The Holocaust : The Causes Of The Holocaust

After WW2, there was a thing called the holocaust. There were many concentration camps all over Germany where many Jews were killed in different ways. It happened between WW1 and WW2, 1933-1945. My position on why this happened is that Germany was going through a rough time, so Hitler wanted their country to resemble power. Read on to learn more about the causes and ways the Holocaust could have been avoided.

The Holocaust was one of the most despicable acts of crime committed in history. It was the slaughtering of six million Jews along with other minority groups. Anti-semitism was on the rise in Germany due to one man, Adolf Hitler. The Nazi leader is known to be one of the most infamous dictators that were able to rise to power. Leading Germany, Hitler improved the economy, started World War II with the idea of Lebensraum, and exterminated Jews due to youth anti-semitic influences.

What causes conflict? Well, conflict is caused when there is a disagreement or miscommunication. The Holocaust was a huge and bloody disagreement that led to World War II and was a horrific event that took place in the 1930-1940’s. A man that we’ve probably all heard of, named Adolf Hitler, came into power and participated in the slaughter of nearly 6 million jews, 250,000 disabled, and 196,000-220,000 Gypsies (according to the National Holocaust Memorial Museum website). These deaths were all over the European continent that were under German rule. My position on the main cause for the Holocaust was that the end of World War I left Germany in poverty. With the government in corruption, the people were desperate for change, so they allowed Hitler into power with the belief that others could control him if he did something bad. This obviously wasn’t true.

As Elie Wiesel was taken through the Holocaust as a result of being a Jew, he began to ask himself this: “Blessed be God’s name? Why, but why would I bless him? Every fiber in me rebelled. Because he caused thousands of children to burn in his mass graves...Praise be Thy Holy Name, for having chosen us to be slaughtered on Thine altar,” (45). As many enter into wars and horrific events stemming from wars, they begin with strong and unwavering faith. As the war continues and nothing is relieved, people begin to question their faith as they lose sight of all hope. This loss of faith results in a shift in one’s mindset and point of view. As danger and violence seem to increase in wars, so does the struggle to maintain faith. As people continue on in horrible conditions for so long, they eventually reach a breaking point, causing them to abandon all hope, pride, or spirituality they have; because if their world is falling apart, being shattered, and becoming what seems to be unamendable, why has a leadership or a higher being not intervened? As wars continue to be waged throughout history, is has become apparent that the struggle to maintain faith is a theme seen universally as a result of dancing with violence, unsafety, and death.

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.

“Never shall I forget the little faces of the children, whose bodies turned into wreaths of smoke beneath a silent blue sky.”- Elie Wiesel, Holocaust survivor. The largest mass murder in all of human history is known as The Holocaust, or in Greek, stands for “sacrifice by fire.” After rising to power in 1933, Germany’s Nazi Party planned a highly organized strategy of prosecution, murder, and genocide targeting Jews specifically due to their “race.” Leaving nearly six million Jews and five million Slavs, homosexuals, Jehovah's Witnesses, Roma, disabled, and political and religious dissidents dead, The Holocaust was called the largest mass murder ever recorded in history, lasting for nearly twelve years.

The Holocaust was a horrific genocide that occured before and throughout World War II. This massacre was led by Adolf Hitler, a German politician who soon became the leader of the Nazi party. This genocide included specifically torturing innocent Jews and whoever got in the Nazis’ way. Unfortunately, this caused about eighteen million deaths overall.

Seventy-seven years ago marked the start of a disastrous world conflict, which left many countries in ruins. World War II was fought from 1939 to 1945 and caused an abundant amount of damage to the nations around the world (USHMM). Twenty-one years prior to this war, the first world conflict broke out and it left quite a mark. At the end of WWI, many countries were left in great economic debt. One country, in particular, was Germany. The country was blamed for starting the war in a treaty signed by the United States, Great Britain, and France. The Treaty of Versailles placed the blame on Germany and specified that a certain amount of money had to be paid to the three countries that signed the document. (around 33 billion U.S dollars) ("Holocaust Timeline."). Germany was also forced to downsize their army which made the country angry and defenseless. When a certain individual came into the picture, German citizens saw hope that he could rebuild and change Germany. This man would help Germany lower their unemployment rate and aid in getting their economy back to normal. This German political figure led over 11 million people to their deaths and caused one of the most known genocides known to mankind. This event is recognized today as the Holocaust.

Genocide, usually due to discrimination of some sort, can be due to one’s surroundings during childhood. For instance, Adolf Hitler grew up in an anti-Semitic neighborhood. A child’s mind is easily manipulated by his/her surrounding family and friends, so he was bound to believe the same. Hitler had also fought in World War I and blamed Germany’s loss on the Jews despite there being over 100,000 Jews fighting. He believed Jews were ruining German society and he became determined to “purify” Germany in any means necessary. That is what started the Holocaust. Jews weren’t the only ones involved in the Holocaust, though. Gypsies and homosexuals were also deemed as “impurities” and were rallied into camps. While Hitler’s main influence to participate

In learning about the Holocaust I have found that the causes of the Holocaust are just as important as the injustice itself. There are many reasons the Holocaust was allowed to happen and many reasons it had become inevitable.

After the Holocaust had ended, society wanted to reassure that something this tragic would never happen again. The term “Never Forget” was created to ensure that society would never do something like the Holocaust to happen again. The Holocaust had killed 13.5 million Jewish people due to Adolf Hitler believed Jewish people were not human. Humanity believes that something like the Holocaust won’t happen again, but after multiple shootings, bombings, and other actions people have done. These actions people have done proves that humanity has not learned from the Holocaust mistakes even though we think we have.

The "Holocaust" refers to the period from January 30, 1933, when Adolf Hitler became Chancellor of Germany, where he appointed at the same time Herman Göring as Minister of the Interior for the State of Prussia (“Corrections" 1999). This allowed Göring to control two-thirds of the country Berlin, “commissioner for aviation,” and “commander-in-chief of the Prussian police” regime (“Corrections" 1999). The leniency of laws for police allowed dishonest cops to commit lawless acts of violence and thievery on its citizens while terrorizing the Jews (“The Gestapo is Born”). Consequently, when Göring ordered the removal of unlawful police from their departments, the overflow of arrest held in “protective custody” maximized the capacity of prisons. In essence, this led to the origin of the “concentration camp system” (“The Gestapo is Born”).

Elie Wiesel once said, “We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.” This quote speaks for all of the survivors, or prisoners of war (POW), for remembering what they have suffered through, and for those who just stood by and turned the other cheek. It tells survivors that they must raise consciousness to let the world know that such barbarism exists. On the other hand, not telling the world means that they are letting the enemies win or get away with their malpractices. Such cruelties occurs behind each interment camp, yet the world did nothing. Cruelties such as forced labor, gas chambers or random shootings as they, the Nazi soldiers, would feel like it, and more. How did the world remain silent throughout the chaos of the Holocaust? How did the world remain silent even after the Holocaust? Instead of keeping silent, confront anti-Semitism and prevent genocide, and remember the survivors and victims. By shattering the silence and confronting the enemy, the world grows stronger and fight for what is morally right.

Known as one of the most horrific events in history, World War II (WW2) caused tremendous adversity and suffering amongst the lives of people across the globe. However, what is most concerning about the war, was what happened behind closed doors, specifically within Germany. The Holocaust is still considered one the worst ethnic cleansing attacks in the world. Although there is an endless amount of research and hard evidence of the Holocaust occurring, certain groups of individuals strongly reject it. Known as “Holocaust Denial”, this conspiracy theory has always been personally intriguing due to several reasons and will be analyzed more thoroughly.

In Germany many collaborators aided in the implementation of the Holocaust from the civil government agencies and business communities. “Local cooperation and leadership were essential to the success ‘coordination.’ so was a bombardment of propaganda from party-controlled newspaper and publicity enthusiastic” (Bergen 82) shows the local community was excited about a new dynamic movement and an explanation to the defeat in the world war. Newspaper, magazines, and films agencies picked up on the propaganda. Adolf Hitler also had close ties with large companies who looked out and helped implement the holocaust like  I.G. Farben, Bayer, IBM, Daimler-Benz, Krupp, and Volkswagen. The Nazis campaign received a large fund from I.G. Farben and even helped popularize their propaganda in the early stages. Therefore Hitler compromised by sending Nazis prisoners to occupy the manufacturing plants of IG Farben. Volkswagen also were compromised with hundreds of Nazis prisoners to work in their manufacturing camps like the many others during the Nazis reign. Those prisoners weren't treated any differently as many of them died from being overworked, lack of essential nutrients, and even beaten. The German business communities were originally suspicious of the Nazis, but over time became comfortable with aiding the Nazis which contributed to carrying out the genocide in Germany. They were primarily motivated by the antisemitism that gradually became encouraged in Europe and the civil