The Reasons We Should not Forget The Holocaust

The Holocaust was a despicable event that had dimmed the light of societal humanity throughout from the early nineteen thirties to the mid nineteen forties. As the years passed, historians scanned through the remaining evidence from this era in order to reveal the details of this sickening massacre to the public's eye. Teachers throughout the nation have made certain to cover all aspects of this event in history class. However, students would often dutifully question this continuous effort. Why should we study the Holocaust if it had already passed long ago? After all, the past is in the past. Shouldn't we be focusing on the future ahead of us instead? In the end, the confusion among the students may never be resolved to the best conclusion. What many fail to realize is the inseparable connetion between what had already passed, and what is doomed to follow in the future.

It would simply be impossible to discuss the Holocause without also mentioning the mastermind behind it at all. The very man that was to blame for the series of events leading up to World War II is none other than the infamous Adolf Hitler. Hitler was just like any of his other peers when he was young. He had the same dreams that many of his friends would have, and had a family that loved him very much. However, what separated Hitler from simply any other kid trotted alongside the street would be the unsettling despair in his heart throughout his unfortunate childhood as heart-breaking events continuously occurred within his family. He was the fourth child in his family, but was also the oldest surviving one, since his three older brothers all deceased at infancy. Contributing to that, Hitler's father died when he was only at a very early stage in his life as well, and since he was the eldest male of the family, and not to mention the most mature of the children of the household, he was automatically expected to be responsible for the significant duties of the household that the father of the family should normally be assigned to. Due to this fact, he rarely experienced the freedom that most children of the time longed for in their every day lives.

Prior to World War I, Hitler worked as a casual laborer and a decently-paid painter, mainly selling watercolors for a living. He had applied for the Academy of Fine Artes Vienna twice, but was rejected both times. The academy hadn't believed in his natural abilities as a painter, and this was simply an added knife to his heart as the knives from the previous events of his childhood are already thrusted deep into him. Almost immediately after the second rejection, he ran out of money and was eventually forced to live in a homeless shelter for several years. When World War I came into combat, Hitler was quick to volunteer to serve in the army. This became a major contribution to Hitler's rise to power, as historians have later pointed out.

During World War I and the brief moments afterwards, Hitler's hate towards Jews gradually rose to the surface. Eventually, he organized a rebellion and attacked the government in order to have his views be heard. However, his army was not strong enough at the time, and he was imprisoned for his acts, sentenced for five years of jail time. While he was in prison, he entertained himself by writing a booked named Mein Kampf, also known as My Struggle. The book carefully detailed every crucial event that had occurred in his lifetime as of that time, and he was instantly popularized after its publication. The popularity that Hitler had gained during his time in jail eventually worked in his favor, and he was released only nine months afterh he was first imprisoned, much sooner than his expected release date. From then on, his supporters only increased in numbers as he and his proposed "solution" rose to the position of the dictator of Germany. At that time, almost no one suspected for Hitler, the highly persuasive and intellegent man, to be capable of performing the massive genocide that later followed his rise to power. This is partially why people are so fascinated with the study of the Holocaust, since it is practically a miracle that the people of Germany could become so easily persuaded by such a man, when his proposed ideas are so inhumane and illogical to the common mind.

Soon after his rise to power, he began applying the Nuremburg Laws in order to make the massive killing of the Undesireables legal. Once the laws were applied, it was much too difficult for Hitler to be stopped. Hitler's ingenious plans prevented him from being sued from other countries, but he still took many precautionary actions in order to avoid having his proposterous plans become discovered by the other countries. As we now know, if the other countries were able to find out more quickly, the Holocaust might've been able to be stopped much sooner then when it had been. The fact that it took so long before other countries realized how severe the situation was is a major lesson to learn. Nowadays, every country tries its hardest in order to makes sure they are always in contact with each other. This way, something such as the Holocaust can be prevented from occurring again. After all, history commonly repeats itself, but this era of history is definitely not something that we want to have repeated.

Althought the Holocaust was a tragedy that caused many deaths to occur, there are still many stories that have been inspired due to this event. Some of the stories are simply products of one's imagination, but others are very much real and factual to the time. For examply, the Diary of Anne Frank is a broadly-known novel that is sold to bookkeepers all around the world. Anne was definitely an unusual girl, even for this era. Although her life prior to the Holocaust had been incredibly similar to her friends', she had a mindset that belonged to someone much older and more mature than what she appeared to be. Her father, Otto Frank, had served in World War I, and was very disciplined and stern to not only him, but also to his entire family. Prior to the start of the Holocaust, Mr. Frank decided to join the entire family into hiding from what he had expected would've be been an awful time in history. The diary described Anne's life in hiding, and detailed the progress of the war. Eventually, Anne's family was discovered, along with the rest of the residents living along with them, and almost every member died in the concentration camps that they were sent to. Otto Frank became the only survivor of the Holocaust among the Franks, and lived to a very old age in his life. It is only a matter of opinion as to whether or not Mr. Frank had made the correct choice to put the family in hiding. Would they have lived a better life and would all survive if he hadn't? No one knows.

Historians are often very eager to dig out whatever evidence they could from the Holocaust, because not only was it directly related to World War II, but it was also a crucial event in history that we can not afford to forget. Studying the Holocaust helps us understand better what could happen to society, and the strong influence that simply one man could have on the entire world. The knowledge of these occurrances and how they came to be gives us the important knowledge as to how to prevent such a thing from repeating once more. The Holocaust is simply something that should not ever be forgotten, no matter the pace that history moves in.