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ESR
Final Draft Due: January 11th, 2017
The Holocaust Was not the Cause

For every person the motivation for moving is different, some move for job opportunities,

to seek refuge, or just for better opportunities. Starting in the 1840’s, German Jews started

migrating to the United States. They moved for various reasons and the movement did not stop

until the start of World War II. The migration patterns throughout the 19th century and the 20th

for European Jews was very different due to the economic changes and hardships. Economic

hardships and discriminatory laws prior to the Holocaust caused the migration patterns to differ.

The only thing that stayed common between each migration was the reasoning that the Hebrews

were being persecuted.

Since the beginning of the Jewish religion the Jewish people have been persecuted. There

are many different theories about why. Throughout the books of the Torah the Jews were

constantly being kicked out of there land which then led to the foundation of the Jewish

homeland in May of 1948 nearly 200 years after the migration of European Jews . The

persecutions of German-Jews began in the mid 1800’s. The Germans began putting restrictive

laws on the Hasidic and segregating them from the rest of the people. “German Jews began to

come to America in significant numbers in the 1840s. Jews left Germany because of persecution,

restrictive laws, economic hardship, and the failure of movements — widely supported by

German Jews —They looked to America as — a place of economic and social opportunity.” This

quote explains why the German-Jews had such a massive migration and shows how the

movement was supported by the Judaic community

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. The more famous execution of jews happened approximately 100 years after the

movement to America. Though the movement of Hasidic people happened at the beginning of

World War I which did not lead to the take over and killings of millions of Hebrews.

It is said that “Some 250,000 German-speaking Jews came to America by the outbreak of

World War I.” and “From the 1830s to the 1860s, more than one and one half million Germans

immigrated to United States of America”.This shows how bad the culture and lifestyle in

Germany was for the Jews living there because people moved in such mass numbers. More

people moved to the U.S.A. Than were killed under Hitler's ruling in Germany. In some ways we

must thank the earlier persecutions because more Judastics were saved than killed because over

100,000 more people moved away in the early 1840’s which in favor saved them and their future

families from witnessing and being affected by the Holocaust. Without the movement to

America Hitler would have 100,000-1,000,000 more kills under his belt. Besides the people

seeking a country without pursections some of the immigrants were farmers from the southwest

of Germany whose crops were failing and they needed to move because they could not support

themselves anymore. Overall the migration of Germans who practice the Jewish faith was good

because it created more Jewish cities in America such as Cincinnati and saved the future

Generations of Jews from annihilation.

In the early 1840s, there was no massive war that the immigrants were seeking refuge

from like in today's world. They were just looking for a more just world where they were not

being judged and segregated in ghettos. They came just as the civilians did on the Mayflower,

they came searching freedom of religion and a more just place of living. Unlike the pilgrims the

German immigrants faced little difficulty because they moved before laws were set restricting
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the amount of newcomers could come from each country a year. This law was passed before

WWII which created it more difficult for people seeking refuge to find safety.

Throughout the early 1840s-1900s the “hate” for the Jews less than dwindled the hate

spiraled up and the ghettos grew more frequently and then many Jewish people started

disappearing off the streets because they were rounded up by Nazis. Non-Jews ratted the Jewish

Citizens up to be on the “good side” of Hitler and his men. Though Hitler did not force his way

into office he rose up in a time of need providing hope for the distressed community. From there

he started to state that he prefers only the stereotypical German. He produced hate posters with

the stereotypical Jew (big nose, brown curly hair) cutting slits in necks of yonge boys and girls

and other violent executions. This way Hitler brainwash his followers showing that Jewish

people were bad and they should follow his beliefs. The hate from the other races in Germany

and Europe made it harder to move around and get away from the early stages of the war.

During the Holocaust most people trying to escape the war could not move freely because

it was too dangerous, Nazi soldiers had already taken over there country or they were to scared to

move in the midst of a war. Throughout the war many people were forced to move, not long

distance like Germany to America but from town to town. They had to move because they were

European Jews and were escaping Hitler's Soldiers. As Holocaust survivor Elie Weisel says “ It

all happened so fast. The ghetto. The deportation. The sealed car…” This quote explains how

fast Hitler's ruling became a hostile relationship between his ideas and the country of Germany

and later the European continent. In a fast moving situation it is hard to devise a plan to keep

one's family safe and out of the biggest war the world has experienced while following laws such
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as the restrictive immigration laws the United States of America had set 30 years prior. Unlike

the Jews, the blond haired blue eyed European Citizens could move freely throughout the world.

Through the midst of any war zone moving can be a very difficult process. Most people

move to safety in a war because living in a war is not the ideal situation because how dangerous

it is. The problems with moving to safety is that you can put yourself and family in more of a

dangerous situation because you must be out in the open during a war. For the majority of

hopeful immigrants during World War II was more of the impossible task. It was impossible

because Nazis searched the streets looking for people with disabilities, people did not fit the ideal

description and Jews so leaving a heavily watched area was difficult to do. Most hid in safe

houses such as Anne Frank.

There is only one similarity about the movement of Jews from the 1840s-1950s and it is

the fact that both movements occurred because the Hasidic people were being persecuted. This

was the only thing that stayed the same between the two immigrations. The reason for the slim

similarities is that during the Holocaust moving was difficult because of the heavy Nazi Soldier

watch. Throughout the 1800’s moving freely was easier because there was not as much of a

heavy watch. Even though they were still being sought out, the demand for Jewish Europeans

was not as high because there was not a dictatorship.

In conclusion the circumstances of migrating from Europe to America can change

drastically depending on the time and society changes. This shows that just because someone

came from the same place doesn’t mean they both faced the same hardships. Wars, money, and

status can change the fate of someone’s journey. Moving from place to place can vary based on

the laws and procedures made by the country or states making every immigrants journey
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different. Everyone has a story about how they came to America and everyone’s family had their

hardship and individual struggles.