Bystanders During The Holocaust

Although being a bystander is not always the case for some individuals. Resistance from evil has been in the hearts of many and action has taken place from those with a certain will to help the world on numerous occasions. Such occasions occured in the Germany Holocaust when “Jews in the Warsaw ghetto rose in armed revolt after rumors that the Germans would deport the remaining ghetto inhabitants to the Treblinka killing center” (“Jewish Resistance”). There was also times when Jewish prisoners fought out against the guards to help their people. Another form of resistance was hiding or escaping from the Nazi’s. “In order to save lives, families hid from their persecutors and sometimes escapes occurred. Some sacrificed their own lives for other individuals, whilst others chose to kill themselves, realising that they would inevitably be killed by the Nazis,” (“Background: Resistance”).

In non-violent terms, those of the Jewish faith who sought some form of shelter of any kind, looked towards the self-help groups within the ghettos. In these groups they were provided with food, shelter, child care services, and employment. As for those in the concentration camps, they would attempt to alter the Nazi’s plans to either work at slower rates, set fires, and cause other forms of chaos within the camps, (“Resisters”). By doing this, efforts made by these groups could hopefully promote more resistance to the Nazis and gradually provide a foundation to their downfall. Although, more violent approaches to resistance did occur to try and prevent any more acts of genocide.

People during the Holocaust were either gassed to death, beaten, starved or too weak because of the conditions they were living in at the time (Introduction to the

From 1933 to 1945 millions of innocent and harmless human beings were being tortured and slaughtered for absolutely no probable reason. Very few tried to help, but some become part of resistances that helped save the innocent people. Resistances were groups or individuals that dedicated their time and effort to save the lives of prisoners during the holocaust. One of these individuals, Irena Sendler, was part of these resistance efforts, helping save thousands and thousands of children. Irena Sendler helped resistance efforts by saving children, prisoners, and her community.

but you needed “hope” to survive the Holocaust. Risk takers put other people’s lives ahead of their own. They could be called true heroes during WWII. “A hero is someone who cares more about the greater good then themselves in the face of danger” (Righteous Risk Takers Grater 2011 p. 1).

Many people know of the Holocaust and its outcome, but what of its resisters? Resistance in this time was risky because of the dangers of the Nazis finding, torturing, and killing the resisters. Despite these dangers, man people would still resist, armed, unarmed, and verbally. Many of the resisters were not caught because they were indirectly affecting the progress of the “Final Solution” as it was referred to. One such way was to convince others to resist and fight while you get others to aid in the fight. Another was displayed by Yvett Farnoux when “She was in charge of finding safe houses and food for resistance fighters, their families, and Jews in hiding” (Davison).

The holocaust one of the darkest times in history, as there were people standing up for the Jews there were also people that stood there and watched the Jews being beaten or killed. Up standers affected the holocaust tremendously as Jews were being killed some people would stand up for them and sometimes even put their own life at risk for others. Also there were bystanders they did not affect the holocaust at all they stood and watched innocent lives taken for their religion.

Anyone who who had to do through the Holocaust had to lose loved ones and wasn't able to do anything about

During the Holocaust their were many groups of resistance, but one in particular was the underground who used resistance to fight the Germans. This group faced many challenges but still fought hard to protect their culture. The underground used armed resistance to receive supplies, resists the Germans that try to kill them, and to get the community not to be passive while facing obstacles like making kids and women smuggle supplies, risk families lives, and trying to meet in private to plan.

The Holocaust was a time that left a big scar on the culture of our world as a whole and there are still people suffering from it still to this day. In my investigation I will be looking at to what extent did the Holocaust affect the survivors, both mentally and physically upon return home from the concentration camps. I will be looking at books, both present and from the time period that talk about how they felt and what happened when they got home. I will also surf the internet, find interviews with survivors, look for articles, and newspapers from the time in order to get a better idea of what was going on in their life. I will then compare and contrast the facts at hand and pull out and mix what is the same and

A quote from Albert Einstein states “the world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who watch them without doing anything”. As difficult as it is to describe the terrible deeds of those who were part of the Holocaust, it is true that those who did nothing are at fault just as much as those who carried out the actions. When one thinks of the Holocaust today it is difficult to picture that such events were done by human beings. Societies have advanced but it is important to acknowledge the reason as to why many bystanders refused to help or why they were so indifferent to the pain felt by the Jews. “The psychological mechanisms used to come to terms with the suffering of another appear to be very similar, whether the person is standing right before us or is 2,000 miles away. (Barnet:118) Barnett explains that ideological and moral principles also come into play, as do self-interest and the weighing of the possible consequences of our actions. We try to establish what is or is not possible. In the end, our decision will be determined not so much by whether we actually have the power to change a situation, but whether we have the will to do so. (Barnett, 118). In the case of many of the individuals who chose to become bystanders rather than change the situation they were not willing to get involved. Although not every German was a bystander, those who

The Holocaust was a terrible event that started January 30, 1933 and ended May 8, 1945. It was twelve years of torture and suffering that the Jewish people went through. Many people help this awful event happen like bystanders, perpetrators, and people who was influenced by Nazi ideology. Our big question is How was the Holocaust humanly possible? How can we explain why ordinary people participated in the mass murder of millions of innocent men, women, and children?

They succeeded in hurting the lives of Jews, Polish, Gypsies, disabled, and countless others as they tried to achieve the perfect generation. Every survivor had his/her own obstacles to face and no one woman’s/man’s was worse than the others. However, instead of being able to hear the Deaf people were able to feel the ground and the vibrations caused by shooting and by the footsteps of the SS officers. They did have to witness the horrors by sight and not truly understand what was going on. Whether it was watching a family member fight to stay alive or not getting their child back when they were supposed to be going to a special ward's unit, the horror each person went through was tremendous.

After liberation, Holocaust survivors faced the fact to rebuild their lives after stress and pain of the Holocaust. Subsequently after liberation in the concentration camps, dead human bodies were found on sight. This displays that many people suffered and died with the conditions of the camp. Furthermore, Jewish and non-Jewish people were found alive. Many were starving and were suffering from disease. Organizations helped aid the hurt people. As an example, Joint Distribution Committee provided survivors with food and clothing. Many of these organizations were created by the Allied powers when the Axis powers lost WWII. Many Jewish survivors were scared to return to their hometown because of anti-semitism throughout the Polish and German towns that they lived in. Therefore, survivors began to migrate to other countries

According to the texts and eyewitness accounts, the Holocaust had horrendous effects on the people who lived through it. During this time Jews were being rounded up and put into concentration camps by order of the German government. Writings and testimonies from survivors of the Holocaust are around even to this day. According to these sources, Holocaust survivors suffered tremendously since they were treated as less than human , they lost loved ones, and were constantly abused.