Camila Alonso English 1102 Professor Muesing 30 April 2014 Why did the Holocaust Occur?

When I think of the Holocaust the one question that I always try to answer is, why did it happen in the first place? As a child I remember learning about the Holocaust when I was in 3rd or 4th grade, my teacher had us all research the events and present them to the class. I do not think I fully understood why it all happened and why people let it happen? I knew that Hitler and the Nazis were behind it but no one ever explained it to me why it happened. So I chose this topic because I wanted to know more and to answer some questions that were left unanswered in my mind. So I started with Adolf Hitler, the root of the whole problem. He was chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945 and dictator of Nazi Germany from 1934 to 1945. Hitler was a decorated veteran of World War I. He joined the German Workers' Party in 1919, and became leader of the NSDAP in 1921. In 1923, he attempted a coup in Munich to seize power. The failed coup sent Hitler to jail, where wrote a memoir called My Struggle. By attacking the Treaty of Versailles that had been forced on Germany promoted nationalism, Pan-Germanism, and anti-Semitism and Nazi propaganda, after his release, Hitler gained popular support. Hitler gaining support only made him more powerful and less likely to be stopped. First Hitler made laws in Germany that segregated and humiliated them; the laws stated that Jewish people could not go to restaurants, doctors, or stores. He also stopped

Alonso 2 their businesses by putting signs in front of their stores that read, Dont buy from Jews, this left them without jobs and many tried to flee from Germany. However, Hitler had all the Jewish people but in concentration campus where they were forced into labor. At these campus the sick, disabled and old were taken to this place disguised as showers, but when the nozzle was opened deadly gas came out. There was a great deal more that the Jewish population had to endure while Hitler was in power. He tried to annihilate the entire population, more than six million Jews. But even after all this research the only explanation I could find was that Hitler thought the Jews were to blame for the loss of World War II. However I do not really understand this. How were the Jews to blame? What did they do wrong? Why did no one else do anything before Hitler stepped in? All of these questions are still left unanswered and I am sure I am not the only one who does not understand or does not have enough information to support how the Jews alone were to blame and why Hitler took it upon himself to redeem them for their wrong doing. Another question that is left unanswered is why the Nazis followed Hitler? They could have all denied to help him and none of that would have ever happened. I believe there is strength in numbers and Hitler could have easily been stopped if the Nazis would have stood up for the Jews and made up their own minds instead of letting Hitler brainwash them into thinking that the Jews were to blame for all their problems. There is absolutely no reason to excuse what Hitler and the Nazis did to the Jewish people, they tortured, killed, raped, imprisoned, and mistreated millions of Jewish

Alonso 3 people because they felt it was the Jews who lost them the war. Then I stumble on the question, why the Jewish people? Out of all the groups in Germany, why were the Jews singled out and almost completely annihilated? I searched for this answer and found out that the Nazis incorrectly believed that it was the Jews natural impulse, inherited through generations, to strive for world domination, and that this there annihilation would prevent the dominance of Germany and the enslavement and destruction of the German race. This basically means that Hitler did to the Jews what he thought they were going to do to the German people before they did it to him. He got to them before they could get to him. I am sure the Nazis believed that the Jews would try to take over Germany and thought it was their duty to stop them. And even though there were other groups involved in the massacre, the Jews were the main concern for Hitler. However, even if the Jewish people planned to take over Germany, why not just kick them all out? Why torture them, and murder them? To that I found no answer to. In conclusion Hitler targeted the Jews because he did not want them to kill him later, so essentially he was beating them to the punch. But I do not think he was the only one to blame, his followers and the people who did the dirty work for him, were just as bad as he was. And those that kept their mouths shut and said nothing could have helped them a great deal. Even though some of my answers about the Holocaust were not answered, I am sure that they never will be because no one understands any of it. No one can explain why it happened or why the Jewish people were targeted above all the over groups.

Work Cited 1. "Concentration Camps, 19331939." United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. United States Holocaust Memorial Council, 10 June 2013. Web. 27 Apr. 2014. <http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005263>. 2. "Check Out These Resources About the Holocaust." About.com 20th Century History. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Apr. 2014. <http://history1900s.about.com/od/holocaust/tp/holocaust.htm>. 3. "Introduction to the Holocaust." United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. United States Holocaust Memorial Council, 10 June 2013. Web. 26 Apr. 2014. <http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005143>. 4. "The Holocaust." History.com. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web. 27 Apr. 2014. <http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/the-holocaust>. 5. "The Holocaust." Holocaust History. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Apr. 2014. <http://www.yadvashem.org.il/yv/en/holocaust/about/index.asp>.