Research Paper Holocaust Overview

Logan Christiansen

Eng Comp 102-106 Mr. Neuburger 2 April 2012

Christiansen The Treaty of Versailles was the solution at the end of World War I, but it was also the beginning of something much worse. Many know that the Holocaust occurred, but many do not know why and how such atrocious events could be allowed to happen. When taking a closer look at the events that happened before and during the Holocaust one can begin to understand how to avoid it in the future. The Nazis rise to power

When the National Socialist German Worker party began to form Germany was in one of the worst depressions they had ever known. This depression was due to the Treaty of Versailles which laid most of the blame for WWI on Germany. This treaty was the only option besides being invaded by neighboring countries. As shown in The United States Memorial Holocaust Museum, in the article Hitler Comes to Power the treaty may have caused more harm than good in the long run, Among other provisions, Germany accepts responsibility for the war and agrees to make huge payments (known as reparations), limit its military to
Weimar hyperinflation caused people to begin using marks as wallpaper. Source: Copyright 1981 by George J. W. Goodman.

100,000 troops, and transfer territory to its neighbors. This led to extreme malcontent among the German people, making a ripe

political atmosphere for extreme parties. Shortly after, in 1929, New Yorks stock market crashed, leaving the entire world in a crippling depression. Germany, already stretched thin, was at a breaking point and life became almost unbearable for the common German people. The German mark became so useless; some used it as wallpaper, possibly to show the one thing it was good for. USHMMs Hitler Comes

Christiansen to Power, shows exactly how popular the Nazi party became at this point, Economic distress contributes to a meteoric rise in the support for the Nazi party. As a result, the Nazi party wins the votes of almost 40 of the electorate in the Reichstag (German parliament) elections of July 1932.(USHMM) The German people and their spirits were at an all-time low, and desperate times call for

desperate measures. In the beginning of the Nazi Partys career, they were less than popular and did not gain many votes at election time. But according to Yad Vashems Rise of the Nazis and Beginning of Persecution, they were at the peak of a good environment for such an extreme group, frustration, together with intransigent resistance and warnings about the surging menace of Communism, created fertile soil for the growth of radical right-wing groups in Germany, spawning entities such as the Nazi Party.(Yad Vashem) After the party tried to start a revolt and tried to take over Munich, Hitler, who had become their charismatic and extreme leader, was sent to jail. While there, he wrote Mein Kampf, which was a mad mans rant against what he saw as injustices against Germany. When he got out of jail, Hitler realized that the only way to claim power was to use democracy and try to win over the people. It was merely a tool that barely worked early on and eventually only enough for him to claim the chancellorship. Yad Vashems article Rise of the Nazis and the Beginning of Persecution shows just how few votes the party initially got, In the 1924 Reichstag elections, the Nazi Party received three percent of the votes cast and was represented in the parliament by fourteen delegates.(Yad Vashem) But it was enough to gain a foothold and begin their rise and domination of Germany. Later on though, after the Nazi party began to lose popularity among the people, the Nazis desperate for their only chance at power convince Paul Von Hindenburg to appoint Hitler as Germanys chancellor in 1933. And this, as it were for

Christiansen German Jews and many others, was the true beginning of a nightmare, and a horror tale for the rest of the world.(Yad Vashem)

How Nazis viewed Jews also known as Anti-Semitism Anti-Semitic is literally defined as discrimination against or prejudice or hostility toward Jews.(dictionary.com) although the Nazi Party may have taken it to an extreme never before precedent, it had been a part of societies long before the 1930s. Early Christians may have been the very first to persecute Jews, going as far as hanging them on a cross. The Christians believed that the Jews were responsible, for the also Jewish, man Jesus. This eventually became a widespread belief, and

Jews were continued to be punished much later on and would continue to be.

This poster says The Jew It was propaganda towards all Jewish people. Source: The Bremen Museum

At some point it became a popular belief that Jews were not everyone belonging to the religion, but it was officially claimed to be a race. No longer were you described Jewish merely because one went to a synagogue, it was of the blood, and therefore unshed able. On USHMM an article titled, Anti-Semitism: The Longest Hatred shows how this long term hatred can be used by many later on, All of these centuries of hatred were exploited by the Nazis and their allies during World War II culminating in the Holocaust, the systematic murder of Europes Jews.(USHMM)

Christiansen Hitler turned this hatred of Jews into something he could use. The Jews were eventually used as a scapegoat for all of Germanys problems. According to the Nazi party they were

worthy of hatred because they stole money from the poor, would not share their wealth, and were at fault for WWI and its conclusion of the Treaty of Versailles, not to mention they had killed Jesus.(USHMM) Nuremburg Race Laws After Hitler came to power he quickly implemented his plan to separate the Jews from the rest of the population. The new laws were announced in Nuremburg in 1935 according to USHMMs article The Nuremburg Race Laws.(USHMM) This was only two years after Hitler became chancellor, but it had been
The rally of Nuremburg where the race laws were announced. Source:USHMM The Nuremburg Race Laws

many years that Hitler had preached their necessity with violent These new laws rendered the Jewish people no

longer part of the German population. They were neither allowed to marry nor have relations with non-Jewish Germans. In this way they were firstly literally separated by law from their homes and their country. Along with this many of their basic rights were taken away, such as not being allowed to own property. This along with many other laws rendered them virtually helpless and homeless. Jewish children were also denied the right to go to public schools. Nuremburg laws also determined how someone was legally considered Jewish. It was not determined by ones religious beliefs nor if you even practiced Judaism. USHMMs The Nuremburg Race Laws states exactly the requirements:

Christiansen Instead, anyone who had three or four Jewish grandparents was defined as a Jew,

regardless of whether that individual identified himself or herself as a Jew or belonged to the Jewish religious community. Many Germans who had not practiced Judaism for years found themselves caught in the grip of Nazi terror. Even people with Jewish grandparents who had converted to Christianity were defined as Jews.(USHMM) Jews were required to carry identification everywhere they went to warn others of their religion. Later on they had to wear armbands with Davids star on it. Eventually the law came to include looks and race to be included with Jewish. Blacks, Gypsies and anyone who might produce offspring of questionable racial children were then included. These laws were just a small part of breaking apart the communities, and belittling the Jewish people and anyone else who fell under their hated category. Ghettos The Ghettos were originally an attempt to organize and gather all the Jews together. Ghettos were the answer to Nazis question of what to do with the Jews at the time. In 1939 several cities were ordered to put the Jews in special designated communities. They were living communities that were set aside for Jews. These communities were surrounded by brick walls and barbed wire. Jews were not allowed to come or go and had to have special passes to do many things. Priotrokow was the first camp that was set up. All the Jews surrounding the area were confiscated of all items and sent into the area with virtually nothing. This was a recipe for fear and poverty. According to A Film Unfinished, which is an unfinished documentary made by the Germans intended for propaganda purposes, some Jews were living in comfort while leaving

Christiansen others out to starve. A Film Unfinished shows how untrue and how poor they were. Most of the scenes intended for use were staged, such as a hopping party in which many healthy young Jews feast and dance. In reality people were dying on the streets daily and no one
A child starves in the street of the Warsaw Ghetto. Source: History 317

was getting enough food. Overcrowding was a major problem and Germans were left ignorant. Some

wondered where the Jews had gone and what it was really like, but none were in a position to oppose these new decrees.(A Film Unfinished) Wannsee Conference The Final Solution No one knew exactly what the Nazis had in mind for the Jews until the Wannsee Conference. This is when they decided exactly what they were going to do about what they considered their biggest problem: The Jews. In 1942 all of the highest ranking Nazi officials gathered to discuss the question of a solution. Hitler was not actually present at this meeting but it was his word that passed down the actually implementation of The Final Solution which was also

known as the complete destruction and eradication of Jews as a race. The genocide was discussed at the

The building where the Wannsee Conference was held and the Final Solution was decided. Source: Conversations about the Holocaust

meeting and not at all questioned by officials from many parts of the country. Here they decided how it would be done and at what rate as well as to get the cooperation of officials they would need.

Christiansen Many were not surprised according to USHMMs Wannsee Conference and The Final Solution, as they say here, Others were aware that units of the German Army and the SS and police were killing Jews in Serbia. None of the officials present at the meeting objected to the Final Solution policy that Heydrich announced.(USHMM) Thousands of Jews were already being murdered and this was the expected outcome. Mass murder was being implemented even before the Wannsee Conference. The Jews were to be transported to Poland and the Soviet Union where they would be

sent to death camps or murdered. They were to use the Jews in Labor camps to make them build roads; by this method they could use natural exhaustion to kill them. They had to make sure that those who didnt die of natural causes were exterminated as well considering they may produce the next generation of Jews. The answer to their question was to permanently exterminate all Jews physically. Resistance Many wonder why the Jews did not fight back throughout the war and why they didnt stop them. It was a rapid change for the Jews, and by the time they knew they were facing the Final Solution it was mid
Here some Jews who escaped from Vilna Camp stand proud. Not all attempts were fruitless. Source: Jewish Resistance in concentration camps during WWII

1942. By this time they had spent possibly a year or two in the ghettos and were starving and or diseased. When

they tried to fight back there all they got was more starvation and no help from the outside world. By this logic it is easy to see why many believed the Gestapo when they were told they were

Christiansen going to labor camps and would be fed. Some were even offered food as an incentive. (Jewish Virtual Library) Many did actually take an active role in resisting the Nazis. Although they thought this would be a good idea at the time it also had consequences that they did not expect. When an uprising was started or one person did something to try and disrupt the order of things, not only did he get punished by execution but so did everyone else that was present. Collective responsibility scared many Jews into submission. Even when they were in death camps some did not give up hope. According to the Jewish Virtual Librarys article Jewish resistance to Nazi Genocide the Warsaw ghetto at one point had 1000 men that were willing to fight. Most were unarmed though, and ill prepared. In January 1943, the S.S. entered the ghetto to round up more Jews for shipment to the death camps. They were met by a volley of bombs, Molotov cocktails, and the bullets from a few firearms which had been smuggled into the ghettos. Twenty S.S. soldiers

were killed. The action encouraged a few members of the Polish resistance to support the uprising, and a few machine guns, some hand grenades, and about a hundred rifles and revolvers were smuggled in. (Jewish Virtual Library) Unfortunately there were 3000 reinforcements for the SS and the fight was virtually hope less. The camp did last for four weeks, but ended with very few Jewish survivors and the remaining sent to death camps.

Christiansen Extermination methods The Nazi party was not quite sure at first, exactly how they would kill off the Jews. They were looking for ways that left little evidence and caused minimal emotional damage to their men. When they first began executing Jews they used firing squads. Although this

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A firing squad executes Jews in such a way to avoid work with them already in their graves. Source: The Holocaust Bullets

was effective it was not only traumatic but left behind mass graves and clear evidence of what the Nazis were doing. The Final Solution implemented many different ways of killing off the Jews. Starvation accounted for nearly six million Jews, according to USHMMs The Final Solution. Starvation was used from the very beginning simply by separating the Jews in ghettos and letting the lack of food kill the Jews for them. When they moved on to gas vans, in which the Jews were put in the back and the exhaust was vented into the van, they found it was effective, but also a burden on the killers. Shooting squads were also difficult to deal with. The idea for Death Camps at this point became the focus of Nazis and they immediately began shipping Jews to their death. The journey there was arduous enough to kill of some before they even got there. Trains jam packed and with no facilities or water were sure to leave them sick, weak, and dead in some cases. When they got there some were gassed immediately in chambers with a gas called Zyclon B. In Auschwitz there were four chambers that were virtually in use the entire time. After the gas they were cremated and the chimneys rarely did not have smoke in them. Some camps used carbon monoxide as well. Death camps were eventually the main effort for their goal. This gas left little trace that it had been used and was perfect for their

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efforts. Others were worked to death or shot because they were so sick they could not work. At this point, no one is quite sure what is happening to the Jews, but it is clear that many are not coming back. Their brutal attack on Jews left millions dead. Also, homosexuals, gypsies, and anyone else that did not please the Nazis Aryan Race plan was also exterminated.(USHMM) Liberation These atrocities could not long be ignored by the rest of the world and rest easy on their conscience. By this time they all knew that something was being done with the Jews, and Germany was rapidly take control of Europe. It was not until Japan attacked Pearl Harbor that America decided to get involved. When allied troops began to moved toward the camps many of the prisoners were forced to march into the interior in Germany, possibly to try to hide them or exhaust many of them to death. The Soviets approached the death camps more quickly than the Germans thought, and in an attempt to hide the evidence of these death camps burnt the entire things to the ground. They did leave the gas chambers standing. Some of the camps had been dismantled in 1941 according to USHMMs Liberation of Nazi Camps, mainly because many of the Jews were already dead. In 1945 Auschwitz was liberated and many prisoners there survived although starving and diseased. There was abundant evidence of mass murder in Auschwitz. The retreating Germans had destroyed most of the warehouses in the camp, but in the remaining ones the Soviets found personal belongings of the victims. (USHMM. Liberation) many of the prisoners from Auschwitz were also found on
The Liberation of Dachau. Source: I survived Project

Christiansen death marches. After the liberation of these camps the Nazis and Hitler were seen for what they truly

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were, they were the scum of the earth. No one had quite realized the extent of their cruelty, but the remains of the death camps and the few prisoners that escaped, showed exactly to what lengths they were willing to go. Although the release of these prisoners was undoubtedly a good thing, many were left without homes, and without families. It was something that would forever leave a scar on the memory of the world. Some tried to go back where they came from, but it was no good, and their best alternative was to start over somewhere else. Eventually Israel was opened to them again and many found homes there. Let us not forget the lives that were ripped apart because of this. Even today genocide is a reality in small countries and places where difference is unacceptable. Let us do all that we can to prevent these atrocities from happening again. All human life is equal and the best we can learn from this situation is not to let it happen again.

Christiansen Works Cited "Anti-Semitism." Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com. Web. 18 Apr. 2012. "Anti-Semitism: The Longest Hatred." United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. USHMM. Web. 15 Apr. 2012. Berenbaum, Michael. "What Are the Concentration Camps?" Jewish Virtual Library. Jewish Virtual Library, 2008. Web. 06 Apr. 2012. "The "Final Solution"" United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. USHMM. Web. 20 Apr. 2012.

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Heilburn, Jacob. "Hitler's First Anti-Semitic Letter." The National Interest. The National Interest, 7 June 2011. Web. 20 Apr. 2012. "The Holocaust." Rise of the Nazis and Beginning of Persecution. Yad Vashem, 2012. Web. 15 Apr. 2012. "Holocaust Timeline: Resistance." Florida Center for Instructional Technology. Web. 20 Apr. 2012. "The Holocaust." Yad Vashem. Web. 14 Apr. 2012. "Hitler Comes to Power." United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. USHMM. Web. 13 Apr. 2012. <http://www.ushmm.org/outreach/en/article.php?ModuleId=10007671>. "Jewish Ghettos." Spartacus Educational. Web. 13 Apr. 2012.

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"Jewish Resistance to the Nazi Genocide." Jewish Virtual Library. Jewish Virtual Library. Web. 15 Apr. 2012. :Kaplan, Amanda. "A Film Unfinished." 18 Aug. 2010. The Immanent Frame. Accessed 20 Apr. 2012. "Nazi Propoganda and Cencorship." United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Web. 6 Apr. 2012. "The Nuremberg Race Laws." The Holocaust: A Learning Site for Students. Web. 15 Apr. 2012. Service, Hareetz. "Why Did Adolf Hitler Hate the Jews?" Haaretz.com. 7 Dec. 2009. Web. 15 Apr. 2012.

Logan, Your paper is interesting enough. You have a nice style and flair when you write. In the future, work at integrating sources more effectively. Signal when you start using a source with a signal phrase, and again when you stop with a parenthical citation. Also parenthically cite following direct quotes.
Score Points Available

40 20 40

Content paper demonstrates understanding and confidence about topic Sources uses only primary and secondary sources In-Text Citations integrates sources within text with effective use of signal words and phrases

34 20 27

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35 25 15 25

Formatting properly uses MLA formatting Works Cited works cited page has the required number of sources and is properly formatted Pictures uses pictures to enhance the text with effective captions and source information Writing Mechanics Paper is free from errors in spelling, punctuation, etc.

31 22 11 22
Total Score

Total = 200

167