feel that I know the important facts. I
hope with this class will enrich my knowledge on the Holocaust and perhaps give me a new
perspective on how life was in WWII.

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