Holocaust Survivor Research Paper

85 years ago, over a 12 year period, nearly six million Jews were killed in a genocide called The Holocaust. The Holocaust was led by the Nazi Party and Adolf Hitler was their leader. The mass murders took place at concentration camps throughout Europe. The majority of concentration camps resided in Poland and Germany. Many people believe there were only a few concentration camps. “However, researchers found that the Nazis had actually established 20,000 camps between 1933 and 1945” (“How Many Camps,” n.d.). In this paper I will be discussing the largest concentration camp, Auschwitz-Birkenau.

Julian Bilecki was just a skinny teenager when he and his family hid 23 Jews in an underground bunker, saving them from Nazi death squads in war-torn Poland. In 1943, nearly all the families of the Jewish community in Podhajce, Eastern Galicia, about 3,000 Jews, were slaughtered by the Nazis. A little group - several of them children and teenagers - escaped from the Ghetto and survived the Nazi extermination finding their way to the Bilecki farm.

On March 19th, 1944, the Nazi’s invaded Hungary. Soon afterwards, Jewish families, like the Davidovitz’s, where forced to wear yellow armbands with the Star of David on them. Shortly after that, the Jews went to go live in the ghettos, overcrowded living areas with appalling living conditions. After about two weeks, those living in the ghettos were told they were taking a trip into Germany for work and to pack their things. Ibi, aged nineteen, was

As detailed by survivor's families, like Halina Zimm's, they faced the closure of schools and stores, making daily life nearly impossible. As she recalls, "1939 the Germans marched to Poland all schools were closed for the Jewish people and all the stores were closed" (YadVashem). Forced to flee, they lost everything along the way, enduring violence and confiscation. As Zimm recounts, they were “stabbed by a German” and “we arrived in Randolph, we had nothing" (YadVashem). Adopting false identities became the only means of survival, a decision burdened with risk, as Zimm's father realized they had to “pose as Christians" in order to stay under the radar (Yad Vashem).

I was born on February 1, 1932. Eleven months before Hitler was appointed Chancellor of Germany and fourteen months before the first Nazi concentration camp opened up. On my ninth birthday the German authorities started to round up all Polish Jews and send them to either the Warsaw Ghetto or concentration camps. The full effects of the Holocaust and World War II didn’t start to affect me until I was in the first grade.

There used to be places that were known for torture, forced labor, and murder. People were dragged out of their own homes to be brought there. These places were called concentration camps. They were the largest Nazi killing centers and they took the lives of over a million Jews. The camps are an important part of history that we will never forget.

The Holocaust was a dark period of time, occurring in the 20th century. It had began in the early 1930’s, and grew to become increasingly gruesome up until the mid-fourtees. The Holocaust was a mass murder of Jewish people, Romas, homosexuals, mentally and physically disabled, Jehovah’s witnesses, trade unionists and many other classes of people. Though the Holocaust was a very important part of history, there were many things distracting the German population, along with the rest of the world, leaving the Holocaust in the dark and left unknown.

“I pray you never stand at any crossroads in your own lives, but if you do, if the darkness seems so total, if you think there is no way out, remember, never ever give up. The darker the night, the brighter the dawn, and when it gets really, really dark, this is when one sees the true brilliance of the stars.” These words were spoken by Gerda Klein, a Holocaust survivor. Her story is filled with desperation and an overwhelming sense of hope. Gerda Weissmann was born in Bielsko, Poland. Both of her parents and her older brother died during the Holocaust. She was somehow able to survive “the ghetto, deportation, slave labor camps and a three month death march. She was rescued by an American soldier named Kurt Klein. She ended up marrying him and moving to the United States.

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

“The fact is they know I went through hell.” -Professor Bacharach, Holocaust Survivor. Ever since many centuries ago, Jewish people were treated unfairly and unjustly according to their religion and characteristics. The Holocaust was a fearful and painful genocide because of anti-semitism throughout European countries. Up to six million Jews died in the harrowing genocide, along with the death of many other religious and ethnical groups ("Documenting Numbers of Victims of the Holocaust and Nazi Persecution"). As much as a fraction of the number of Jews survived. With much grief and sorrow during the Holocaust, the survivors had to suffer the emotional and physical trauma after the event. Survivors had to face the reality of rebuilding their lives after the

One of the many important and most memorable incidents of World War Two would be the Holocaust. During the Holocaust, the Germans who were known as the Nazis, considered the Jews to be “enemy aliens”. As part of this, the Nazis thought that “Aryans” were a master race. Therefore, they decided to destroy the Jewish race, and created genocide. The Jews were put into unbearable torture at many concentration and death camps. In fact, 6 million Jews were killed in this incident; however, there were many victims who survived this anguish. One of the many survivors was Simon Wiesenthal, who survived the Nazi death camps and began his career as a Nazi hunter.

The Holocaust was one of the twentieth century's greatest tragedies that were made possible by anti-Semitism, the indifference of other nations, isolationism politics, and outright fear.

The Holocaust was one of the most tragic events in history which ended many innocent Jewish lives. Six million Jews plus many more were completely wiped out due to the effects of the Holocaust. It is still unforgivable for the things the Nazi party did and is still a very questionable subject on how they were able to accomplish such devastation. To be able to organize the removal of an entire population of people based on their religion not only takes high intelligence, but most of all takes a very twisted and demented outlook on life. Learning about the holocaust and the people involved is very important, as well as how it has affected our world today. There are many very fascinating things about the holocaust but three

Anti-Semitism in Europe did not begin with Adolf Hitler. Though use of the term itself

Who survived the holocaust? What are their lives like today? What has been the government's response towards those who survived after World War II? Have the survivors kept their faith? How has the survivors next generation been affected? The survivors of the holocaust were deeply effected by the trauma they encountered. This unforgettable experience influenced their lives, those around them, and even their descendants.