Children of the Holocaust Essay

Over one million Jewish children died during the Holocaust. They were ripped out of their homes and taken away from their families, and stripped of their childhoods. Innocent lives were caught in a war that they were not able to stop. When Adolf Hitler came to power in 1933, he promised Germany that he would improve life their by getting rid of the one race that caused the problems, the Jews. Jews, including Jewish children, were sent to concentration camps, inspected, and if approved, were sent to work. All others would have been sent to be killed. Being sent to work did not ensure survival, children would be given very little food and water, and beaten severely, which caused their death. None of the children of the Holocaust will ever

Although Jews were the primary victims of the Holocaust, many other groups were targeted based on racial or political grounds. Other groups that were attacked by the Nazis included LGBTQ individuals, the physically and mentally disabled, Roma(gypsies), Poles, Slavic Peoples, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and members of political opposition groups. These Non-Jewish victims were not considered as victims of the Holocaust. So, why did Adolf Hitler kill 11 million people? First, we need to inspect Hitler’s crazy ideas. Adolf Hitler was the Chancellor of Germany during the Holocaust. He came to power in 1933, when Germany was experiencing financial trouble. Hitler promised the Germans that he would bring them great wealth and he stated that he would make

Many Jewish people were persecuted and killed during the Holocaust. “They were not allowed to go to most public areas such as the park” (Children and the Holocaust) “ and the Jewish children weren’t allowed to go to the same school with the other German children” (International Institute for Holocaust Research). Many families tried to leave and escape before it became dangerous for Jews to live in German occupied countries, but “lack of money and strict immigration control caused them not to be able to” (Children and the Holocaust). “Some of the lucky families were able to find a hiding place” (International Institute for Holocaust Research), or escape before the Holocaust, but some of the other “families that could not get away were sent to the ghettos or killing camps” (Children

"There can be no keener revelation of a society's soul than the way in which it treats its children" (Nelson Mandela). If this statement is considered true, then it's fair to say that during times of the Holocaust, the German society was at an all time low. Children during the Holocaust did not have a carefree childhood, like they should have, but instead were placed under strenuous conditions. They had to go through being separated from all family and friends, being chosen the first to go to, and in most cases a permanent loss of family members. The Holocaust was undoubtedly a horrific experience for everyone involved but for children it must have been traumatizing.

As a child, can you imagine getting beaten for speaking the only language you know? Or even worse-- being burned alive. In the late 19th century, carrying over into the early 20th century, Native American children all over the United States were forced to be sent to Indian Boarding Schools that were run by the government in order to Americanize them. Later on in history, a very similar, yet horrifying abuse of children took place. Beginning in 1933, Nazi Soldiers captured anyone of the Jewish decent all across Germany. They were sent into concentration camps with a destiny to die. It seems extreme to rip families apart in order to benefit another group of people. Some have compared children of Nazi Concentration Camps to children in Indian Boarding Schools. These boarding school experiences and the experiences of Jewish children are similar in that they both endured physical abuse based on racial identity, they were both separated from their families, and they were both denied their cultural practices.

The Holocaust was a time of mass genocide. Millions of innocent victims, who ranged in age and gender, lost their lives because of the control one man had on a group of people. A majority of the victims killed practiced Judaism or had ancestors that practiced Judaism. The Holocaust was estimated to have murdered 1.8 million children. The victims had to go through harsh punishment, starvation, and most children were sent to the gas chambers immediately. Even with the cruel and unprecedented actions against the Jewish community many children were still able to survive. The actions and sacrifice from families and strangers helped to keep these children alive throughout the Holocaust. Children survived the Holocaust in many different ways.

Disabled Germans were killed in gassings. Midwives, physicians, and guardians of children with severe birth defects were supposed to register the defected child while three expert physicians would decide whether the child lived or died, usually not even seeing the child in person. This was all part to create the “master Aryan race.” 5,000 children were killed in the clinics and state hospitals they were brought to once registered. The Nazis wanted to keep the Euthanasia Program (the program Hitler was using to kill these helpless children) a secret, so the Nazis sent the children’s families made up ways of how their child died. In October of 1939, Hitler started Operation T-4, which was where adult men and women who were “incurable” were moved to carbon monoxide chambers and gassed. 70,000 of these innocent people were lost (Final Solutions).

First of all, young children, especially Jewish children, should learn about the unpleasant events that occurred in the past. “The Holocaust illustrates the consequences of prejudice, racism and stereotyping on a society. It forces us to examine the responsibilities of citizenship and confront the powerful ramifications of indifference and inaction.” says Tim Holden, a former U.S. Representative. Children need to know that what the Nazi’s did was wrong and disturbing, and teaching students about this subject will teach to not repeat the past, to not reiterate such a horrible occurrence.

The Holocaust of 1933-1945, was the systematic killing of millions of European Jews by the National Socialist German Worker’s Party (Nazis) (Webster, 430). This project showed the treacherous treatment towards all Jews of that era. Though many fought against this horrific genocide, the officials had already determined in their minds to exterminate the Jews. Thus, the Holocaust was a malicious movement that broke up many homes, brought immense despair, and congregated great discrimination. The Holocaust was an act of Hell on earth.

The German Commanders had one thought and that was to advance in the war; they had no care for the well being of their troops. Most children would never see their fathers or brothers again and were often stuck with a mother who was forced to now take over everything the family had. “German families like families all over Europe were affected by the War. One impact even before the War was the way the NAZI Party co opted German children beginning at age 10 with introduction into the Hitler Youth ("World War II: German Families"). This broke apart most families and eventually these families that had lost others would soon see the end as well.

A very shocking moment in people’s life is when they are kids and they live during the holocaust. Children in the holocaust were beaten, tortured and killed in either a concentration camp or death camp. If they did survive

At such an early age, children are taught about the Holocaust. They are taught things such as: ¨ The Holocaust is one of the most terrible events in human history. It occurred during World War II when Hitler was leader of Germany. Six million Jewish people were murdered by the Nazis. This included as many as 1 million Jewish children.¨ How difficult it must have been for small children to understand everything that went on. They couldn't. Being taken away from their parents, or being crammed into a gas chamber. Who could imagine? That would be like being killed just for being alive.

When the nazis came to power in germany everything changed for Jewish children. Jews were the special target of the Nazi policies, which caused the holocaust. Jews and their child suffered at the hands of the Nazis from the beginning.

     The Holocaust is one of the most horrifying crimes against humanity. "Hitler, in an attempt to establish the pure Aryan race, decided that all mentally ill, gypsies, non supporters of Nazism, and Jews were to be eliminated from the German population. He proceeded to reach his goal in a systematic scheme." (Bauer, 58) One of his main methods of exterminating these ‘undesirables' was through the use of concentration and death camps. In January of 1941, Adolf Hitler and his top officials decided to make their 'final solution' a reality. Their goal was to eliminate the Jews and the ‘unpure' from the entire population. Auschwitz was the largest

Usually, children from the holocaust went through many trials before finding salvation, and most did not make it. Though the children were required to be physically fit and healthy to be able to live through this part of history, they were not the only concepts you needed to undergo survival. Having emotional strength was important at this time. Because the children had beliefs, hopes and dreams, they had the