Research paper Holocaust overview

Caileb Newby

Eng Comp 102-106 Mr. Neuburger 2 April 2012

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The Holocaust is a major historical event that brought about a systematic genocide of millions of Jews in Europe during the Nazi rise to power. This research paper will cover the Nazi rise to power, the ghettos and concentration camps and all the way to the events after liberation. It is important to understand the seriousness of the events known as the Holocaust and that these events did actually happen. The Holocaust should never be forgotten and future generations need to be educated of these events so that the world will not allow such atrocities to happen again.

Nazi views on Jews Nazis portrayed the Jews as an inferior and destructive race. Nazi ideas were based on Christian anti-Semitism and were mainly centered on racist antiSemitism. This ideology fueled the Jews as enemies in a racial life-and-death struggle that had to be won. Hitlers views of Jews were portrayed in his book Mein Kampf. He interpreted Germanys situation and the German peoples need for living space in terms of a new order worldview. Jews were often treated badly, which only got worse as the Nazi party began to take over. (Rise of the Nazis and Beginning of Persecution) Nazi rise to power An article on Yad Vashem describes the Nazi rise to power which started in 1918, when the Treaty of Versailles ended WWI, which sent Germany into a Depression. According to the article the Nazis claimed, The Jews had done much to spread defeatism and thus destroy the German army.( Rise of Nazis and Beginning of Persecution)
Synagogue burning in response to Kristallnacht Source: http://bit.ly/esDiGG

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In 1919, Adolf Hitler, a released soldier wounded in WWI, joined a small and insignificant group called the National Socialist Party in Munich, Germany. He became the groups leader and formulated the racial and anti-Semitic principles in its charter. Furthermore, the article describes Nazi anti-Jewish policy, Nazi anti-Jewish policy functioned on two primary levels: legal measures to expel the Jews from society and strip them of their rights and property while simultaneously engaging in campaigns of incitement, abuse, terror and violence of varying proportions.( Rise of Nazis and Beginning of Persecution.) There was one goal: to make the Jews leave Germany.

Hitler presenting a speech Source: http://bit.ly/HKitqv

Then in 1923, the National Socialist Party activists led a revolt and tried to seize power in Munich, but failed. This event was known as the Beer Hall Putch. Hitler was imprisoned for his participation in the revolt. While he was imprisoned he wrote Mein Kampf, a book expressing his theories about the Jews and also plans of a Nazi global takeover. In 1931, Adolf Hitler becomes a spokesperson in the German parliament known as the Reichstag. There he is able to affect German policy making while also allowing the Nazi party to obtain plurality. In 1933, Hitler then became the Chancellor (father) of Germany and the Nazis took power. Once Hitler came into power the lives of Jews drastically changed. Nazis became increasingly engaged in activities involving the persecution of the Jewish and other minority populations. They also declared the German flag to be a swastika. ( Rise of the Nazis and Beginning of Persecution. ) Nuremburg laws

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An article on the National Archives and Records Administrations website describes how in 1934, the Nuremberg laws were passed, stripping the Jews of their citizenship and forbidding intermarriage between Jews and non-Jews. The Nuremberg Laws made official the Nazi persecution of the Jews. Jews were forced to identify themselves with armbands, banned from universities, and many Jews working as actors or on the radio were dismissed from work. They wanted to completely segregate them from the social, political, and the economic life of Germany. Furthermore, the article explains how the Nuremburg Laws were a crucial step in Nazi racial laws that led to the marginalization of German Jews and ultimately to their segregation, confinement, and extermination.(The Nuremburg Laws). Rounding up Jews-life of ghettos An article on the H.E.A.R.T.s website explains how in 1939, Poland was invaded, which triggered WWII. This event was known as Kristallnacht. It also triggered the formation of ghettos and a centralization of the Jewish population. The Germans wanted to isolate the Jews and the ghettos served as convenient points to concentrate the Jewish labor force prior to its liquidation. According to an article, Hundreds of ghettos were established in Nazi occupied Europe, ranging in size from 445,000 inhabitants of the Warsaw
Child dying in the ghetto Source: http://bit.ly/HeLJZj

Nazi enforcing the laws Source: http://bit.ly/HhN7HN

ghetto to those containing just a few families in rural quasi-

ghettos.(Jewish Ghettos During the Holocaust)

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Once in the ghettos, life continued to get worse for the Jews. Living conditions were overcrowded, food was in short supply, and Nazi brutality continued to escalate. Jewish survivor Sam Steinberg described the escalation, Then you were woke up by gunshots, you had shootingsyou would see people dead on the streets.( Steinberg) Many Jews died from starvation and disease. An article on the H.E.A.R.T.s website explains how many of the ghettos formed their own Jewish police. The Germans recruited Jews that were physically fit had military experience, and secondary or higher education. According to an article titled The Jewish Order Police, Belonging to a protected organization, provided immunity from being seized for forced labor. Service in the Jewish police also offered greater freedom of movement and the possibilities of obtaining food and money.(Webb). They still had to wear armbands identifying themselves as Jews. The Jewish police duties included: directing traffic in the streets, supervising garbage collection, supervising sanitation in the buildings, preventing crime, and mediating in disputes that arose in the ghetto. After the formation of the ghettos the Germans had a famous conference to find a way to get the Jews out of Germany. Wannsee conference The article House of the Wannsee Conference explains that in 1942, a meeting of approximately 90 minutes took place. The subject of the meeting was the final solution of the Jewish question. According to an article about the Wannsee Conference, The participants presented proposals and raised objections depending on the interests of the
Wannsee Conference Source: http://bit.ly/HXOMom

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authorities they were representing, but overall they showed that they were willing to cooperate. In the process, the leading officials in the German state administration became accessories to and perpetrators of the crime. (Kampe) Furthermore, the author explains how the ministerial representatives had spoken openly and with general agreement about the murder of the Jews. These representatives were not ignorant, they were very well educated. The 15 participants at the conference were among the elite of the National Socialist regime. Their biographies show that many had completed an academic education and had brilliant careers. Eight held doctorates.( Kampe) After the Wannsee Conference the Nazis sent the Jews to concentration camps. Extermination methods A Yad Vashem article explains motivations behind executions, The goal was to intimidate the witnesses, and the victims were most frequently prisoners caught trying to escape, or suspected of aiding escapers. (Labor Conditions, Labor and Executions) There were many different ways the Nazis killed the Jews in the concentration camps. The first Nazi method of execution was by firing squad. They found that this method was hard on their personnel because it took a lot out of their officers emotionally to kill round after round of unarmed Jewish prisoners.
Piles of corpses Source: http://bit.ly/IM5p6S

Another extermination method the Nazis implemented was

the mobile gas vans. This method was not very efficient, at first they didnt even know how long it would take. The Nazis poisoned the Jews with the exhaust of the van.

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The method that the Nazis used the most was the use of the gas chambers, specifically the use of Zyclon B. This method was fast, efficient, and left no evidence because they used cremation after. Mass graves were formed to contain the bodies before the crematorium. In a survivor testimony a man named Sam Steinberg talks about the horrors of the crematorium, They took my brother to the crematoriumthere I was watching the smoke from the chimney. (YouTube) He was forced to watch as all of his family members murdered at Bergen-Belson. In another survivor testimony, Sally Roisman told of a time when she was so weak from sickness that she fell into one of the mass graves, Next thing I knew I was on top of corpsesIt was a very cruel place. (Roisman) The Nazis systematically murdered about 12 million Jews with these different extermination methods. Also many Jews died in the concentration camps due to malnutrition and sickness. The death camps A Yad Vashem article explains how in 1942, after the Wannsee Conference, the Jews were sent to concentration camps. Upon arrival at the camp the Jews went through a process called selection. At this stage, the Jews were split up from their families and the weak or sick were immediately executed. The Jews were assigned to barracks and some were selected for work. Working allowed the Jews to have better access to food and protection from the brutality of camp. In addition, an article described the living quarters of concentration camps, More than 700 people were assigned to each barrack, although in practice the figure was sometimes higher. These barracks lacked any true heating; nor did they contain sanitary facilities.( Living Conditions, Labor and Executions) The Jews conditions were very crowded which lead to the

SS officers patrolling the camp Source: http://bit.ly/IuOtyf

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spread of diseases. Every day they struggled to get what little food they could get their hands on. In addition, Sally Roisman describes the anarchy at camp, There was chaos in camp and the strong ones attacked the weak ones.(Roisman) Life within a concentration camp was brutal and the people that survived were scarred mentally, physically, and emotionally. Some of the Jews were also experimented on at concentration camps. Nazi doctors were particularly interested in studying twins. They were injected with chemicals that made many of the Jews very sick. Some Jews were submitted to ice cold water baths to see how long one could withstand the frigid water. The chemicals injected are still unknown and many of the Jews suffered from medical problems as a result after liberation. The brutality got worse as the war progressed as a way for the Nazis to dispose of the evidence of the atrocities that were committed. As the Allies approached the concentration camps were dismantled. Liberation The Liberation of the concentration camps really opened the worlds eyes on what was really happening and the extent of the Nazi brutality. An article on Jewish Virtual Library describes how the Nazis forced the prisoners on death marches as the Allies approached, the prisoners were taken on forced marches for miles in the cold and snow. Many were so weak from their time in the camp that they died on the road. Those who fell or were too slow were usually shot. (Liberation) Even after the Allies arrived, many prisoners were beyond help and died after being liberated. The disease, malnourishment, and mistreatment had worn them

Prisoners of Dachau concentration camp cheering after liberation Source: http://bit.ly/HPF1dl

down too much.

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Survivors had mixed reactions to their new freedom. Some Jews looked forward to being reunited with other family members, and some felt guilty for surviving when so many of their relatives and friends had died. Furthermore, the article explained one survivors reaction to being freed, We ventured a few steps out of the camp. This time no orders were shouted at us, nor was there any need to duck quickly to avoid a blow or a kick. Freedom, we repeated to ourselves, and yet we could not grasp it. (Liberation) Many Jews did not have anywhere to go after being liberated. After liberation After liberation, Many Jews were scared to return to their homes due to the anti-Semitism that was present in Europe at that time. Jews that had nowhere to go remained in the camps. These camps were now known as displaced persons camps controlled by the occupying armies of the United States, Great Britain, and France. Holocaust survivors were provided with food and clothing. There were few possibilities of immigration at this time. In 1948, the state of Israel was formed. Jewish

Group portrait of young holocaust survivors Source: http://bit.ly/HNCbVv

displaced persons and refugees began migrating to Israel. As many as 170,000 Jewish holocaust survivors had immigrated to Israel by 1953. The Holocaust is still a major historical event that will never be forgotten. It is important to understand the seriousness of the events known as the Holocaust and that these events did actually happen. Future generations need to be educated of these events so that history doesnt repeat itself. The Holocaust will always be a black stain on the history of mankind.

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"The Aftermath of the Holocaust." United States Memorial Museum. United States Memorial Museum, 6 Jan. 2011. Web. 6 Apr. 2012. Bradsher, Greg. "The Nuremberg Laws." National Archives and Records Administration. National Archives and Record Administration, 2010. Web. 06 Apr. 2012. "The Holocaust." Yad Vashem. The Holocaust Martyrs' and Heros' Remembrance Authority, 2012. Web. 06 Apr. 2012. J, B. F. "Jewish Ghetto's During The Holocaust." Holocaust Education & Archive Research Team. Holocaust Education & Archive Research Team, 2006. Web. 06 Apr. 2012. Kampe, Norbert. "House of the Wannsee Conference." Haus Der Wannsee-Konferenz . 3 Mar. 2010. Web. 06 Apr. 2012. "Labor and Concentration Camps." Yad Vashem. The Holocaust Martyrs' and Heros' Remembrance Authority, 2012. Web. 06 Apr. 2012. Liberation. Jewish Virtual Library. Jewish Virtual Library, 2012. Web. 06 Apr. 2012. "Living Conditions, Labor and Executions." Jewish Virtual Library. Jewish Virtual Library, 2012. Web. 06 Apr. 2012. "Rise of the Nazis and Beginning of Persecution." Yad Vashem. The Holocaust Martyrs' and Heros' Remembrance Authority, 2012. Web. 06 Apr. 2012.

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"Theresienstadt." Yad Vashem. The Holocaust Martyrs' and Heros' Remembrance Authority, 2012. Web. 06 Apr. 2012. USCShoahFoundation. "Holocaust Survivor Sally Roisman Testimony." YouTube. YouTube, 13 July 2009. Web. 06 Apr. 2012. USCShoahFoundation. "Holocaust Survivor Sam Steinberg Testimony." YouTube. YouTube, 13 July 2009. Web. 06 Apr. 2012. Webb, Chris. "The Jewish Order Police." Holocaust Education & Archive Research Team. Holocaust Education & Archive Research Team, 2008. Web. 06 Apr. 2012.

Well done Caileb. You have done some good work here. Hopefully, you will pick up some pointers on how to integrate sources into your text. For the most part, you did well, and I enjoyed reading your paper.

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40 20 40 35 25 15 25

Content paper demonstrates understanding and confidence about topic Sources uses only primary and secondary sources In-Text Citations integrates sources within text with effective use of signal words and phrases Formatting properly uses MLA formatting Works Cited works cited page has the required number of sources and is properly formatted Pictures uses pictures to enhance the text with effective captions and source information Writing Mechanics Paper is free from errors in spelling, punctuation, etc.

33 20 29 31 21 13 20
Total Score

Total = 200

167