logan christians en 102 106 167[1]revised

8/2/2019 Logan Christians En 102 106 167[1]Revised

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Research Paper

Holocaust Overview

Logan Christiansen

Eng Comp 102-106

Mr. Neuburger

2 April 2012


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Weimar hyperinflation caused

people to begin using marks as

wallpaper. Source: Copyright

1981 by George J. W. Goodman.

The Treaty of Versailles was the solution at the end of World War I, but it was also the

beginning of something much worse. Many know that the Holocaust occurred, but many do not

know why and how such atrocious events could be allowed to happen. When taking a closer

look at the events that happened before and during the Holocaust one can begin to understand

how to avoid it in the future.

The Nazis rise to power

When the National Socialist German Worker party began to form Germany was in one of

the worst depressions they had ever known. This depression was due to the Treaty of Versailles

which laid most of the blame for WWI on Germany. This treaty

was the only option besides being invaded by neighboring

countries. As shown in The United States Memorial Holocaust

Museum, in the article Hitler Comes to Power the treaty may

have caused more harm than good in the long run, Among other

provisions, Germany accepts responsibility for the war and agrees

to make huge payments (known as reparations), limit its military to

100,000 troops, and transfer territory to its neighbors. This led to

extreme malcontent among the German people, making a ripe

political atmosphere for extreme parties.

Shortly after, in 1929, New Yorks stock market crashed, leaving the entire world in a

crippling depression. Germany, already stretched thin, was at a breaking point and life became

almost unbearable for the common German people. The German mark became so useless; some

used it as wallpaper, possibly to show the one thing it was good for. USHMMs Hitler Comes


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to Power, shows exactly how popular the Nazi party became at this point, Economic distress

contributes to a meteoric rise in the support for the Nazi party. As a result, the Nazi party wins

the votes of almost 40 of the electorate in the Reichstag (German parliament) elections of July

1932.(USHMM)

The German people and their spirits were at an all-time low, and desperate times call for

desperate measures. In the beginning of the Nazi Partys career, they were less than popular and

did not gain many votes at election time. But according to Yad Vashems Rise of the Nazis

and Beginning of Persecution, they were at the peak of a good environment for such an extreme

group, frustration, together with intransigent resistance and warnings about the surging menace

of Communism, created fertile soil for the growth of radical right-wing groups in Germany,

spawning entities such as the Nazi Party.(Yad Vashem)

After the party tried to start a revolt and tried to take over Munich, Hitler, who had

become their charismatic and extreme leader, was sent to jail. While there, he wrote Mein

Kampf, which was a mad mans rant against what he saw as injustices again st Germany. When

he got out of jail, Hitler realized that the only way to claim power was to use democracy and try

to win over the people. It was merely a tool that barely worked early on and eventually only

enough for him to claim the chancellorship. Yad Vashems article Rise of the Nazis and the

Beginning of Persecution shows just how few votes the party initially got, In the 1924

Reichstag elections, the Nazi Party received three percent of the votes cast and was represented

in the parliament by fourteen delegates.(Yad Vashem) But it was enough to gain a foothold and

begin their rise and domination of Germany. Later on though, after the Nazi party began to lose

popularity among the people, the Nazis desperate for their only chance at power convince Paul

Von Hindenburg to appoint Hitler as Germanys chancellorin 1933. And this, as it were for


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This poster says The Jew It was

propaganda towards all Jewish

people. Source: The Bremen

Museum

German Jews and many others, was the true beginning of a nightmare, and a horror tale for the

rest of the world.(Yad Vashem)

How Nazis viewed Jews also known as Anti-Semitism

Anti-Semitic is literally defined as discrimination against or prejudice or hostility

toward Jews.(dictionary.com) although the Nazi Party may have

taken it to an extreme never before precedent, it had been a part of

societies long before the 1930s. Early Christians may have been the

very first to persecute Jews, going as far as hanging them on a cross.

The Christians believed that the Jews were responsible, for the also

Jewish, man Jesus. This eventually became a widespread belief, and

Jews were continued to be punished much later on and would

continue to be.

At some point it became a popular belief that Jews were not everyone belonging to the

religion, but it was officially claimed to be a race. No longer were you described Jewish merely

because one went to a synagogue, it was of the blood, and therefore unshed able. On USHMM

an article titled, Anti-Semitism: The Longest Hatred shows how this long term hatred can be

used by many later on, All of these centuries of hatred were exploited by the Nazis and their

allies during World War II culminating in the Holocaust, the systematic murder of Europes

Jews.(USHMM)


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The rally of Nuremburg where the race laws were

announced. Source:USHMM The Nuremburg Race

Laws

Hitler turned this hatred of Jews into something he could use. The Jews were eventually

used as a scapegoat for all of Germanys problems. According to the Nazi party they were

worthy of hatred because they stole money from the poor, would not share their wealth, and were

at fault for WWI and its conclusion of the Treaty of Versailles, not to mention they had killed

Jesus.(USHMM)

Nuremburg Race Laws

After Hitler came to power he quickly implemented his plan to separate the Jews from

the rest of the population. The new laws were announced

in Nuremburg in 1935 according to USHMMs article

The Nuremburg Race Laws.(USHMM) This was only

two years after Hitler became chancellor, but it had been

many years that Hitler had preached their necessity with

violent These new laws rendered the Jewish people no

longer part of the German population. They were neither allowed to marry nor have relations

with non-Jewish Germans. In this way they were firstly literally separated by law from their

homes and their country. Along with this many of their basic rights were taken away, such as

not being allowed to own property. This along with many other laws rendered them virtually

helpless and homeless. Jewish children were also denied the right to go to public schools.

Nuremburg laws also determined how someone was legally considered Jewish. It was

not determined by ones religious beliefs nor if you even practiced Judaism. USHMMs The

Nuremburg Race Laws states exactly the requirements:


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Instead, anyone who had three or four Jewish grandparents was defined as a Jew,

regardless of whether that individual identified himself or herself as a Jew or belonged to

the Jewish religious community. Many Germans who had not practiced Judaism for years

found themselves caught in the grip of Nazi terror. Even people with Jewish

grandparents who had converted to Christianity were defined as Jews.(USHMM)

Jews were required to carry identification everywhere they went to warn others of their

religion. Later on they had to wear armbands with Davids star on it. Eventually the law came

to include looks and race to be included with Jewish. Blacks, Gypsies and anyone who might

produce offspring of questionable racial children were then included. These laws were just a

small part of breaking apart the communities, and belittling the Jewish people and anyone else

who fell under their hated category.

Ghettos

The Ghettos were originally an attempt to organize and gather all the Jews together.

Ghettos were the answer to Nazis question of what to do with the Jews at the time. In 1939

several cities were ordered to put the Jews in special designated communities. They were living

communities that were set aside for Jews. These communities were surrounded by brick walls

and barbed wire. Jews were not allowed to come or go and had to have special passes to do

many things. Priotrokow was the first camp that was set up. All the Jews surrounding the area

were confiscated of all items and sent into the area with virtually nothing. This was a recipe for

fear and poverty.

According to A Film Unfinished, which is an unfinished documentary made by the

Germans intended for propaganda purposes, some Jews were living in comfort while leaving


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A child starves in the street of the Warsaw Ghetto.

Source: History 317

The building where the Wannsee Conference was

held and the Final Solution was decided. Source:Conversations about the Holocaust

others out to starve. A Film Unfinished shows how

untrue and how poor they were. Most of the scenes

intended for use were staged, such as a hopping party in

which many healthy young Jews feast and dance. In

reality people were dying on the streets daily and no one

was getting enough food. Overcrowding was a major

problem and Germans were left ignorant. Some

wondered where the Jews had gone and what it was really like, but none were in a position to

oppose these new decrees.(A Film Unfinished)

Wannsee Conference The Final Solution

No one knew exactly what the Nazis had in mind for the Jews until the Wannsee

Conference. This is when they decided exactly what they were going to do about what they

considered their biggest problem: The Jews. In 1942 all of the highest ranking Nazi officials

gathered to discuss the question of a solution.

Hitler was not actually present at this meeting but

it was his word that passed down the actually

implementation of The Final Solution which was also

known as the complete destruction and eradication of

Jews as a race. The genocide was discussed at the

meeting and not at all questioned by officials from many parts of the country. Here they decided

how it would be done and at what rate as well as to get the cooperation of officials they would

need.


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Here some Jews who escaped from Vilna Camp

stand proud. Not all attempts were fruitless.

Source: Jewish Resistance in concentration campsduring WWII

Many were not surprised according to USHMMs Wannsee Conference and The Final

Solution, as they say here, Others were aware that units of the German Army and the SS and

police were killing Jews in Serbia. None of the officials present at the meeting objected to the

Final Solution policy that Heydrich announced.(USHMM) Thousands of Jews were already

being murdered and this was the expected outcome. Mass murder was being implemented even

before the Wannsee Conference.

The Jews were to be transported to Poland and the Soviet Union where they would be

sent to death camps or murdered. They were to use the Jews in Labor camps to make them build

roads; by this method they could use natural exhaustion to kill them. They had to make sure that

those who didnt die of natural causes were exterminated as well considering they may produce

the next generation of Jews. The answer to their question was to permanently exterminate all

Jews physically.

Resistance

Many wonder why the Jews did not fight back

throughout the war and why they didnt stop them. It

was a rapid change for the Jews, and by the time they

knew they were facing the Final Solution it was mid

1942. By this time they had spent possibly a year or two

in the ghettos and were starving and or diseased. When

they tried to fight back there all they got was more starvation and no help from the outside world.

By this logic it is easy to see why many believed the Gestapo when they were told they were


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going to labor camps and would be fed. Some were even offered food as an incentive. (Jewish

Virtual Library)

Many did actually take an active role in resisting the Nazis. Although they thought this

would be a good idea at the time it also had consequences that they did not expect. When an

uprising was started or one person did something to try and disrupt the order of things, not only

did he get punished by execution but so did everyone else that was present. Collective

responsibility scared many Jews into submission.

Even when they were in death camps some did not give up hope. According to the

Jewish Virtual Librarys article Jewish resistance to Nazi Genocide the Warsaw ghetto at one

point had 1000 men that were willing to fight. Most were unarmed though, and ill prepared.

In January 1943, the S.S. entered the ghetto to round up more Jews for shipment to the

death camps. They were met by a volley of bombs, Molotov cocktails, and the bullets

from a few firearms which had been smuggled into the ghettos. Twenty S.S. soldiers

were killed. The action encouraged a few members of the Polish resistance to support the

uprising, and a few machine guns, some hand grenades, and about a hundred rifles and

revolvers were smuggled in. (Jewish Virtual Library)

Unfortunately there were 3000 reinforcements for the SS and the fight was virtually hope

less. The camp did last for four weeks, but ended with very few Jewish survivors and the

remaining sent to death camps.


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A firing squad executes Jews in such a way to avoid

work with them already in their graves. Source:

The Holocaust Bullets

Extermination methods

The Nazi party was not quite sure at first, exactly

how they would kill off the Jews. They were looking for

ways that left little evidence and caused minimal

emotional damage to their men. When they first began

executing Jews they used firing squads. Although this

was effective it was not only traumatic but left behind mass graves and clear evidence of what

the Nazis were doing.

The Final Solution implemented many different ways of killing off the Jews.

Starvation accounted for nearly six million Jews, according to USHMMs The Final Solution.

Starvation was used from the very beginning simply by separating the Jews in ghettos and letting

the lack of food kill the Jews for them. When they moved on to gas vans, in which the Jews

were put in the back and the exhaust was vented into the van, they found it was effective, but

also a burden on the killers. Shooting squads were also difficult to deal with.

The idea for Death Camps at this point became the focus of Nazis and they immediately

began shipping Jews to their death. The journey there was arduous enough to kill of some before

they even got there. Trains jam packed and with no facilities or water were sure to leave them

sick, weak, and dead in some cases. When they got there some were gassed immediately in

chambers with a gas called Zyclon B. In Auschwitz there were four chambers that were virtually

in use the entire time. After the gas they were cremated and the chimneys rarely did not have

smoke in them. Some camps used carbon monoxide as well. Death camps were eventually the

main effort for their goal. This gas left little trace that it had been used and was perfect for their


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The Liberation of Dachau. Source: I survived

Project

efforts. Others were worked to death or shot because they were so sick they could not work. At

this point, no one is quite sure what is happening to the Jews, but it is clear that many are not

coming back. Their brutal attack on Jews left millions dead. Also, homosexuals, gypsies, and

anyone else that did not please the Nazis Aryan Race plan was also exterminated.(USHMM)

Liberation

These atrocities could not long be ignored by the rest of the world and rest easy on their

conscience. By this time they all knew that something was being done with the Jews, and

Germany was rapidly take control of Europe. It was not until Japan attacked Pearl Harbor that

America decided to get involved.

When allied troops began to moved toward the camps many of the prisoners were forced

to march into the interior in Germany, possibly to try to hide them or exhaust many of them to

death. The Soviets approached the death camps more quickly than the Germans thought, and in

an attempt to hide the evidence of these death camps burnt the entire things to the ground. They

did leave the gas chambers standing. Some of the camps had been dismantled in 1941 according

to USHMMs Liberation of Nazi Camps, mainly because many of the Jews were already dead.

In 1945 Auschwitz was liberated and many prisoners there survived although starving and

diseased. There was abundant evidence of mass murder in Auschwitz. The retreating Germans

had destroyed most of the warehouses in the camp, but in

the remaining ones the Soviets found personal

belongings of the victims. (USHMM. Liberation) many

of the prisoners from Auschwitz were also found on


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death marches.

After the liberation of these camps the Nazis and Hitler were seen for what they truly

were, they were the scum of the earth. No one had quite realized the extent of their cruelty, but

the remains of the death camps and the few prisoners that escaped, showed exactly to what

lengths they were willing to go.

Although the release of these prisoners was undoubtedly a good thing, many were left

without homes, and without families. It was something that would forever leave a scar on the

memory of the world. Some tried to go back where they came from, but it was no good, and

their best alternative was to start over somewhere else. Eventually Israel was opened to them

again and many found homes there. Let us not forget the lives that were ripped apart because of

this.

Even today genocide is a reality in small countries and places where difference is

unacceptable. Let us do all that we can to prevent these atrocities from happening again. All

human life is equal and the best we can learn from this situation is not to let it happen again.


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Works Cited

"Anti-Semitism." Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com. Web. 18 Apr. 2012.

"Anti-Semitism: The Longest Hatred." United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. USHMM.

Web. 15 Apr. 2012.

Berenbaum, Michael. "What Are the Concentration Camps?" Jewish Virtual Library. Jewish

Virtual Library, 2008. Web. 06 Apr. 2012.

"The "Final Solution"" United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. USHMM. Web. 20 Apr.

2012.

Heilburn, Jacob. "Hitler's First Anti-Semitic Letter." The National Interest. The National Interest,

7 June 2011. Web. 20 Apr. 2012.

"The Holocaust." Rise of the Nazis and Beginning of Persecution. Yad Vashem, 2012. Web. 15

Apr. 2012.

"Holocaust Timeline: Resistance." Florida Center for Instructional Technology. Web. 20 Apr.

2012.

"The Holocaust." Yad Vashem. Web. 14 Apr. 2012.

"Hitler Comes to Power." United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. USHMM. Web. 13 Apr.

2012. .

"Jewish Ghettos." Spartacus Educational. Web. 13 Apr. 2012.


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"Jewish Resistance to the Nazi Genocide." Jewish Virtual Library. Jewish Virtual Library. Web.

15 Apr. 2012.

:Kaplan, Amanda. "A Film Unfinished." 18 Aug. 2010. The Immanent Frame. Accessed 20

Apr. 2012.

"Nazi Propoganda and Cencorship." United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. United States

Holocaust Memorial Museum. Web. 6 Apr. 2012.

"The Nuremberg Race Laws." The Holocaust: A Learning Site for Students. Web. 15 Apr. 2012.

Service, Hareetz. "Why Did Adolf Hitler Hate the Jews?" Haaretz.com. 7 Dec. 2009. Web. 15

Apr. 2012.

Logan, Your paper is interesting enough. You have a nice style and flair when you

write. In the future, work at integrating sources more effectively. Signal when you

start using a source with a signal phrase, and again when you stop with a

parenthical citation. Also parenthically cite following direct quotes.

Points AvailableScore

40Content paper demonstrates understanding

and confidence about topic34

20Sources uses only primary and secondary

sources20

40In-Text Citations integrates sources within

text with effective use of signal words and

phrases

27


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35 Formatting properly uses MLA formatting 31

25

Works Cited works cited page has the

required number of sources and is properlyformatted 22

15Pictures uses pictures to enhance the text

with effective captions and source information11

25Writing Mechanics Paper is free from errors

in spelling, punctuation, etc.22

Total = 200

Total Score

167

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