Holocaust Reflection

Spiritual resistance when referring to the Holocaust is extremely important to Judaism. “Spiritual resistance refers to attempts by individuals to maintain their humanity, personal integrity, dignity, and sense of civilization in the face of Nazi attempts to dehumanize and degrade them,”("Spiritual Resistance in the Ghettos"). Even though the Jewish people went through these dehumanizing and EGREGIOUS experiences, they continued religious and cultural practices.“Such religious, cultural, and

The holocaust took its toll on the lives of innumerable people. One particular survivor Elie Wiesel had his entire outlook on life changed not to mention his beliefs feeling and his innocence. His life was once a pleasant and comfort filled life, one with family and friends. A life worth living and a life that was filled with innocence and freedom of religion. He loved his religion as if it was life itself. He wanted to push himself to be more close to God but, that would soon change. As a result during Elie’s experience during the holocaust he changed from a religious, sensitive little boy to a spiritually dead , unemotional man.

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.

I also think the Holocaust helped with people’s faith. They were left with no answers for such a tragedy; it was up to them to test their faith and try to figure out exactly why this happened. It made them in my opinion, the strongest believers and observers of if God or a higher power is real. One can think of the Holocaust as a total destroyer of any hope but I believe everyone who lived through this held onto faith/hope and that is the reason why they made it out alive.

Many large Jewish communities still live around the world after the Holocaust, remaining just as religious as they were before. They still manage to find their faith in God despite the Holocaust and have been able to come to terms with its possible implications for their religion. This is a difficult thing to do, as they have had to adjust their beliefs to do so, meaning many non-Jews cannot agree with their continued belief in the Abrahamic God. Can it be considered unreasonable to keep your faith in God after such a horrific event?

The events of Holocaust were major developments in the religion of the Jews and their faith in God. Anger at God for his allowance of the suffering and doubts about his power to stop it came together to shatter their trust and belief in him. No one can place the blame upon the victims of the Holocaust, because these kind of events would invoke the same reaction in religiously observant people

Thesis Statement: The hardships that Elie Wiesel faced in the concentration camps lead him to lose faith, until after when realizing it was crucial to keep faith in God despite the horrendous events of the Holocaust.

During World War II, a Czechoslovakian Jewish girl named Edith Singer was able to survive the holocaust by her faith. Not only was she able to keep herself a live, but she also was able to push, and help other’s to survive. Edith does not lose her faith in God, and is able to transfer her faith into other’s that she cares for. Her faith also leads her to keep her mental health during the horrible times she and other Jewish people went through. The Nazi soldier’s did not give the Jewish people any type of mercy which made the holocaust even more horrific than anyone can imagine.

It is amazing to hear from the people who have actually survived the Holocaust. It shows us how much we still have to learn about the world and the civilizations and how hard it is to understand the reason why we do such things to our fellow human beings. "By 1945, two out of every three European Jews had been killed and the survivors continued to be oppressed." (Telles 51) In addition, thousands of political and religious dissidents such as communists, socialists, trade unionists, and Jehovah's Witnesses were persecuted for their beliefs and behavior and many of these individuals died as a result of maltreatment.

Holocaust Writings: How Does The Spirit Triumph? As humans, we are very limited physically and mentally but our spirit has a vast room of possibilities. World War 2 has just given our world untreatable wounds. The mass-murdering of six million Jewish people was called The Holocaust.

Since the start of the Nazi occupation in Europe, Jewish communities and individuals were struggling with survival, and fought for their existence. Many Jews tried to evade or overcome the degrading Nazi decrees, that stripped them of civil and human rights, triggered isolation and denied them a livelihood. The Nazis simply wanted to create a condition in which no human being, particularly Jewish, can live or even exist. For a long time, the Jews’ view on the sanctity of life, a duty to protect one’s life, encouraged them to endure the period of intense pain and suffering. From past experience, the Jews thought that the terrible events of the Nazis would pass, the same as the pogroms. Over a period of centuries, from the Crusades to the

The holocaust had a major effect on Judaism as a whole. This conflict between tragedy and faith is not new. Jewish history shows us that the jewish people have undergone the most terrible persecutions and genocide at the hands of many oppressors. Whether it be about the pogroms, crusades, destruction of the Temples, the jewish people have been at the brunt of the most terrible atrocities, and yet this does not shake their faith,Anti-Semitism was nothing new. This became even more evident with the unmasking of the holocaust.The philosophical question of “Shall the Judge of the earth not do justice?” applies just as much to the seemingly useless suffering of an individual as to that of six million individuals. If it could be dealt with on an individual basis before the Holocaust, why couldn 't it be dealt with in the same way afterwards? The difference is one of quantity, but the quality of the question remains the same.

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.

Nearly 6 million Jews were wiped off the face of the Earth as a part of Hitler’s Final Solution. Those who perished brought with them their traditions and faith, silenced by the Nazi killing machine. As a result of the inhumanities suffered by the Jews during the Holocaust, their faith in God would be extinguished. Ultimately, this silencing of hope and tradition in general would be the cause of death of thousands of Jews.

Concentration camps were horrible places filled with starvation, dangerous work, and death. After being taken out of the ghettos Jews were most often carted like caged animals to the camps. There, if not immediately sentenced to death during selection, the people were stripped of their identity and thrown into a situation no human deserves to be in. Many Jews either lost their faith or used it as a tool for survival. Many asked themselves, is there a god, or is this a test of faith? (Sheldon 1) Given