The Holocaust: Chronicle of Murders

During World War 2 (1939-1945) six million Jewish people were murdered at the hands of the German Government. The systematic killing of a large group of people that all share a particular trait is called genocide. In this case, people were murdered on the basis of their religion. The genocide of Jewish people was one of the largest events during World War 2. World War 2 is the largest global war in history. Over 40 million people died during this war across the world. The Genocide of the Jewish people was a very unfair and horrific event as it resulted in many innocent deaths. The Holocaust greatly affected the world and should be taught to students to prevent an event like this from happening again.  

Genocide is a term used to describe violence against members of a national, traditional, racial or religious group. Following WWII, when the crime that the Nazi government had attempted against the Jewish population became known, the term began being used regularly. In a meeting held by the United Nations in 1948, they decided that genocide should never happen again and was a war crime.  

To understand the effect that WWII had on the world, it is important to understand how the war started and the causes of the genocide. It all began in WW1 (1914-1918). The Germans attempted to take control of other countries. When Germany lost this war, they were punished with the loss of land and money, and the country entered recession and poverty. Many Germans were still angry about the result of the first world war and believed that Germany should have more power. Locals were also upset with the poverty they experienced. After the war, the German government printed much more money to try to avoid poverty. Instead, having lots of money led to hyperinflation, where people have so much money that it is worth very little.

German people struggled to find jobs, and Germany was very poor, with lots of people starving. For example, Robert Clive, a British government worker who was in Munich in 1923, said that “Few families can afford meat more than once a week, eggs are unprocurable, milk terribly scarce and bread already 16 times the price of a few days ago… The expensive restaurants are full of well-dressed people drinking wine and eating the best of Munich, but they are either German Americans or Ruhr industrialists… No one expects political disturbances, but hunger riots are another matter… and the cold, no one can afford central heating. No one images the Rentenmark will help.” This quote shows that many Germans had been poor and starving.  

Hitler unified most of Germany by raising Nationalism (pride in their country) and promising a better future for the nation, by taking back the land that was taken from them and by removing the Jewish population, which he convinced the population was the cause of their poverty. Hitler rallied everyone together by blaming it on the Jews and promising that once they get rid of them, Germany will be able to rise to power again. He convinced Germans of this both in his speeches and through his use of propaganda. Propaganda is the use of advertising by governments to make people believe a certain thing. Adolf Hitler stated in his book Mein Kampf that “No one need be surprised if among our people the personification of the devil as the symbol of all evil assumes the living shape of the Jew”. This quote shows him saying that Jewish people are evil and are just like the devil. This is an example of Hitler’s views toward Jewish people, which he convinced fellow Germans to believe. Once he was in power, his Nazi government used advertising to encourage German people to blame Jewish people for their struggles, to see them as the enemy, and to want them punished.   

The Nazis lied to the Jewish people and told them to board trains that would take them to new communities that were safe and pleasant. Instead, they were brought to concentration camps by the millions. Many of the German public was also led to believe that Jewish people were being relocated to isolated communities instead of mass murdered- most of the German public was unaware of the atrocities committed by the Nazis. Many Jewish people died resisting being taken to concentration camps or were killed before they could be taken. 

Most Jewish people were taken to concentration camps where they lived in inhumane conditions and were forced to labor until they were physically unable to, at which point they were killed. Everyone who was not an able-bodied man (disabled, elderly, women, and children) was typically killed upon arrival.  Jewish people were deported to the camps from all over Europe, including German-controlled territory as well as those countries allied with Germany.

The Holocaust had many negative effects and had a big impact on the world today. Apart from the deaths of many Jewish people, it caused many other people to leave Europe for other parts of the World leading to immigration. Lots of this immigration happened to western nations like the UK, the USA, and Australia. Therefore, there is more cultural diversity across the world today because of the immigration of people escaping the Holocaust. Many people that are alive today were also affected by the war, it could be because their parents were part of it, or they had been part of it when they were younger. For example, people are affected with PTSD and trauma from the events, and many people who survived concentration camps experienced health problems for the rest of their lives. An example of this is quoted from Eva Deutsch Costabel says “My friends always tease me because my refrigerator is always full. They say, ‘You could feed ten people.’ I think this is definitely from starving for many years”. Another example is from Susan Pollak, who spent time in a concentration camp. She says, “I cry out when I think about it. When I allow myself to get emotional, I could cry non-stop, even now”. Therefore, the negative impacts of the Holocaust affect many people even to this day.  

The Genocide of Jewish people had been one of the biggest events during World War 2 and had killed many people, especially Jewish people. Over six million Jewish people were murdered, which was 2/3 of European’s Jewish population. Most Jewish people that died had died from the concentration camps that they had been sent from the Germans. After the end of the war, a conference was held in Potsdam, Germany, to set up peace treaties.

In Conclusion, the holocaust was a horrific event as it affected many people during that time and still to do this day. It can be seen that the holocaust was a major event that shaped the world and had huge negative effects on many people, and therefore it is an important topic to teach future generations to prevent it from happening again. Students should be educated about the holocaust as it teaches them to accept different types of diversity. Museums are a good way of educating people about the Holocaust. El Paso Museum displays a range of items that were used during the holocaust. The image shown is a range of items that were used by Jewish people who had been in concentration camps, such as plates, forks, and some weapons. Even though the holocaust killed many people and caused many people to immigrate to other countries it also changed the laws for the world.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

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