The World Of The Holocaust

While examining the works of Elie Wiesel and Primo Levi it becomes apparent that the holocaust was a horrendous time in our human history. However, although both writers went through similar experiences during this time; both seem to reflect and dwell on things differently such as their point of view and lives in the camps as well as the different themes they focus on. In this analysis the stories of the two authors will be compared and as stated above will also focus on how they recount their experiences.

I chose this topic because it is the most interesting topic I have ever learned in school. Some people do not know the whole story of the Holocaust, they only know of bits and pieces. Most people know that Hitler rose to command and had a strong dislike of specific groups of people, which consequently began the Holocaust. The Holocaust changed the whole world’s perspective. Our fellow human were tortured, starved, and burned alive for being different from society. I wrote this essay to show that there is always another side to a story. Now I give you “The Holocaust Revealed”.

Prior to the holocaust, however, he exhibits none of these characteristics. He was kind, wealthy, and uncommonly resourceful, and his marriage to Anja was filled with compassion, intimacy, and love. Where now Vladek is now stubborn, irritable, and almost comically stingy with his money. His experiences in the Holocaust undoubtedly played a role in these dramatic personality changes. It wasn’t until the war started that Vladek got a little more precautious about a few things. Whenever a bad thing would happen, Vladek would remain hopeful and trusted that things would go well for him and his family in the long run. Even when Vladek had to fight in World War II and was put in a prisoner camp with the most terrible conditions he still seemed to keep faith. However, one can slowly notice how Vladek becomes cautious about food and any kind of valuable. It is natural because he couldn’t get much so he had to be very careful about wasting anything. At times, he was willing to share, but he quickly realized that he had to fight for himself to survive and that everyone was responsible for themselves. He became a little careful about who his real friends were. ---- need uote here

Treated like dirt through a majority of his life is all Shep Zitler knew, he was born into a religious family and a tough culture surrounding him, the Holocaust effected his life to the extreme but along with all his suffering and the tragedies in his life the Holocaust did not take him. He stuck by his believes and made it out alive.

The Holocaust was a dark time in human history. It was a time full of discrimination, and a time full of hate. An event that was caused by one man, an Adolf Hitler. In spite of this, the Holocaust, albeit a dark time, inspired artwork of many kinds with many meanings that we still see to this day. Artwork coming from those who lived through it, were inspired by it, respect those who went through it, and by those who mock it.

During the start of the Holocaust, Sighet Jews failed to believe that Nazi terrorism existed and would affect them. The Sighet Jews had been warned many times by Moishe the Beadle, a street beggar who Elie would see at the synagogue and converse with. Moishe taught Elie about Jewish Mysticism which Elie’s father did not believe he was ready to learn about. Wiesel’s father says “You are too young for that. The Maimonides tell us that one must be thirty before venturing into the world of Mysticism, a world fraught with peril. First you must study the basic subjects, those you are able to comprehend.” Though Elie’s father decided to also mention “There are no Kabbalists in Sighet.”(Wiesel 4) However, Moishe’s lessons to Elie would be taken away as he was classified as a foreign Jew and was forced by the Hungary Police as well as many others to be taken to the Galician Forest.

The Holocaust, 9/11, wars and assassinations are common events that come to mind when thinking about history. These events tend to make people think that mankind is evil and will always choose to be evil. However, when looking at the people behind the evil doings, are they really killing for a selfish reason? Mankind will always do good for their nation, no matter the cost. While most powerful leaders end up hurting many people, they either have good intentions behind the mask of people suffering or people come together to stop the leader. When Hitler ended up killing many Jews, countries came together as a nation to save the Jews from the camps. Good will overrule the horrible events in Earth’s past, present and future. Pearl Harbor, 9/11, and ISIS all have one thing in common, nationalism.

When people elevate to the status of citizen in their respective country, it’s surely a momentous occasion. However, once the title of citizen is acquired there are certain responsibilities that must be fulfilled. Tim Holden said "The Holocaust illustrates the consequences of prejudice, racism and stereotyping on a society. It forces us to examine the responsibilities of citizenship and confront the powerful ramifications of indifference and inaction"(Holden). Holden’s quote has a specific point that is incredibly important which is confronting the consequences of inaction. Anger and revulsion can arise from a variety of epicenters, but one that undoubtedly protrudes is Adolf Hitler throughout World War II. Inaction can be a godsend, but definitely has a dangerous side which held true during the Holocaust and still holds true today.

Since the beginning of civilization, man has attempted to rule, belittle, and destroy other men. One of the most appalling and prolific examples of this is the genocide know as the Holocaust. All over the world religions usually teach that all of civilization is equal and that we should all be cordial with each other, but monstrosities like Adolf Hitler broke those sacred laws. The Holocaust was a time period where a set of people were persecuted. While they were being persecuted World War Two was used as a smokescreen to conceal the horrors of the Holocaust. What lead to the Holocaust was Nazi ideology. Nazi ideology lead to the deaths of millions,and the ones that survived were left with permanent physical and mental scars. One person that was forever scarred for life was Gerda Weissman Klein.She was born in Bielsko, Poland, a town known for its textile industry. During the Holocaust, she was sent to Gross-Rosen camp system where she was treated like a slave and often told she was nothing. All the while she remained strong and not worthless, contradicting Hitler’s views.

17.5.1. The War’s Aftermath Hitler had promised in 1933 that in ten years one would not be able to recognize Germany. This came true, but in a negative way. Though the Allies were aware of the Nazi concentration camps during the war, it was only at the end of the war the whole story of the horror of the Holocaust was discovered. American General Eisenhower visited the death camps personally to see the extent of Nazi brutality.

“I think scars are like battle wounds- beautiful in a way. They show what you’ve been through and how strong you are for coming out of it”-Demi Lovato. On September 1st, 1939, Hitler invaded Poland which caused the start of World War II, and the official establishment of the Third Reich. The Third Reich was the Nazi German Empire that had hoped to achieve a total Aryan race and world domination. Many ethnic groups fell short to Nazi beliefs and were oppressed and destroyed. In order to establish ultimate Aryan perfection, Hitler needed to get rid of anyone he or his Nazi party thought were inferior to their cause. This included crippled, old, homosexuals, gypsies, mentally disabled, and the Jewish people. Over 11 million people were killed during this time, which would later be known in history as the Holocaust. The Holocaust is a known as the genocide and mass extermination against Jewish and other ethnic groups that were found inferior to the Nazi party. This terror lasted until the end of European war. The Holocaust is an extremely important even in our world’s history because it showed the origins of a threat, genocide, and the result of such horrible deeds.

From the terrorist attack on Paris, to the natural disasters in Haiti; there have been a variety of tragic events that have occurred throughout history across the world. Perhaps one main tragedy that leaves people feeling baffled is the Holocaust. Eric Lichtblau described the Holocaust in his article, The Holocaust Just Got More Shocking, as a genocide in which Adolf Hitler’s Nazi Germany and its associates killed around six million Jewish people because the Nazis believed that exterminating the Jewish people was justified. They believed this for the reason that Jewish people were not only a “low” and “evil” race, but were affecting the lives of the Germans negatively and blamed them for all the social and economic problems in Germany (Lichtblau). The puzzling part is what would make an authoritative figure, such as Adolf Hitler; do such an atrocious thing to a group of people? Social psychologist Stanley Milgram’s experiment on obedience to authority in 1963 analyzed what makes people obey orders. Milgram’s experiment found that factors such as the authority figure, the use of deception and the agentic state of the person can further explain why people obeyed Hitler to the point that induced the Holocaust.

World War II claimed around 60 million lives in the time from 1941 to 1945. Amazingly, upwards of fourteen percent of these lives were not victims of the largest war ever waged, but their lives were lost in the tragic genocide know as the Holocaust. The Nazis carried out this atrocity and they planed to kill anyone who was not apart of what was considered to be the master race. All those of non-Arian backgrounds were to be killed and the majority of the people executed were Jewish. Looking at the origins, conflicts, repercussions, and deniers of the Holocaust will help prevent future atrocities from occurring.

Tragic events strike the world in many different forms; from simple shootings to ethnic genocides. Although theses acts of hatred sound widespread and diverse in the cause; it is the indifference and ruthlessness that an individual portrays. This sort of behavior accommodates society and encourages people to accept and follow its routine and principles, such as the events that took place during the Holocaust. During the time period of 1933 to 1945, Adolf Hitler, an Austrian World War I veteran, decided to partake in twisted behavior. Hitler believed that in order to do his nation justice, the nation needed an ethnic cleansing. This ethnic cleansing involved choosing to degrade and torture the lives of millions of people and most of these people were Jews. However, not only did he kill and demean a certain group of people, he also encouraged others to follow behind him in his hatred. During the Holocaust people treated the Jews as if they were inferior human beings, or rather, animals as they were thrown in concentration camps under strict supervision and ripped from the arms of their loved ones (History). This horrific event, still today, does not seem to elude the memories and the thoughts of many Jews or those of anyone else whom were affected by this event. The events of the Holocaust changed the modern world’s perspective on human rights by demonstrating how cruel, remorseless, and apathetic humans can be.

The Holocaust was an ultimate abomination of Nazi racism that occurred between 1938 and 1945. The word Holocaust derived from the Greek word holokauston, which stands for a burnt sacrifice that is offered whole to God. The word was chosen for this occurrence because of the amount of dead bodies that were cremated in open fires by Nazis. The Holocaust was known for the mass murders of European Jews that took place during the Second World War. European Jews were the fundamental victims during the Holocaust and seemed to be the most targeted. In 1933, approximately nine million Jews lived in Europe and settle in 21 different countries. It eventually would be seized by Germany during the Second World War. By 1945, around five or six million European Jews had been brutally murdered. A majority of them died in concentration camps that were build primarily for Jews. However, Jews were not the only victims that were persecuted by Hitler’s and his Nazi regime. A half million Gypsies, mentally or physically disabled persons, and Soviet prisoners from war were also discriminated victims to Hitler’s Nazi genocide. Jehovah’s Witnesses and homosexuals were also persecuted in Europe.