Research Paper Holocaust Overview

Kimmie Armstrong

Eng Comp 102-106 Mr. Neubuger 2 April 2012

Armstrong 2 In the history of the manslaughter of millions of Jews and the beginning of World War 2 starting in the early 1930s, the Holocaust is known as a systematic and treacherous series of insolent events inflicted on the Jewish community, carried out by the Nazis due to their belief in genocide. It is said that genocide led those of the Nazi party to believe they were racially superior to the Jews resulting in discrimination and homicidal actions acted out towards their specific race.

Nazis rise to power It is recorded in the United States Holocaust Museum Memorial (USHMM) that Adolf Hitler, the leader of the Nazi party, lived in Vienna from February 1908 to March 1913 where he was influenced by two political movements, the German racist nationalism and the death of Karl Lueger, the Mayor of Vienna who contributed to the stereotypical beliefs leading to Jews being viewed as enemies to the German ideology, which took place while Hitler lived in Vienna while pursuing his career in the visual arts. It is said that "still present in popular culture today -- that Hitler's grandfather was Jewish. Credible evidence to support the notion of Hitler's Jewish descent has never turned up (Adolf Hitler: Early Years)." It is also said that Hitler was a German soldier during World War 1 where he suffered from emotion distress due to the threat of demobilization of the German army, and blindness from what was believed to be poisonous gas (Adolf Hitler and World War I). In 1934, Adolf Hitler became the chancellor of the Fuehrer and the Reichstag parliament; he had German armed forces that swore their loyalty to him as an oath to give support and protection from any harm. The Fuehrer principle gave order to the flow of authority in the government, the party, economy, etc. This became the foundation of the legislation in Germany and was forced to be obeyed without fault. At the same time, the

Armstrong 3 Reichstag parliament gave all legislative power to Hitler's cabinet, soon leaving the Nazi's as the only political party left (Germany: Establishment of the Nazi Dictatorship). According to the USHMM, those who followed Hitler included Heinrich Himmler, the leader of the SS, or security services for Hitler. Hitler trusted him to be the one that would handle the "Final Solution", or when the Jews were to be murdered, and he was meant to take care of planning, then finally putting the plan in motion. Himmler had two long-term goals for Germany come to mind that would make Germany the, supposedly, perfect place to live. It says that his goals included "...internal security and guardianship over racial purity (Heinrich Himmler)." While Hitler trusted Himmler to be a trusted companion, he was surely crossed in 1945 when Himmler gave an offer of surrender to General Dwight E Eisenhower, who was a part of the allied-forces. When Hitler learned of this betrayal, he had warranted his arrest, but after being caught by Russian soldiers he had hidden a pill of cyanide in his mouth before the body search. While they were searching him, he bit down and came to meet his death (Heinrich Himmler). It is also said in the USHMM documents that another Follower was the director of the Nazi Propaganda Ministry, or Joseph Goebbels, who was able to take any viewpoints that would go against what the Nazi's believe out of the books, music, or even newspapers that were sold. On May 10, 1933, librarians threw over 25,000 books into a bonfire because of the authors, or the points that they made, based solely on the Nazi Propaganda (Nazi Propaganda and Censorship). Hitler was also followed by simply ordinary, everyday people like lawyers, doctors, and even civil servants in that time (Common Questions about the Holocaust). USHMM describes how the Nuremburg laws were presented in 1935 at the annual party rally by the Nazi's, these laws were created in terms of their racist beliefs against the Jewish community and said that they could and would not be considered a part of their citizenship, or

Armstrong 4 marry anyone who is remotely close to being German is they were considered a Jew. In order to be a Jew, you don't have to practice their religion; if you had grandparents that were Jews, then that's what you were considered. These laws also state that, if you are a Jew, you had a red "J" stamped on your identity cards, and if they could not comprehend your name then you were given a new one. They were the same for each person. For every female, you were named "Sara," and for every male, you were named "Israel." These cards were used to the Nazi soldier could easily identify the Jews (The Nuremberg Race Law). According to the USHMM, the Nazi's also had their own sign that showed who they were, the swastika. This was worn on their suits,
Swastika armband, worn by Nazis Source: http://bit.ly/KigSHB

around the upper arm, and on their flag as well. The history of this symbol does not start with

the Nazi's though, it was derived from the saying "sanskrit svastika," which started out meaning "good fortune" or "well-being," but as it became more popular, it gained more meanings. It was also known for good luck or auspiciousness, and also "racially pure." It was still used after World War 1 (WW1) by states that wanted to show that they were also "racially pure (History of the Swastika)."

Ghettos and concentration camps There are recorded documents in the USHMM that on November 9 -10, 1938 a series of violent anti-Jewish pogroms, or actions of intense destruction, happened through Germany, and some of Austria and Czechoslovakia. They called this act Kristallnatch, which means "Night of

Armstrong 5 Broken Glass." During this rampage a number of the Hitler youth, Nazi party officials, and Storm Troopers destroyed the synagogues, homes, and businesses that were owned by the Jews. There were 267 synagogues that were destroyed by those taking part in the riot, and thousands of businesses and houses. More than building were destroyed this night though, there were murders and rape on this night too. Even suicides took places because of the acts committed. The Gestapo took 30,000 Jewish males to concentration camps, where a large number of them died from the treatment they received. Those that survived were released a few months after being kept there if they promised to leave Germany, to which they did not hesitate to promise (Kristallnacht). Ghettos were described in the USHMM as living quarters that Jews were barricaded in by walls that they were forced to build during the holocaust, the largest ghetto was in Warsaw, Poland and held 375,000 Jews before the war. After the anti-Jewish decrees were issued in 1939, the Jews were forced to wear an armband, quite like the Nazi's, but instead of being red with a white circle and Swastika, it was a simple white armband with the Star of David on it. Their life in the ghettos was diminished to nothing with

Star of David armband, worn by Jews. Source: http://bit.ly/JrDyYU

the laws and the lack of what's necessary to live. There was scarcely any food to go around, and even if there was, they rarely had the money for it. A few families were capable enough to live this life without starving on the side of the road, but there was not enough luck to go around for everyone. Living conditions were unstable and crowded while six or seven people would share one room if they were lucky enough (Warsaw Ghetto).

Armstrong 6 It is told by survivors who endured living this life and those who studied into the holocaust that the concentration camps were used for a number of things, whether it is forcedlabor camps, transit camps, or where one stayed while in the middle of being moved to another camp, and extermination camps. Nazi's opened a forced-labor camp after the German invasion of Poland in September 1939. They kept thousands of prisoners here that died from a number of causes like starvation, exhaustion, and exposure. The Nazi soldiers also used these camps to do the "Final Solution" by making gas chambers in order to make it easier and quicker to kill the Jews. Up to 6,000 Jews were gassed each day by filling up a room with poisonous gas called carbon monoxide (Concentration Camps). Although a number of Jewish citizens that were murdered here in the extermination camps did nothing wrong, and they were not convicted of any crimes; the reason they were murdered was often just because they were a threat to the German society. In these camps, Jews were also lab rats for a multitude of medical experiments that were performed on them by Nazi doctors. These tests would be to experiment with a number of different medicines, or drugs that, over time, either killed the victims or damaged a part of their body (Concentration Camp System: In Depth).

The aftermath After the "Final Solution" and World War 2, there were up to 2,045,215 deaths recorded in the concentration camps (Concentration Camp System: In Depth). An article described how the survivors were placed in a displaced persons (DP) camp, or were housed in refugee centers and what they experience there. A lot of the Holocaust survivors migrated away from Germany because the chances of legal and easy emigration to America were slim. America helped in the war and after the war too by providing them with food and clothing. They were also offered a

Armstrong 7 class of vocational training, which would help them get a job. In 1945, thanks to the US president Harry Truman, there were more than 41,000 displaced persons that immigrated to America. Not long after, once the congress passed the Displaced Persons act in 1948, around 400,000 foreigners entered the United States under the Displaced Persons act with immigration visas (The Aftermath of the Holocaust). The Holocaust was a huge impact on everyone, whether they were present in that time or not. It astonishes those that learn about these treacherous events that took place almost a hundred years ago, but it does not surprise anyone. Hitler is still thought about quite a bit, not only when learning about the holocaust, but they have made jokes about what's happened and warped them into cartoon characters for some TV shows where they make fun of Hitler and his beliefs. Hitler and his Nazi's have been hated for the longest time, it will continue to stick around and act as a scar on our earths history until something far worse than that happens.

Armstrong 8 Citations "Holocaust History." Adolf Hitler: Early Years, 1889-1913. 6 Jan. 2011. Web. 17 Apr. 2012. "Holocaust History." Germany: Establishment of the Nazi Dictatorship. Web. 17 Apr. 2012. "Holocaust History." Adolf Hitler and World War I: 1913-1919. Web. 17 Apr. 2012. "Holocaust History." Heinrich Himmler. Web. 17 Apr. 2012. <http://bit.ly/t3kJ6z>. "The Holocaust: A Learning Site for Students." Nazi Propaganda and Censorship. Web. 18 Apr. "Education." Common Questions about the Holocaust. Web. 18 Apr. 2012. "The Holocaust: A Learning Site for Students." The Nuremberg Race Laws. Web. 19 Apr. 2012. "Holocaust History." History of the Swastika. Web. 19 Apr. 2012. "Holocaust History." Kristallnacht: A Nationwide Pogrom, November 9-10, 1938. Web. 27 Apr. "The Holocaust." Warsaw Ghetto. Web. 21 Apr. 2012. "Holocaust History." Concentration Camps, 1933-1939. Web. 21 Apr. 2012. "Holocaust History." Concentration Camp System: In Depth. Web. 23 Apr. 2012. "Holocaust History." The Aftermath of the Holocaust. Web. 25 Apr. 2012. PUT ON SCRIBD AND BLOGGER (MY BLOG)