The Forgotten Victims : The Holocaust

War and genocide: two tragic and devastating events that people often think of as vastly different. Where war usually reveals political difference, genocide demonstrates the idea of a certain party that desires to use mass destruction on another group. However, war and genocide have similarities which create uncertainty on how to define the event. “The Silent Holocaust”, more specifically known as the Guatemalan genocide of the Mayans, is a model example of confusion between war and genocide; many Mayans were killed, but the government claims the killings were justified. The Mayans’ fight for equality led the Guatemalan government to commit genocide against these people, by using the factors of the ongoing war as an excuse for the Mayan

Life for most homosexuals during the first half of the Twentieth century was one of hiding, being ever so careful to not give away their true feelings and predilections. Although the 1920s saw a brief moment of openness in American society, that was quickly destroyed with the progress of the Cold War, and by default, that of McCarthyism. The homosexuals of the 50s “felt the heavy weight of medical prejudice, police harassment and church condemnation … [and] were not able to challenge these authorities.” They were constantly battered, both physically and emotionally, by the society that surrounded them. The very mention or rumor of one’s homosexuality could lead to the loss of their family, their livelihood and, in some cases, their

It’s about the jews and how and what happened to them after the Holocaust. The Holocaust was the time where about six million jews and one million other people dying. Most people were killed because they belonged to different races and religions. The Nazis wanted to kill people that weren’t from their same religious group. The Nazis also killed people who disrespected Hitler. Hitler was the leader of the Nazi party.

Our project is for the other victims of the Holocaust. Shedding a light represents seeing what might not be seen normally, and that fits perfectly with our project because it’s a light box. It is made out of a shadow box,tracing paper, copic markers, and fairy lights. It took one person $28 and a few hours of work. The design was created by layering the tracing paper and only having colors on certain layers so they could, or couldn't be seen when the light is off.

The children in the Holocaust were more significant than most would think, because they are just children right? Well I disagree, I have been doing research about the children of the Holocaust and people should know a little about what happened to them… The Nazis occupied Europe and one of the first things they did was gather up all the kids they could find. Some were luckily taken away from where the Nazis were looking for the children , and some were hidden because that’s how they would keep the Jewish population alive. They were forced to work in concentration camps or were murdered, and not all of them were even Jewish, some were gypsies, mentally or physically ill German children (Yes,the Nazis DID kill their own German blood!), and Polish

The Holocaust was a terrifying time, it brought to light how important it was to fight for each other. Men and women either sat and stayed quiet out of fear or they got up and fought for what they believed in no matter the cost. These brave souls risked their lives and the lives of their families to save those prosecuted by the Nazis. They weren’t afraid to stand up to the Nazis. Some hid Jews in their homes, other snuck into ghettos and other places to help people in need. Some even falsified documents in order to help Jews escape. Individuals like these stand out in history for showing that standing up to oppressors can be done, and that it is the right thing to do as a part of the human race.

In the recent years there has been a growing concern about the impact of homophobia. In the United States, few endeavors were made to make backing bunches supporting gay and lesbian connections until after World War II, albeit prewar gay life prospered in urban focuses, for example, Greenwich Village and Harlem amid the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s. The interruptions of World War II permitted earlier detached gay men and ladies to meet as fighters, war laborers, and different volunteers evacuated from residential communities and posted around the world. More noteworthy mindfulness, combined with Senator Joseph McCarthy 's examination of gay people holding government occupations amid the mid 1950s, prompted the primary American-based political requests for reasonable treatment in psychological wellbeing, open strategy, and vocation. Until the passing of the Sexual Offences Bill in 1967, male homosexual activity was illegal. Gay men were frequently imprisoned for consensual sex with another man. Lesbianism was not illegal, but was similarly subject to public disapproval, or ignored.

Despite the dangers and difficulties involved, gay men and women were able to find places to meet. The Minorities Research Group (MRG) was formed in 1964, and provided isolated lesbians with resources and information about female homosexuality and the opportunity to meet other women” (Allan Horsfall 2014). “Through the 1980s, as the gay male community was decimated by the AIDS epidemic, demands

Sacrifice by fire. The Greek definition of the word Holocaust still serves as a haunting reminder of the tragic campaign waged by the Nazis during World War II, and their “systematic, state-sponsored persecution and murder” of six million Jews and others who didn’t fit the specific vision or “perfect race.”

Over the last two and a half millennia, the Jewish people have faced hardship and intolerance from various groups living beside them. A number of historians however believe that of all the atrocities committed against the Jewish people, none parallel the Holocaust. While these historians believe that the Holocaust was a unique occurrence, history rejects this notion of Nazi anti-semitism being an special incident.

Before Hitler and his Nazi party took over Germany to diminish all “evil” or “disgrace” from the country, it was one of the most open-minded countries to gay men and women. They could live freely without the constant fear of being persecuted or getting sentenced to prison. “Branded by the Pink Triangle” by Ken Setterington offers a perceptive of gay men who once were accepted in society had to fend for themselves and hide their true identity from the public if they wanted a chance to live a normal life. It also explains how they were mistreated once they were persecuted.

January, 1933 is when everything changed for homosexuals living in Germany. Homosexuals became heavily more scrutinized than previous years and even criminalized. Nazis began to crack down on homosexuals by introducing the law, Paragraph 175 which essentially made it illegal for any sexual acts or romantic relationship between two men. Homosexuals’ meeting places were continually being raided. With fear of being caught and arrested most homosexuals lost both heterosexual and homosexual friends. Those who they still recognized ignored them and passed by them on the street without a word. An anonymous homosexual recalls this, “In order not to mutually incriminate ourselves, we decided to no longer recognize each other. When we came across each

Many people look back on the Holocaust today and realize that so many abysmal and hideous things happened. The genocide of the Jews is known but what may be less well documented is Hitler’s design to eradicate all groups other than the blue-eyed, fair-haired Aryans. So many of them were forgotten and just pushed in with the major race of the Jews, who were said to be unworthy of life. The people were not ready, nor expecting to be forced into such an egregious state of being. Adolf Hitler excruciatingly persecuted every race that he thought was unsuitable for his dream of a Master Race.

In the year 1933, when Hitler becomes the leader of the third Reich, the Nazi Regime began to persecute not only Jews, but also all human beings considered racially inferior. German Homosexuals whose sexual orientation was considered an interference to the expansion of the German population were also persecuted and sent to concentration camps. German homosexuals were considered weak individuals unable to fight and unwilling to create a traditional German family. During the Nazi Regime, Paragraph 175 of the German Criminal Code prohibited sexual acts between men and considered Homosexuality an immoral act. “In Nazi ideology, homosexuality was not merely immoral, nor was it simply a set of acts defined in the penal code. Rather, it was a sickness, something that had to be cured. Homosexuals were separated from other prisoners in concentrations camps to prevent the spread of the “disease.” In Buchenwald, some were experimented upon with male hormones, a system of torture that yielded no medical gains. And, if the affliction couldn’t be cured, it would be erased. Castration became a kind of plea bargain, a humiliating, degrading way of avoiding the concentration camps.” (Retrieved from

Homosexuals were viewed as being unable to fill the roles of warrior and father that were essential to the Nazi ideal of Nordic manhood. Homosexuality was considered a disease by the Nazis, one they believed could be cured through hard labor, torture, and frequent intercourse with women (Feig 80). In order to justify the imprisonment of homosexuals, the Nazis strengthened Germany’s existent laws regarding sexual deviance. Following its amendment on January 28,1935, the famous Paragraph 175 stated: “A male who indulges in criminally indecent activities with another male or allows himself to participate in such activities will be punished with jail” (Plant 206). The paragraph goes on to include detailed situations that constituted “criminally indecent activities” as well as to suggest a sentence of no less than three years. This anti-gay law was stretched to its limit by the Nazi regime and eventually came to include such innocent gestures as hugging and smiling at other men under the title of “criminally indecent activities.” It is important to note that lesbians were not included under this law because they were still biologically capable of fulfilling their reproductive duties to the state, despite their sexual preference. Homosexual men were also biologically capable of reproduction but were considered diseased, unmanly, and unworthy of aiding in the procreation of the master race. The subordination of women was far

When we remember the Holocaust, the first thing that comes to mind is the genocide of the millions of Jews in Europe. Yet, we often forget about the other minorities also persecuted by Adolf Hitler and the Nazi party during their reign of terror. These minorities such as gypsies, criminals, anti-socials, Jehovah’s witnesses and homosexuals, continued to live fearfully and cautiously, often shamed into silence, after the war as they were still viewed with negative stigmas. In this research paper, I will be shedding light on the persecution of one group of these forgotten victims – the homosexuals. I will discuss the extent to which Nazi policies and actions against homosexuals compare to those against Jews and will be focusing on