FREE ESSAY ON THE HOLOCAUST

THE HOLOCAUST

Historically, the word holocaust meant a religious rite in which an 
offering was completely consumed by fire. In current times the word 
holocaust has changed to a darker more tragic meaning and refers to 
more than a religious sacrifice. During World War II, a fire raged 
throughout Eastern Europe. Guns, bombs, and military groups did not 
ignite this fire. This fire burned intensely in the hearts of men -- 
sparked by centuries-old prejudice. One man, Adolf Hitler, took this 
flicker of hatred and fanned the flames. Hitler energized and stoked 
the embers, spreading them throughout Eastern Europe causing widespread 
destruction in the pursuit of a perfect Aryan nation. Although the 
Holocaust is measured over the course of twelve long years, it does not 
begin with the mass murder of innocent victims. Michael Berenbaum, a 
survivor of the Holocaust believes, Age-old prejudice led to 
discrimination, discrimination to incarceration, incarceration to 
elimination (Altman 1). Thus, the progression of prejudice in the 
Holocaust began as a flicker of hatred in the heart of a leader and 
became a blazing inferno consuming the lives of the men, women, and 
children who crossed its radical path.
After World War I, the social climate in Germany was depressing. The 
German people were humiliated by their country's defeat and by the 
terms of the Treaty of Versailles. The financial depression that 
resulted left millions of individuals out of work. The German 
government was weak, and the people sought new leadership. These 
conditions provided an opportune setting for a new leader, Adolf Hitler,
and his party, the National Socialist German Workers Party. Hitler, 
reckless and powerful, was able to fan the flames of an ancient hatred 
into a wild and out of control holocaust (Altman 12). 
As with most hatred and prejudices, the hatred that fueled the 
Holocaust started with verbal abuse. As soon as Hitler was named 
chancellor, he persuaded the cabinet to declare a state of emergency 
allowing him to end all personal freedom. Among the rights lost were 
freedom of press, freedom of speech, and freedom of gathering. He then 
voiced his beliefs in the supreme Aryan race. As his beliefs spread, 
spoken or verbal abuse escalated. Those who were not considered to be 
of the perfect Aryan race were jeered and mocked. Fred Margulies, a 
survivor of the Holocaust, recalls:  When I was about ten years old 
there was a knock on my apartment-house door: and there was my best 
friend, Hans. And he spat in my face, and he said 'Manfred, you 
dirty…Jew' my best friend changed overnight (Shulman 7). The Jews 
endured burning words tossed at them consistently. At first, they were 
told Jews were not desired, and finally, they were told Jews were 
prohibited. Jews were not the only ones attacked. Jehovah Witnesses, 
handicapped individuals, and foreigners were also considered racially 
and genetically poor. These verbal attacks became the match that would 
ignite a much bigger fire. 
Verbal attacks sparked an avoidance of those considered undesirable. On 
April 1, 1933, Hitler called for a boycott of all Jewish businesses. 
Nazi storm troopers stood in front of stores owned by Jewish 
proprietors holding signs that warned: Don't buy from Jews, The Jews 
are our misfortune, and Buy Aryan (Bachrach 14). Many Jews lost 
their businesses as a result of the boycott. Restaurant signs 
cautioned, No Jews or Dogs Allowed(15). Radio broadcasts and 
newspapers became Nazi advertisement tools to spread lies about the Jew.
Schools taught that the Aryans were the most intelligent race. 
Pictures were displayed showing the sizes of different brains and 
always depicted the Aryan brain as the largest. Furthermore, the 
people were told it was a sin against the German people, their 
ancestors, and the Aryans' future to associate with the Jews. The Nazi 
Party distributed leaflets urging pure Germans to keep their distance 
from the Jews and to shun the Star of David with great ridicule 
(Shulman 35). 
The large-scale avoidance of the immoral Germans made German society 
more receptive to legalized discrimination. The government was quick 
to pass laws that in essence torched Jewish citizenship and their legal 
standing within society. The Nuremberg Laws prevented immoral Germans 
from being citizens, owning property, or marrying pure Germans. These 
laws were further rectified to include statutes prohibiting Jews from 
having public jobs or going to public places such as parks, libraries, 
or theatres. The Jews were not permitted to have telephones, ride 
public transportation, or serve in the armed forces. The laws became 
so strict that Jews were allowed on public streets only on certain days.
The government even started regulating schools. Public schools were 
prohibited for Jews, and private Jewish schools would later be included 
in the ban. Nazis forced all Jews to wear the yellow Star of David. 
The middle name of each male was changed to Israel, and females were 
called Sara (Bachrach 24). 
Lare Heuman recalls that for Jews in Germany, Life went on relatively 
normal, but more signs went up quickly of what was to come (Altshuler 
117). The flame would turn into a wild fire lashing out violently 
against both people and property. The violence was first foreshadowed 
in the Nazi book burning of 1933. At a Nazi rally, more than 25,000 
objectionable books were burned in one night. A Jewish poet predicted, 
Where they burn books, they would soon burn people (Stern 2).
The first physical violence flared at Kristallnacht. On November 9, 
1938, the Nazi parties, aided by mobs of citizens, burned and wrecked 
about 200 synagogues and 800 shops owned by Jewish proprietors. At 
least thirty Jews were killed during the tormenting rage, which stoked 
the blaze of injustice. Public safety servants such as police and 
firefighters were present to protect and save the Aryans and their 
nearby property and holdings, while the Jews watched in horror 
(Bachrach 24). The Chicago Tribune headlines blared the Systematic 
destruction of Jewish property, looting, arson, and wholesale arrest of 
Jews without official charges swept Germany today (Altshuler 98). 
Violence against the Jewish community got worse. Nazi violence against 
the world community also increased.
The Nazi invasion of Poland and Russia set the stage for the beginning 
of mobile killing squads. As the military gained control over the 
various regions, the mobile killing squads were formed with the express 
purpose of killing all Jews. These squads ordered their helpless 
victims to march to large open fields and ravines where massive murders 
were conducted. Massive graves became the resting spot for the 
persecuted Jews (Ayer 9).
The raging fire had turned into an inferno. The killing did not end 
with the mobile squads; for Hitler could not destroy the immoral 
victims fast enough to suit his needs. He needed a faster and more 
economical means to destroy large numbers of individuals. To achieve 
this goal, Hitler and his band of followers expressed a plan, applied 
trained personnel, constructed a killing machine, and employed 
insincere language to cover up the criminal character of destruction. 
The plan was called the Final Solution to the Jewish 
Question(Altshuler 72).
Perfected by the Nazi Regime, the Solution focused initially on the 
elderly, handicapped, and incurably ill. Shooting victims had become 
expensive, and bullets needed to be reserved for the war effort 
elsewhere. Carbon monoxide gas was put into large chambers made to 
execute massive numbers of peoples. Even children were quickly chosen 
for these first gas chambers as they represented the next generation 
of Jews. Over time, a less expensive poison/toxin --Zyklon B-- was 
used in the concentration camps to quicken the massive murders.
The inferno was raging in a destructive rage. Healthy individuals were 
maintained in concentration camps where the tiring work tested the 
strength and spirit of the Jews. Some individuals were chosen for 
experimental medical procedures with agonizing pain and at times 
disfigurement and death (Ayer 53). Life was depressing in these camps, 
but hope flickered in the hearts of some. The holocaust continued 
until the war ended at which time the concentration camps were released.
With liberty, frantic murder and burning hatred ended.
Those who died in this tragic time gave way to the cruel blaze of 
hatred. As one survivor put it, One thing is clear what happened 
exceeded our boldest horrors and ended with an answer to our greatest 
prayers (Shulman 59). Jewish prayers were answered when the 
liberators put out the flames of hatred. Even so, the Jews were left 
with a strong desire to let people know what really happened. Many 
survivors are aging, and in years to come, no survivors will be alive 
to tell what happened during the Holocaust. History shall never be 
forgotten. The ashes have cooled and remain buried in massive graves. 
The ovens that housed the inferno are silent and are visited today by 
new generations that learn the story of the Holocaust from the dead. 
The flames and fire that raged across Eastern Europe have died. 
Tragically the prejudice that fueled the Holocaust still exists in the 
heart of man (Shulman 59). 
Works Cited
Altman, Linda Jacobs. Forever Outsiders: Jews and History from Ancient 
Times to 
August 1935. Woodbridge, CT: Blackbirch Press, 1998. Vol. 1 of 
Holocaust. Ed. William L. Shulman. 8 vols. 1998.
Altshuler, David. Hitler's War Against the Jews- The Holocaust: A Young 
Reader's
Version of the War Against the Jews. West Orange, NJ: Behrman house, 
1987.
Ayer, Eleanor H. A Firestorm Unleashed: January 1942 - June 1943. 
Woodbridge,
CT: Blackbirch Press, 1998. Vol. 4 of Holocaust. Ed. William L. Shulman.
8
vols.1998.
Bachrach, Susan D. Tell Them We Remember: The Story of the Holocaust. 
Boston: 
Little, Brown and Company, 1994.
Sherrow, Victoria. Smoke to Flame: September 1935 - December 1938. 
Woodbridge,
CT: Blackbirch Press, 1998. Vol. 2 of Holocaust. Ed. William L. Shulman.
8
vols. 1998.
Shulman, William L., ed. Voices and Visions: A Collection of Primary 
Sources.
Woodbridge, CT: Blackbirch Press, 1998. Vol. 2 of Holocaust. Ed. 
William L.
Shulman. 8 vols.1998.
Stern, Guy. Nazi Book Burning and the American Response. Detroit: Wayne
State UP, 1989.