Essay On Jewish People During The Holocaust

The Holocaust was one of the most horrifying genocides in the 18th century. It was the greatest mass killing ever in History. The Holocaust had resistance but if you were a person that you were in a resistance there would be extreme retaliation if you were caught by the nazis and they will proceed more of the population to stop resistance against them. Even though they were getting smaller in numbers they wouldn’t stop fighting for their lives. Concentration camps and Jewish Ghettos were beginning to fight back and they were so prevailed even if they knew they had no chance against the nazis. Joseph Stalin heard about many resistances that were in Eastern Europe and he wanted to set an underground movement to occupy enemies but it did not work well at all. With the influx of the Jews that were in forests in hiding they would interfere with enemy communication by cutting off telephones, telegraphs and power stations. They did whatever they could stay alive as long as possible.

Jewish people were tortured, abused, and subjected through horrific unfathomable situations by Nazi Germany during the Holocaust. Despite all of the unpragmatic hardships Jews all over Europe faced, many stayed true to their faith and religion. There are numerous stories in which Jewish people tried to keep the roots of their religion well knowing the risk of torture and death. The never ending fear of Jewish people living in the Ghettos and trying to survive concentration camps was difficult, but not impossible for the Jews to keep religion.

Although the Jews tried to resist, many factors were against them, such as lack of weapons and resources, trickery, fear, and the crushing power of the Germans. Many people refused to participate in these uprisings, but for those who chose to rebel, they served as an example for all of camp residents. In Night this happened also when the three inhabitants were hung and shown to the entire camp. Those who conformed to justice paid the ultimate price, but with that other learned what not to do. They sacrificed themselves unknowingly for their

Spiritual resistance is defined as “attempts by individuals to maintain their humanity, personal integrity, and sense of civilization in the face of Nazi attempts to dehumanize and degrade them” by the United States Holocaust Museum (Spiritual). Spiritual resistance was highly regarded by many Jews, and most actually considered it to be the purest form of resistance because it was non-violent, and kept their spirits from being broken, even while facing horrible degradation. Examples of spiritual resistance include conducting religious services while in ghettos or concentration camps, keeping covert libraries of Jewish works, and establishing secret archives to report about daily life in the ghettos.

One key aspect of spiritual resistance I found inspiration was the soup kitchens and the people who ran them. Many Jews even quoted that to them “soup kitchens were more than just soup kitchens” as they did so much more in soup kitchens than just receive daily portions of food. The soup kitchens had a big impact on Jewish life within the ghettos as it was a place that reminded them to not only rise about the poor treatment they were receiving by Nazi’s but to also keep alive their cultural traditions and show empathy towards their fellow peers. Many people had a big role in maintaining the soup kitchens throughout the ghettos from the Jewish social self-help group known as the Żydowska Samopomoc Społeczna to the employees that were hired. This

Due to the inhumane methods towards the Jews during the Holocaust, many lost their faith and commitment to Judaism. Jews were appalled that God, who was supposed to be their savior, abandoned them in a time where they needed him the most. Although many Jews kept their faith and did not question God’s mysterious ways, many did not have the same outlook. People assume that hard times strengthen people’s faith, but that was not always the case. During great tragedy's, people’s faith may disintegrate and become completely absent from their minds. Many prisoners including Elie Wiesel could not accept God’s silence and rebelled against their religious upbringing during the Holocaust.

As I mentioned at the beginning, Jewish partisans are placed into two categories: Eastern and Western. There was no major resistance in Germany, due to the fact that everything was highly scrutinized by Hitler’s

The underground used mainly armed resistance to hurt the Germans. Armed resistance was fighting however they could and not letting others who couldn’t be passive "The fighters encouraged the ghetto population to fight back however they could" (Vashem). They mainly fought to keep their culture and to try every day to live longer and not go down without a fight.

Normally, people in the Jewish resistance would stand for themselves and their families. If those who were non Jewish got caught by the Nazis they would then get the same treatment as the Jews. There were many acts of resistance for the Jews, such as Warsaw ghetto, and various spiritual resistances. The Warsaw Ghetto inspired

Jews resisted in more ways through unarmed resistance than armed resistance, spiritual resistance was another form of nonviolent

To conclude, Jewish partisans, the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, and non-Jewish people led Jews to exemption. Day after day we are reminded of these terrible times. From political to comedic views, there is no way of forgetting what happened in Germany. It is an amazing feeling to know that there were some individuals who stood against the Nazis, proudly. Without those magnificent people, the war may have never ended, who knows? From young to old, big to small, this event had an impact on everyone’s hearts, and it continues to today. Maybe it is a lesson well learned, that making an impact and trying to help does not always turn out so

Jewish people fought against the Nazis, and did not always use violence. They used spiritual resistance to rebel without actually fighting. One example of spiritual resistance is the cultivation of secret libraries kept in many ghettos throughout Germany and Poland. One author states “Germans forbade religious services in most ghettos, so many Jews prayed and held ceremonies in secret … In Warsaw alone, in 1940, 600 Jewish prayer groups existed.” (“Spiritual Resistance”). These peaceful prayer groups where a form of unarmed resistance as they were going agains the Nazi’s orders, but not fighting

Resistance in the Holocaust At the time of the Holocaust, millions of Jews from several different places boarded trains bound for the unknown. Many had to work in forced labor, and millions of others were put to work and treated like farm animals. They were indifferent to the concentration camps. Many acts of resistance were documented during the Holocaust.

Germany in January 1933, believed that Germans were “racially superior” and that the Jews, were “inferior” and a threat. The Germans sent millions of Jews to concentration camps where they then exterminated them in cruel ways. However, there were resistance groups throughout Europe who fought against the Nazi’s rule in a variety of ways. Some people resisted the Nazi’s rule by helping Jews as well as attacking the Germans. During the Holocaust, there were many resistance groups that fought against the Nazi’s rule including the Bielski Group, White Rose Group, Polish Żegota Organization, and Jewish Defense Committee.

Persecution and Perseverance are displayed throughout Jewish history from the time of 1800 BCE to modern day. In the story of Abraham and the covenant with God, Hebrews suffered through the drought in Canaan, became slaves of the Egyptians, survived many plagues, fought for their land, had The Great Temple destroyed twice and, exiled from their promise land where the Jewish faith was banned. In more modern times Jewish people are still persecuted and discriminated against. The Holocaust took place from 1933-1945 which involved discrimination against Jews that lead to isolation and persecution. The Holocaust is one of the most remembered and important events that has lead to their overall perseverance. The Holocaust, was lead by Nazis Germany and their collaborators, to abolish mainly Jews living in Europe. The Nazis believed that they were superior and that the existence of Jews threatened them. Hitler sent Jews to concentration camps and the ghettos where they were forced into labour and were slaughtered in mass shootings or killed by carbon monoxide gas. All Jewish people's names were replaced with identification numbers and separated from their families. During the time of the Holocaust, it was very hard for Jewish people to have hope of survival and that there would be “light at the end of the tunnel” but, they never gave up or never gave in and persevered against the hatred towards them and the empt of completely annihilating all Jews. Another example of perseverance of Jewish people is after the destruction of The Great Temple which was seen as the center of the Jewish world/ faith, people thought that was the end of Judaism because it was known that If you couldn’t go to the temple, you weren’t upholding the covenant of the Jewish faith and with Yahweh. Once the temple was destroyed, the Jewish preserved against not having a place of worship and the era of “portable Judaism” was procreated. Synagogues were created as a place for Jews to worship. A synagogue was anywhere with a minimum of ten men and a Torah in a room. Synagogues are still used as a place of worship but are now more accessible and are filled with things such as stain glass windows which honor God by making the synagogue look beautiful