what caused the holocaust essay


The Holocaust is also sometimes referred to as the Shoah, the Hebrew word for catastrophe.. However, beginning in 1941, German officials also deported Jews from other parts of Europe (including Germany) to some of these ghettos. Among other antisemitic measures, the Nazi German regime enacted discriminatory laws and organized violence targeting Germanys Jews. Following the defeat of the Germans in the First World War I, the Versailles Treaty inflicted more pressure on the wounded Germany. It also created puppet states in Slovakia and Croatia. The most famous of these is the. German authorities and their allies and collaborators also established ghettos in other parts of Europe. Hitler supported the racial anti-Semitism as opposed to the religious anti-Semitism which was the hatred that was directed towards the Jews who refused to be converted to Christianity. Other Nazi leaders were the ones who directly coordinated, planned, and implemented the mass murder. Most often individuals contributed to the Holocaust through inaction and indifference to the plight of their Jewish neighbors. Jews in the ghettos sought to maintain a sense of dignity and community. At the highest level, Adolf Hitler inspired, ordered, approved, and supported the genocide of Europes Jews. They often did so with the help of rescuers. However, Hitler did not act alone. Many others were afraid to do so because of postwar violence and antisemitism. Some were able to go home and chose to rebuild their lives in Europe. German authorities, with the help of their allies and collaborators, transported Jews from across Europe to these killing centers. Take care of your brother." Nazi prejudice against Jews drew upon all of these elements, but especially racial antisemitism. The Holocaust specifically refers to the systematic, state-sponsored persecution and murder of six million Jews. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. The Holocaust. They asserted that Aryans were locked in a struggle for existence with other, inferior races. In the immediate postwar period, those who could not or would not return home often found themselves living in displaced persons camps. The Nazis targeted Jews because the Nazis were radically antisemitic. It can be argued that Hitlers belief in anti-Semitism was one of the key aspects of his motivations (Lieberman, para 5). Once the propagandas became popular anti-Semitic sentiments gained momentum. However, there were also millions of other victims of Nazi persecution and murder. from place to place. The German dictator was known to be a very anti-Semitic character as reflected in his Mein Kampf. This means that they were prejudiced against and hated Jews. Typically, these units would enter a town and round up the Jewish civilians. But the Nazi persecution of Jews spread beyond Germany. The German units that perpetrated the mass shootings in eastern Europe included Einsatzgruppen (special task forces of the SS and police), Order Police battalions, and Waffen-SS units. Over the next two years, Germany invaded and occupied much of Europe, including western parts of the Soviet Union. Political enemies were the first to be incarcerated in Nazi concentration camps. They disguised their intentions by calling the transports to the killing centers resettlement actions or evacuation transports. In English, they are often referred to as deportations. Most of these deportations took place by train. Jews in the ghettos sought to maintain a sense of dignity and community. Attempts to document life in the ghettos, such as the, Many ghettos also had underground movements that carried out armed resistance. Many Holocaust survivors faced, Despite Nazi Germanys efforts to murder all the Jews of Europe, some Jews survived the Holocaust. 2009. These Germans participation in the Holocaust was motivated by enthusiasm, careerism, fear, greed, self-interest, antisemitism, and political ideals, among other factors. Herding Jews into slums, burning and taking their businesses and finally sending them to camps all became common (Rakoczy, para 4). While the Holocaust ended with the war, the legacy of terror and genocide did not. They often had to stand, sometimes for days, until the train reached its destination. This radicalization culminated in a plan that Nazi leaders referred to as the Final Solution to the Jewish Question. The Final Solution was the organized and systematic mass murder of European Jews. Blow, Louis. It ended in May 1945, when the Allied Powers defeated Nazi Germany in World War II. At Maly Trostenets, thousands of victims were also murdered in gas vans. Mass shooting operations took place in more than 1,500 cities, towns, and villages across eastern Europe. In particular, they blamed them for Germanys defeat in, However, the Nazis did not invent antisemitism. Retrieved on 20th October 2010 from; http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1353270/causes_of_the_holocaust.html. Retrieved on 20th October 2010 from; Holocaust.Web.28 Dec 2010 from; http://www.auschwitz.dk/anker /holocaust/. Germans also carried out mass shootings at killing sites in occupied eastern Europe. The Holocaust era began in January 1933 when. The holocaust is said to be a history of enduring horrors and sorrows as it reflects the extremes that human beings can go without any spark of human concern nor any act of humanity. To export a reference to this article please select a referencing stye below: If you are the original writer of this essay and no longer wish to have your work published on UKEssays.com then please: Our academic writing and marking services can help you! Finally, some Jews managed, against enormous odds, to survive imprisonment in concentration camps, ghettos, and even killing centers. Jews hiding places, unmasked false Christian. Many Germans. At these killing sites, Germans and local collaborators murdered tens of thousands of Jews from the Kovno, Riga, and Minsk ghettos. Theories of race, eugenics, and Social Darwinism falsely justified these hatreds. Any opinions, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of UKEssays.com. 2010. Nazi Germany did not perpetrate the Holocaust alone. Once the war began, the SS and its police affiliates became especially deadly. The obsession that Hitler had, of completely destroying the Jews has also been associated with the fact that He had suffered from syphilis while in Austria as a young boy which was not treated and it may have resurfaced in his later years. Rakoczy, Christy. This has been argued to be the largest scale of genocide to have ever been committed in human history. These auxiliary units were made up of local civilian, military, and police officials. German authorities originally established the ghettos to isolate and control the large local Jewish populations in occupied eastern Europe. The Nazi regime also targeted Germans whose activities were deemed harmful to German society. One method was, The Nazi German regime perpetrated mass shootings of civilians on a scale never seen before. Anne Frank Biography: Who was Anne Frank? In the 19th century, antisemites falsely claimed that Jews were responsible for many social and political ills in modern, industrial society. Many Holocaust survivors faced ongoing threats of violent antisemitism and displacement as they sought to build new lives. Special units disposed of the millions of corpses through mass burial, in burning pits, or by burning them in large, specially designed crematoria. Prewar and wartime territorial expansion eventually brought millions more Jewish people under German control. In addition the use of propaganda was extensive in the whole country especially against the Jews. Others denounced Jews for disobeying racist laws and regulations. In a nutshell, they include the anti-Semitism sentiments, demonization of the Jews, the Versailles Treaty with its economic woes on Germany, the Nazi regime and the subsequent the public support without leaving out the mental health of the Nazi leader that is said to have been aggravated by the untreated syphilis (Kimel, para 1). 2010. What was the Final Solution to the Jewish Question? Notably, in 1944, German and Hungarian authorities created temporary ghettos to centralize and control Jews prior to their deportation from Hungary. Among them were Hermann Gring, Heinrich Himmler, Reinhard Heydrich, and Adolf Eichmann. These Jews survived the war under harsh conditions after Soviet authorities deported them further east into the interior of the Soviet Union. The Nazis believed that the world was divided into distinct races and that some of these races were superior to others. Otherwise, the Nazis insisted, the Jewish race would permanently corrupt and destroy the German people. Typically, these units would enter a town and round up the Jewish civilians. Guards prevented Jews from leaving without permission. Some ghettos existed for years, but others existed only for months, weeks, or even days as holding sites prior to deportation or murder. Copyright 2003 - 2022 - UKEssays is a trading name of Business Bliss Consultants FZE, a company registered in United Arab Emirates. Jews frequently died en route from the inhumane conditions. The Allies also encountered and liberated the survivors of. Who were the other victims of Nazi persecution and mass murder? This, however, did not mean the end of antisemitism. They would then take the Jewish residents to the outskirts of the town. But before 1941, the systematic mass murder of all Jews was not Nazi policy. Before World War II, Germans considered to have supposedly unhealthy hereditary conditions were forcibly sterilized. The first group targeted by the Nazi regime consisted of political opponents. This exclusion contributed to stereotypes of Jews as outsiders. in newly conquered territories in eastern Europe following the German attack on the Soviet Union. German units tasked with murdering the local Jewish population moved throughout the region committing horrific massacres. The Holocaust was an evolving process that took place throughout Europe between 1933 and 1945. These German-backed collaborators included some local police forces, bureaucracies, and paramilitary units. German authorities often enclosed these areas by building walls or other barriers. walls or other barriers. Critical examination of Hitler indicates that he might have contracted syphilis in 1908 while in Vienna which only reappeared in 1935 when it was at the tertiary stage. The Nazi party generated extensive propaganda to this end. These German-backed units participated in massacres of Jews in eastern Europe (often voluntarily). Leo Schneidermandescribingarrival at Auschwitz, selection, and separation from his family. The German units that perpetrated the mass shootings in eastern Europe included. Attempts to document life in the ghettos, such as the Oneg Shabbat archive and clandestine photography, are powerful examples of spiritual resistance. Once the war began, Nazi policy radicalized. According to Goebbels and Hitler, propaganda was an important aspect since they reasoned that when lies are repeatedly heard, eventually they gain acceptance among the public. It is claimed that close to six million Jews were killed by the Nazi regime together with their accomplices. The terms allies and collaborators can also refer to individuals affiliated with these governments and organizations. A pictorial representation of the massacre during the holocaust. At that time, leaders in much of Christian Europe isolated Jews from most aspects of economic, social, and political life. The most famous of these is the Warsaw ghetto uprising in 1943. These policies varied. Ghettos were areas of cities or towns where German occupiers forced Jews to live in overcrowded and unsanitary conditions. those Jews who survived were often confronted with the traumatic reality of having lost their entire families and communities. Notably, in 1944, German and Hungarian authorities created temporary ghettos to centralize and control Jews prior to their deportation from Hungary. There were two main methods of killing. Beginning in June 1941, German officials also established them in newly conquered territories in eastern Europe following the German attack on the Soviet Union. As members of these institutions, countless German soldiers, policemen, civil servants, lawyers, judges, businessmen, engineers, and doctors and nurses chose to implement the regimes policies. There was little food and limited sanitation or medical care. The Holocaust specifically refers to the systematic, state-sponsored persecution and murder of six million Jews. These individuals motivations were wide-ranging: fear, self-interest, greed, revenge, antisemitism, and political and ideological beliefs. 2010. These Germans participation in the Holocaust was motivated by enthusiasm, careerism, fear, greed, self-interest, antisemitism, and political ideals, among other factors. to Nazi officials. They referred to this plan as the Final Solution to the Jewish Question.. (special task forces of the SS and police), provided logistical support and manpower. German and collaborating local authorities forced Jews of all ages into overcrowded railcars. Survival took a variety of forms. The regime also forcibly sterilized and persecuted Afro-Germans. Throughout the 1930s, the regime increasingly pressured Jews to emigrate. However, millions of Germans and other Europeans participated in the Holocaust. Retrieved on 20th October 2010 from; http://kimel.net/direct.html. The Nazis perpetrated mass murder against these groups. These sites included Fort IX in Kovno (Kaunas), the Rumbula and Bikernieki Forests in Riga, and Maly Trostenets near Minsk. Further, the Nazis believed that the so-called Jewish race was the most inferior and dangerous of all. Almost immediately, the Nazi German regime (which called itself the, But the Nazi persecution of Jews spread beyond Germany. These new forms included economic, nationalist, and racial antisemitism. The Holocaust (19331945) was the systematic, state-sponsored persecution and murder of six million European Jews by the Nazi German regime and its allies and collaborators. Sometimes, factories and workshops were established nearby in order to exploit the imprisoned Jews for forced labor. Looking for a flexible role? People with disabilities were also victimized by the Nazi regime. The holocaust did not just target the Jewish community but also other groups that were seen to be inferior including the Roma [Gypsies], the disabled, and people of Slavic origin. Ordinary Germans also participated in the Holocaust in a variety of ways. race. Kimel, Alexander. Some Jews whom German officials believed to be healthy and strong enough were selected for forced labor. Sometimes these individuals are called bystanders. Nazi Germanys allies and collaborators included: The terms allies and collaborators can also refer to individuals affiliated with these governments and organizations. at these killing sites. They often did so with the help of rescuers. As the Nazis extended their reach during World War II, millions of other Europeans were also subjected to Nazi brutality. The Holocaust began in Germany after Adolf Hitler was appointed chancellor in January 1933. This resulted in even more economical suffering for the Germans. In this context, allies refers to Axis countries officially allied with Nazi Germany. In many cases the railcars on the trains were freight cars; in other instances they were passenger cars. As Allied forces moved across Europe in a series of offensives, they overran concentration camps. The first group targeted by the Nazi regime consisted of, The Nazi regime also targeted Germans whose activities were deemed harmful to German society. Survival took a variety of forms. The instability of Germany under the Weimar Republic (19181933), the fear of communism, and the economic shocks of the Great Depression also made many Germans more open to Nazi ideas, including antisemitism. It was the last stage of the Holocaust and took place from 1941 to 1945. 2010. The Holocaust ended in May 1945 when the major Allied Powers (Great Britain, the United States, and the Soviet Union) defeated Nazi Germany in World War II. This prejudice was also widespread throughout Europe. Typically these were located near large cities. Such factors range from the social, economic, political and individual factors. This, however, did not mean the end of antisemitism. Once the war began, Nazi policy radicalized. In this context, allies refers to Axis countries officially allied with Nazi Germany. German authorities and their allies and collaborators also established ghettos in other parts of Europe. This included Roma (Gypsies), Poles (especially the Polish intelligentsia and elites), Soviet officials, and Soviet prisoners of war. They were accused of taking all the money for themselves. Lieberman, Daniel. inspired, ordered, approved, and supported the genocide of Europes Jews. Theories of race. Some Germans were receptive to these Nazi claims. Though many Jews were killed before the "Final Solution" began, the vast majority of Jewish victims were murdered during this period. 100 Raoul Wallenberg Place, SW Schools, libraries, communal welfare services, and religious institutions provided some measure of connection among residents. The perpetrators deprived them of food, water, bathrooms, heat, and medical care. No plagiarism, guaranteed! Next, they would force them to dig a mass grave or take them to mass graves prepared in advance. The Nazi German regime perpetrated mass shootings of civilians on a scale never seen before. Otherwise, the Nazis insisted, the Jewish race would permanently corrupt and destroy the German people. During the Evian conference that took place prior to the war, the US and Great Britain together with some other countries gathered to discuss the events in Germany and during this time, the Jews were allowed to voluntarily leave Germany in case they wished. They built these killing centers for the sole purpose of efficiently murdering Jews on a mass scale. Together these countries made up the European members of the Axis alliance, which also included Japan. But by August 1941, they had started massacring entire Jewish communities. By 1942as a result of annexations, invasions, occupations, and alliancesNazi Germany controlled most of Europe and parts of North Africa. There they liberated the surviving prisoners, many of whom were Jews. For example, approximately 200,000 Polish Jews fled the German occupation of Poland. Members of the Sicherheitsdienst (the SD), the Gestapo, the Criminal Police (Kripo), and the Order Police played particularly active and deadly roles in the mass murder of Europes Jews. This means that they were prejudiced against and hated Jews. The Nazis falsely accused Jews of causing Germanys social, economic, political, and cultural problems. Next, they would force them to dig a mass grave or take them to mass graves prepared in advance. The holocaust is regarded as a systematic, bureaucratic state sponsored persecution and murder that was directed towards the Jewish community in Europe just before the Second World War. By the time the Second World War came to a close, the Germans together with their associates had killed two in every three Jews as part of the Final Solution policy adopted by the Nazi regime (United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, para 3). The Holocaust era began in January 1933 when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party came to power in Germany. These forced marches consisted of groups of Jewish and non-Jewish concentration camp inmates who had been evacuated on foot from camps under SS guard. The Holocaust (19331945) was the systematic, state-sponsored persecution and murder of six million European Jews by the Nazi German regime and its allies and collaborators.1 The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum defines the years of the Holocaust as 19331945. Disclaimer: This is an example of a student written essay.Click here for sample essays written by our professional writers. Suspicion and discrimination rooted in religious prejudices continued in. The Nazi Final Solution to the Jewish Question (Endlsung der Judenfrage) was the deliberate and systematic mass murder of European Jews. Throughout Europe, there were non-Jews who took grave risks to help their Jewish neighbors, friends, and strangers survive. At all five killing centers, German officials forced some Jewish prisoners to assist in the killing process. Jehovahs Witnesses were also incarcerated in prisons and concentration camps. Nazi leaders relied upon German institutions and organizations; other Axis powers; local bureaucracies and institutions; and individuals. Josef Goebbels was made the Minister for propaganda by Hitler and he rose to become one of the most known figures amongst the public. At first, these units targeted Jewish men of military age. Ordinary Germans also participated in the Holocaust in a variety of ways. Tens of thousands of these victims were incarcerated in prisons and concentration camps. Nazi Germanys territorial expansion began in 19381939. Special units disposed of the millions of corpses through mass burial, in burning pits, or by burning them in large. They asserted that Aryans were locked in a struggle for existence with other, inferior races. Initially, they concentrated Jewish residents from within a city and the surrounding area or region. In particular, they blamed them for Germanys defeat in World War I (19141918). Jewish forced labor became a central feature of life in many ghettos. These included officials and members of other political parties and trade union activists. Guards prevented Jews from leaving without permission. The Nazis race-based definition of Jews included many persons who identified as Christians or did not practice Judaism. But in all instances, millions of people were persecuted simply because they were identified as Jewish. Between 1933 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its allies and collaborators implemented a wide range of anti-Jewish policies and measures. The Nazis targeted Jews because the Nazis were radically antisemitic. took hold in Europe in the 18th and 19th centuries. They called this process liquidation. It was part of the Final Solution to the Jewish Question. The majority of Jews in the ghettos were murdered either in mass shootings at nearby killing sites or after deportation to killing centers. Finally, German forces and/or local auxiliary units would shoot all of the men, women, and children into these pits. These governments passed their own antisemitic legislation and cooperated with German goals. Nazi control brought harsh policies and ultimately mass murder to Jewish civilians across Europe. Nazi Germany further extended its control by forming alliances with the governments of Italy, Hungary, Romania, and Bulgaria. The two largest were located in the occupied Polish cities of. Sometimes, these massacres involved the use of specially designed mobile gas vans. The Nazi regime employed extreme measures against groups considered to be racial, civilizational, or ideological enemies. other victims of Nazi persecution and murder, destroyed thousands of Jewish communities across Europe. If you need assistance with writing your essay, our professional essay writing service is here to help! The Nazis and their allies and collaborators murdered six million Jews. In English, killing centers are sometimes called extermination camps or death camps. Nazi Germany operated five killing centers: Chelmno, Belzec, Sobibor, Treblinka, and Auschwitz-Birkenau. This paper shall provide an overview of the causes that resulted in one of the worlds worst war crimes to have ever been committed in the human history. Propaganda therefore became a very crucial element in the Nazi political orientation. In the aftermath of the Holocaust, the world has struggled to come to terms with the horrors of the genocide, to remember the victims, and to hold perpetrators responsible. With the toll of the Great Depression taking a high on the United States economy, the financial institutions in the US which had lend Germany started to demand that Germany repay the loan advancements. These individuals motivations were wide-ranging: fear, self-interest, greed, revenge, antisemitism, and political and ideological beliefs. Do you have a 2:1 degree or higher? The resurgence of syphilis can lead to many eventualities as it may affect the nervous system and the brain. Hundreds of thousands of people died by starvation; rampant disease; exposure to extreme temperatures; as well as exhaustion from forced labor. In late 1941, the Nazi regime began building specially designed, stationary killing centers in German-occupied Poland. According to Yahya (para 4), the Nazis promised to make Germany a great country, they took over the government to fulfill these promises by rebuilding the nation. Since everyone wanted to see change in their country for the better, the Nazis were elected and took control of the government with the hope that they would bring the much desired change. Some Wehrmacht units also carried out massacres. The Jews found themselves on the receiving end as the propagandist minister worked hard to spread hatred towards them from the public. These included men accused of homosexuality, persons accused of being professional or habitual criminals, and so-called asocials (such as people identified as vagabonds, beggars, prostitutes, pimps, and alcoholics). These forced marches consisted of groups of Jewish and non-Jewish concentration camp inmates who had been evacuated on foot from camps under SS guard. In theory, it was supposed to help pay for the administration of the ghetto as well as support the German war effort. Some Germans cheered as Jews were beaten or humiliated. These massacres were often conducted in broad daylight and in full view and earshot of local residents. Members of Nazi organizations initiated and carried out many anti-Jewish actions before and during World War II. Antisemitism is an old and widespread prejudice that has taken many forms throughout history. The conditions on deportation transports were horrific. According to one survivor of the holocaust, it was painstaking to explain how the holocaust was carried out. This culminated in World War II, which began in Europe in 1939. This included, the surviving prisoners, many of whom were Jews. trains were freight cars; in other instances they were passenger cars. Other German institutions involved in carrying out the Final Solution included the. Almost immediately, the Nazi German regime (which called itself the Third Reich) excluded Jews from German economic, political, social, and cultural life. The Allies also encountered and liberated the survivors of so-called death marches. Such groups included the Communists, Socialists, Jehovahs Witnesses and the homosexuals (United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Para 2). They would then take the Jewish residents to the outskirts of the town. The German military (Wehrmacht) provided logistical support and manpower. Typically these were located near large cities. These organizations included the Nazi Party, the SA (Stormtroopers or Brownshirts), and the SS (Schutzstaffel, Protection Squadron). Sometimes these individuals are called. Germans also murdered the imprisoned Jews through brutal beatings, torture, arbitrary shootings, and other forms of arbitrary violence. Members of the, Order Police played particularly active and deadly roles in the mass murder of Europes Jews. It affected nearly all of Europes Jewish population, which in 1933 numbered 9 million people. On September 1, 1939, Nazi Germany began World War II (19391945) by attacking Poland. My mother ran over to me and grabbed me by the shoulders, and she told me "Leibele, I'm not going to see you no more. To ensure that the public was able to listen to the propaganda, radio sets were sold to the public cheaply and the government had control of all the radio stations while forbidding treason charges against the government in the media (Lieberman, para 4). An unknown number chose to do so. Most of the killing centers were deliberately located near the large ghettos of German-occupied Poland or on easily-accessible railway routes. These important efforts remain ongoing. These Jews survived the war under harsh conditions after Soviet authorities deported them further east into the interior of the Soviet Union. Before World War II, Germans considered to have supposedly unhealthy hereditary conditions were forcibly sterilized. took place in more than 1,500 cities, towns, and villages across eastern Europe. The effect of the disease on the brain includes aspects of paranoia, megalomania, loss of sense of reality, loss of moral senses and fits of anger (Rakoczy, para 6). We've received widespread press coverage since 2003, Your UKEssays purchase is secure and we're rated 4.4/5 on reviews.co.uk. In addition to religious antisemitism. Germans also carried out mass shootings at killing sites in occupied eastern Europe.