Holocaust Human Behavior

Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel once stated, “No human race is superior; no religious faith inferior. All collective judgements are wrong. Only racists make them.” Imagine being discriminated against for something you couldn’t control; like the way you look or talk, what you believe in or the way you live, how would that make you feel? Now imagine being dehumanized for that something you can’t change. It may sound preposterous, but during the holocaust that’s precisely what happened. The dehumanization of the Jewish midst the Holocaust is vital to learn about because it enlightens us on the unfair bigotry, ghastly living conditions, and how the Jewish had their identity stripped away.

Imagine being treated like cattle - living one’s life inside a fence, starved, killed for no reason. Would one hang on to their humanity, or would they let go of their hope, their compassion, their faith? From 1939 to 1945, the Nazi German military systematically kidnapped, tortured and killed millions of Jews in their twisted effort to racially purify Germany. This genocide has come to be known as the Holocaust. During the Holocaust, millions of Jews were mercilessly beaten, sadistically experimented upon, and killed for pleasure. Through these three ways, the Jewish people were treated as subhuman; through these three ways, the Jewish people began to believe it themselves.

It all started almost eighty years ago and the history of it will never be forgotten. The Holocaust was the mass murder of approximately six million Jews that took place during World War II. There were nine million Jews who lived in Europe before the Holocaust, that means approximately two-thirds of them were killed. There were over one million Jewish children that were killed in the Holocaust, and there were almost two million Jewish women and three million Jewish men were also killed in the Holocaust. The Holocaust was controlled by a man named Adolf Hitler and his army of men who helped him. They were called the National Socialist German Workers, also known as “The Nazi Party” for short.

Self identity has been a major part of the human race, even before advancements in the state of human society. These advancements are also known as human civilization, but with civilization also comes dehumanization. Dehumanization is simply the act of treating someone as if they were less than human and not worthy of humane treatment. History has produced many examples of this treatment. For example, the fight for women’s suffrage, the Holocaust, and the civil rights movement were all products of people being treated less than human or people being treated without moral consideration. Many people became divided nations because half of the population supported a certain type of dehumanization and the other half was against it, ultimately causing

The Holocaust began on January 30, 1933, when Adolf Hitler became chancellor of Germany, to May 8, 1945, when the war in Europe officially was over. About six million Jewish civilians perished because of it. There were some people that survived. What impact did the Holocaust have on its survivors? When the Holocaust ended, all survivors suffered from different emotions because they survived the tragedy. The survivors lost loved ones, and they had to keep that memory of the event with them for the rest of their lives. As a result of these emotions, they coped in many negative ways. Survivors of the Holocaust experienced guilt, isolated themselves, and suffered from a mental illness.

Psychological effects are associated with the mental health of the suvivors. Imagine a situation where you are housed with a lion in one room, what will you feel? Would you be comfortable? That feeling is the exact feeling that the victims of the holocaust were experiencing during the periods they lived in the camps (Levine 350-360). The mental health of the Holocaust survivors was indeed complex and varied. Literature about the Holocaust reveals there was shock upon the arrival in the death camps for the Jews. Their experience is next to the unexplainable. The only sure thing for them at that particular time was death. The Jews lived in fear, heightened because they lived like hunted animals. They were,

The Holocaust a tragic catastrophe in which six million Jews were brutally murdered by the Nazi regime. Who were the Nazi’s and what punishments were brought against these war time criminals. During the Holocaust the Nazis used a form of indoctrination that contrived others to believe that the Jews were the ones to blame for the country’s loss after WWI. This indoctrination then lead to the massive murder of the Jews. In later years to come the Nazi leaders were charged with many crimes.

When Hitler started the Holocaust, it made men turn against men just because of their race. During this time Hitler and the Nazis killed six million Jews and eleven million people in all. Even though so many people died, some people survived the Holocaust. Elie Wiesel, a Holocaust survivor, wrote a book called Night that is based on his childhood as he went through the Holocaust and had to make tough decisions to survive. This story took place in different concentration camps across Germany like Auschwitz and Buna.

Growing up a child is taught that it is essential to obey elders or higher authority. Throughout history, there have been events where a person's obedience to someone has caused the death of many. Some examples of these occurrences are the Holocaust, the Rwandan genocide, and many other mass killings that have happened. The one thing all these genocides have in common is that a leader has dictated over many others and have brought their followers to do hateful actions. These leaders have used many concepts to captivate their followers. Racism plays a vital role in blind obedience, but propaganda and the belief that all professionals are right are significant factors too.

At the Bronx High School of Science’s Holocaust Museum, there were many important pieces of evidence that revealed the horrors of the Holocaust. The artifact that struck me the most is a poster that shows a Nazi enemy stabbing the center of a Holy Bible with a dagger, and the words “This is the Enemy” printed underneath. This poster was designed by Barbara Marks in 1942 in Washington DC. The purpose of this artifact was to portray Nazi opposition to many religions in America. The image of propaganda depicts the Nazis as monstrous people who despised other religions, especially Judaism, and did whatever they could to eliminate the Jewish population. This artifact stood out to me because it helped me understand the main reason for the Holocaust.

Behavior of the individuals caused the Holocaust. There were different views about the Holocaust. Most of the Jews were scared while other races did not care about the Jews, but what they get out of the Holocaust. The Jews feared that Hitler would destroy their race completely. Ian Kershaw said “Terror alone would not have sufficed to quell objections, had the so called [Jewish Question] been an issue of importance, relevance, and above all self-interest to a large number of Germans” (qtd. in Causes and Motivations). The Jews were too scared to do anything. They were not able to do anything to prevent the Holocaust from happening. The Jewish leaders who were supposed to protect their race did not speak up against the hate that the Jews were

Chaim Chefer wrote, No other event in current history created so many stories of atrocities and horror as the Holocaust. Much has been written on the victimization of millions and the senseless murder of 11 million human beings. It is rare to find any sliver of goodness during that horrible time in history. Yet there are incredible stories of courage and humanity that are just beginning to be told… Just as we should never forget the horrors of the Holocaust, we should also never forget the heroes of the Holocaust... Most of the victims unfortunately had no control -- no choice in their destiny. The rescuers, on the other hand, had choices. They could have chosen to have looked the other way -- as many around the world did. But not the heroes.

The holocaust was one of the horrific events that came out of WWII which showed the barbaric nature of man. The holocaust was the systematic murder of millions of people including ethnic Jews, Poles, the Roma, Soviet prisoners, people with disabilities, homosexuals, and political and religious prisoners, which brought the number of Holocaust victims to more than 13.5 million; specifically, however, the holocaust describes the elimination of more than 6.5 million European Jews during World War II through a program of systematic, state-sponsored extermination committed by Adolf Hitler 's Nazi regime. The holocaust was terrible because individuals, organizations, and governments made choices that fostered hatred, legalized discrimination, and ultimately, allowed mass murder to occur. Art Spiegelman, author of Maus I and Maus II, does a great job illustrating how good Germans were at doing everything very systematically. It was implemented by the Nazis, not over night, but gradual as they “couldn’t [have] destroy[ed] everything at one time.” He illustrates the complex stages for the Jewish genocide through the eyewitness account his’s father, Vladek, ultimately showing the reader that the holocaust was not an accident, by any means. This essay will address the stages that led up to the holocaust according the to Art Spiegelman’s Maus I and Maus II, which includes: identifying the problem, the Jews, stripping away their rights, segregating them from society, and finally

Adolfo Kaminsky saved almost 10,000 children by creating counterfeits of legal documents through a Jewish resistance network he was recruited to in France. If he was caught helping helping the thousands of Jews escape, he would have been killed. However, being a Jew himself and recognizing the importance of having the right papers, he was ready to sacrifice his own life to save thousands of others. Kaminsky says, “‘The smallest error and you send someone to prison or death,’ he told me. ‘It’s a great responsibility. It’s heavy. It’s not at all a pleasure.’ Years later he’s still haunted by the work, explaining: ‘I think mostly of the people that I couldn’t save.’” This quote explains that his work was strenuous and tormenting, but he continued to forge papers to save the thousands of Jewish children who now had the opportunity to live their full lives. The work was tough on both his personal and family life. He could not disclose information about his work to any of his significant others, leading to a lack of any long-term relationship. However, he continued his work out of the kindness in his heart. Adolfo Kaminsky’s life work contributes to the theme that there are still good people in the world due to the fact that he risked his own life countless times to save countless

Adolfo Kaminsky saved almost 10,000 children by creating counterfeits of legal documents through a Jewish resistance network he was recruited to in France. While all the Jews were in danger of being captured, those who assisted them were too. Coming from a background of Russian Jews and being born in Argentina, he was also part of the misery. He along with millions of Jews were sent to concentration camps, however Adolfo and his family were rescued,due to the papers that they had from Argentina. Each of their passports came from Argentina, resulting in the government fighting for their protection. They were held hostage in a concentration camp for months, but due to these papers they were allowed to leave, while others walked towards their death. Being grateful for the blessings that god has given to his family, he became a god for the other Jewish children.His selfless acts rescued thousands of Jews from their despair, however he was dissatisfied with the fact that he did not have the ability to help any more Jewish children. Kaminsky once said “‘The smallest error and you send someone to prison or death,’ he told me. ‘It’s a great responsibility. It’s heavy. It’s not at all a pleasure.’ Years later he’s still haunted by the work, explaining: ‘I think mostly of the people that I couldn’t save.’” Although it was strenuous and enervating, the relieved faces of the