Corey Doucette

Mr. Hawkins
Modern World History P, Period 2
8 April 2016
Liberation
The Holocaust was a long period of time when the Third Reich of Germany had released
a vendetta against all Jewish, Slavic, and disabled people in the 1930s-1940s. The Nazis had put
people that they thought to be inferior to themselves into things called concentration camps.
Concentration camps were prison camps that would use their prisoners as slaves and the guards
that worked in the concentration camps would kill any prisoner they wanted to, whenever they
wanted to. They treated these people incredibly cruel just because of their religion, disability, or
ethnicity. It was an extremely difficult and depressing time that had caused many problems for
everyone that was involved. It was one of the grimmest moments in all of history because of how
many people had been killed for absolutely no reason. These concentration camps were the
center of these hardships and problems, and it wasnt until later that the camps were liberated by
the United States, Russia, and Britain. After the camps were liberated there was a staggering
amount of people who were overjoyed, cheated, and dying.
When the camps were liberated there were many people who had been held captive that
were absolutely overjoyed because of their new found freedom. An example of how happy it
made people when they were liberated would be When [the American soldiers] finally came
in and you saw the jeeps roll in, you saw the different uniforms, you realized its over.

Tremendous, tremendous high. As a matter of fact, I dont even remember being hungry!
(Website 2), the person who said this was a survivor of the concentration camps. This survivor
states that they felt a tremendous high when they were being liberated by US soldiers showing
how grateful they had been to be free. The tremendous high that they say they had was them
saying that they felt extremely happy and their adrenaline had been filled to the max because of
the sudden rush of hope. Another example would be The weather grew warmer, the sun
shone and the birds sang to us in our new-found freedom. I was a young girl again. One
interest eclipsed all others: boysLife flowed easily in the former barracksWe thought
neither of the past nor of the future (Website 2), this was another survivor of the Nazi
concentration camps. She talks about how her life had became better after being liberated
because she was now free to do what she wanted and not worry about being randomly killed by
one of the guards. She also talks about how they thought not of the future or of the past, they
only thought of the joy they felt when they were initially liberated. The final example is the
[Nazi] boss was running and he [the American] shot him. I still see him lying there, with his
beautiful shiny boots that I was shining an hour before. And I had no pity on him. And we
were liberated and he said, Everybody goes! And everybody went crazy. Crazy! (Website
2), this was another survivor of the concentration camps. She states that she saw the leader of the
camp that she was liberated from be shot and killed and that she believed he deserved it because
of the terrible things that the people did under his command. This an example of how they were
overjoyed because when the American soldier tells everyone to go, they all listen and go crazy
with happiness to be free. Even though liberation had caused people to feel a rush of joy, it also
caused many people to feel that they were cheated because they did not get to feel the initial rush
of freedom.

Many people during that time were sick and they were not able to see the troops rushing
in to save them from their captivity. For example, a person that was ill during the time of
liberation states that I felt cheated for not having the memory of experiencing the initial
exhilarating moment of liberation (Website 2), even though liberation was a very good thing
that had occurred, half of the joy that people got from it was seeing the ones who had previously
tortured them get the revenge that they deserved. Since they were ill during the time of liberation
they could not feel the complete satisfaction that the others who had experienced it did. This
caused many to feel cheated out of their enjoyment for the end of the people that they had hated.
Another example of how people felt cheated is One of the saddest things of my life has been
that I have no recollection of the liberation because I was totally ill with the typhus
(Website 2), this survivor was ill during the time of liberation so they do not have any memory
of it. This causes them to feel like they werent really any part of the liberation, or that they do
not feel as free as the others do. This sense of emptiness even though they are still free makes
them feel that they never really experienced freedom, and they never felt the adrenaline that the
others had. Yet another example is Some prisoners fell ill before liberation and missed out
on the triumphant moment altogether (Website 2). One could not imagine the relief that the
prisoners who had witnessed the liberation felt at the time. This was why the prisoners who had
been ill during the time of liberation lose their chance to view the people that had caused them so
much pain and suffering. These are just a few examples of how people could have felt cheated
for never witnessing the liberation that had freed them from their pain, and there were also many
people who even after liberation had still suffered from illness.
Many of the troops that had liberated the camps did not bring any doctors or medication
to help the people that were ill. For example, a survivor said There were no doctors or drugs

(Website 2), the troops did not have the ability to bring doctors or any mediation to help the
people that are ill. This caused many problems because it means that for all of the people who are
sick and dying will not be able to g receive the proper medical care until later. This made it so
that even thought they were liberated, they still would die because if the way that they were
previously treated. Another example is They had to be very, very careful that they did not
eat too much food at once. Otherwise, it could kill them (Website 2), they are talking about
how the people that were kept in the concentration camps were so malnourished that when they
would eat their body would reject it and they would die from themselves. It is said that even after
liberation many people died from eating too much after such a long period of not eating enough.
This is a very sad fact because right after people saw hope and freedom right in front of them, it
was all taken away at their own expense. Another example of this is People were eating that
stuff and got diarrhea, and there was nothing in the world to stop itIt was like poison
(Website 2), this survivor states that after eating the food that the people would get diarrhea and
there wasnt anything that could help. Since the troops did not bring any medication, or doctors,
they were not able to help the people who were killing themselves without meaning to. It was
one of the hardest times for the people that had just been saved because they lost family in the
camps, but even after they were all freed, they still lost their family. Even if the liberation of the
concentration camps brought many people happiness, it also brought new challenges and caused
many hardships that the people now had to overcome.
The concentration camps were liberated and it brought so many people joy of finally
being free, but it also had the negative effect that people who didnt experience it at first felt
cheated and that even after they were freed, they would still die. The liberation of the
concentration camps freed the Jewish, the Slovaks, and the disabled from the man-made hell they

had to experience. The joy that everyone felt was overwhelming, but the amount of people dying
after it was equal in amount. Many people had died after liberation from their rescuers inability
to bring proper medical supplies to treat the people who were ill. Even if they did have the
proper treatment to treat those who were sick, they still had people who died from eating food.
The people who were freed were never able to go back to their normal lives.