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The HolocaustSamantha GillaspyCollege EnglishMr. Neuburger February 19, 2009

GillaspyThe Holocaust refers to the persecution and killing of Jews in Europe by the Nazis. Along with the Jews, many of other people were killed such as: gypsies, thementally and physically disabled, Poles, homosexuals, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Soviet prisoners of war, and political dissidents. However, the Jews were targeted the most.Hitler and his Nazi soldiers killed approximately eleven million people, six million of those being Jews. The Holocaust lasted from 1933 to 1945. During this period of time,the Jews faced intense suffering at the hands of the Nazis. Many questions are brought upwhen the Holocaust is mentioned. In order to fully grasp the concept of this terribletragedy, one must know the answers to these questions and how Adolf Hitler came to power.Adolf Hitler was born on April 20, 1889 to Alois Hitler and Klara Polzl. He was born in an Austrian village of Braunau Am Inn. According to David Meier, “It is alsoremotely possible Adolf Hitler's grandfather was Jewish. Maria Schicklgruber was said tohave been employed as a cook in the household of a wealthy Jewish family namedFrankenberger. There is some speculation their 19 year old son got her pregnant andregularly sent her money after the birth of Alois. Adolf Hitler would never know for sure just who his grandfather was” (1). In May of 1895, Adolf went into the first grade at a public school. His school was in the village of Fischlham, near Linz Austria. Also in1895, Hitler had two life changing events happen to him. First, he no longer was able toenjoy carefree, unrestrained days because he was now entering primary school, andsecond, his father had retired from the civil services so he was home all the time barkingout orders here and there. He was used to being able to tell orders and have them obeyed because of his ranking that he had in the service. His father could also be very abusive,2

Gillaspyverbally and some physically. The oldest boy, whose name was Alois Jr., got most of thetreatment. One day, when he was finally fed up with it all, he decided to run away fromhome, leaving the abuse to Adolf who was next in line. Adolf was only seven years old atthe time. Around this same time, the family had moved off of the farm and to Lambach,Austria. For Hitler, he hoped that this meant an end to chores, and a beginning to more play. Adolf started school at a Catholic Benedictine monastery in his new town and didvery well there. The monastery was decorated with carved stone and many swastikas soHitler saw these everyday. Hitler took part in the boys’ choir and very much liked wherehe was. He idolized the priests and as a small child, often wanted to become one. AsAdolf grew a bit older, he started finding himself getting into trouble. He was oncecaught smoking a cigarette in the bathroom but went unpunished because he wasforgiven. Hitler also enjoyed playing cowboys and Indians and loved to read books byKarl May which wrote about men defeating their enemy by sheer power and bravery. Heread over seventy novels. According to David Meier, “He continued to read them even asFührer. During the German attack on the Soviet Union he sometimes referred to theRussians as Redskins and ordered his officers to carry May's books about fightingIndians.” When asked, Hitler would describe himself as “an argumentative little ringleader who liked to stay outside and hang around with 'husky' boys” (1). In 1898, thefamily moved again, this time to the village of Leonding, close to Linz. New town meantnew school for Adolf. He found that he was still continuing to do well in school though.Hitler began to take an interest in art, especially sketching buildings. He was able to justlook at the building, memorize it, and then sketch it down on paper. According to DavidMeier, “One day, young Hitler went rummaging through his father's book collection and3