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The Holocaust And The Holocaust

Decent Essays

The inherent result of a massive event in human history is that those involved have many stories, lessons, and testimonials to pass on to others. The Holocaust, perhaps, has one of the biggest collection of testimonials and facts given via the word of mouth or writings out of any singular event. Survivors from all over Europe have given their thoughts for decades now, and there’s no shortage of places to find them. One interesting testimonial comes from Renate Vambery in 1996, over 50 years since the end of World War II. She was born in Germany in 1916 to her father, a lawyer and officer in the German armed forces during World War I, and her mother, a homemaker and designer. During her growing years, the Nazis became rising to power. Even before Hitler took control of Germany, her school teachers were professing the rhetoric of the Nazi Party. Renate, who was Jewish, once painted Jesus on the cross for an art project, which angered her teacher so much that he screamed and threw art supplies across the room. Later, her mother lost her voting rights. Despite all this, Renate was still not fully aware about the implications of the changing tide in Germany, saying “I didn’t know I was going to lose all my non-Jewish friends until it actually happened.” This was also reinforced in her reflections during the interview, where she said that she—and many others—were unaware about the extent of concentration camps. All of her friends became Nazis by the time she was 19, and around

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