FREE ESSAY ON THE HOLOCAUST!

THE HOLOCAUST!

What is the first thing that comes to mind when the phrase World War II is mentioned? The
typical response to this question will almost always be Hitler and his cruelty toward
Jews. What is strange about this answer, is the fact that the majority of people do not
realize what actually occurred in Europe during this time. To most people, the Holocaust
was an "event" where Nazis killed many Jews. In fact, the Holocaust was a tragic point in
history, which many believe never occurred, or do not realize the suffering behind the
widespread destruction. The pain and conditions experienced by the victims is
unimaginable by any standards. In the early 1930's, the United States was very confused
Eastern Europe was on the verge of power, and in a small western European country called
Germany, trouble was just beginning. In 1933, Europeans had no worries beyond their daily
struggle to earn money, put food on their family's table, and clothes on their children's
backs. This would all change in a matter of months. Whatever type of life people had
built or molded for them, it was all to come to a crashing halt if they did not conform
to Hitler's specifications. On January 30, 1933 Adolf Hitler was appointed chancellor of
Germany. In March 1933, with the building of the Dachau concentration camp, "Adolf
Hitler's rising became one of the swiftest, most destructive leaderships in recorded
human existence" (Bauer 12). After his inception as ruler of Germany, Adolf Hitler had
one thing on his mind, a pure Aryan race with complete world domination. Jews were
inferior to humiliation through the Anti-Jewish Laws. The seven most established laws in
Germany were: Jews were forced from jobs in civil service and history, Jews were barred
from most other professions, Jews were excluded from schools and universities, Jews were
forced to carry cards identifying themselves as Jews, Jews were forced to have a J
stamped on their passports, Jews were excluded from dining and sleeping cars on German
trains, and Jews were barred from public areas such as parks, sporting arenas, and baths.
Hitler's goal was to eliminate all of the "undesirables" in Europe. Some were Jews,
mentally and physically ill, nonsupport's of Nazism, gypsies, homosexuals, and anyone
else who did not fit the mandatory code. He wanted to create a "superior race" called the
Aryan Nation. To accomplish his mission he had concentration camps constructed. The most
significant sign of the troubles looming ahead was the "Kristallnacht-night of the broken
glass." "On November 9, 1938, Nazis attacked Jewish communities; looting, destroying, and
burning over 1000 synagogues. Over 700 businesses were wrecked, as were hospitals,
schools, cemeteries, and homes" (Bauer 24). From Poland, Czechoslovakia, eastern European
provinces, and of course Germany, a great migration was to begin. Nazis transported
victims to concentration camps by means of railroad, which was the cheapest and easiest
method. The trip was horrible. People were packed in as tightly as possible. In the
summer, the cars became sweaty, putrid smelling, and unbearably hot. Many died of heat
stroke. On the other hand, winter was even worse. When the temperatures plummeted, these
cars were sent place to place without heat. Death from hypothermia and starvation was
common. Camps were set up for various purposes. These included labor, medical
experiments, and death. Transition camps were set up as holding places for death camps.
At the beginning of camp, prisoners usually had marks on their clothes or numbers on
their arms to identify them. Things like jewelry, clothes, shoes, gold fillings,
eyeglasses, shawls, baby bottles, and anything with value was taken and sold. They were
then put into the inhumane conditions of the camps. Many times families would be split
up. Women and men were separated, and grouped according to age. There was only one
bathroom for hundreds of people. At some camps these were long wooden boards with round
holes and underneath them concrete troughs. While on the bathroom, they would be watched
by the soldiers to make sure they would not stay on too long. "There was no toilet paper,
so the prisoners used the linings of jackets. If they did not have one they often stole
one from someone else" (Rossel 76). Sleeping conditions were equally bad. The beds of the
prisoners were usually wooden boards. The diet of the prisoners was poor, and many
suffered from limited nourishment. A standard daily meal would consist of watery soup and
a piece of bread. Occasionally, an extra allowance was permitted and prisoners received a
piece of cheese, some margarine, or some watered jam. The prisoners had to stand for
hours in snow, rain, heat, or cold for role-call, which occurred twice a day. Within the
first few days of being at a camp many people would die of hunger, disease, or a beating.
The main disease was typhus, which was carried by flies. When infected by disease,
prisoners were still required to work. They did not see that sickness necessarily meant
death. "If the prisoners did not obey the guards every order then they would be beaten,
put in solitary confinement or shot" (Chartock 44). It was extremely hard for prisoners
to escape these camps. If caught, a prisoner was either shot or beaten severely. Many
times, when someone escaped from a camp, all of the prisoners in that group would be
shot. If a person was caught planning a rebellion or escape, and the prisoner refused to
give the names of the other associates, the Nazis would bring everyone from his or her
barracks and force him or her to watch to destruction of the others. When a prisoner
died, the corpse was usually thrown on the side of the street. Later, most of the bodies
were burned. There was often a severe lack of food. The cooks, who sometimes used the
dead bodies as food for the prisoners, overcame this. Many of the activities practiced by
the Nazi soldiers were horrifying. Prisoners were fed to bears in private zoos. Husbands
were forced to have sex with others' wives in front of their children. Women were forced
to have sexual relations with animals. Jewish babies were launched into the air and
skewered by bayonets in front of their mothers. Soldiers practiced their guns-man-ship by
shooting the Jews' fingertips and noses. Prisoners were put through terrifying
experiments without their consent. The first tests performed were sterilization tests.
X-rays and sterilization tried three methods, including sterilization by medication,
sterilization by injection. Next came saltwater tests. Prisoners were forced to drink
saltwater until they went insane. They were performed in order to find a way for downed
pilots and sailors to drink the surrounding seawater. The third set of test was high
altitude tests. Test subjects were put in low-pressure chambers and then the oxygen was
slowly removed. "After the subject died, the Nazis put the body under water and did an
autopsy to find out how much oxygen was left in the brain cavity" (Gilbert 113). Another
set of tests was performed to find information on hypothermia. The Nazis took subjects
and put flight suits on them. "After being properly adjusted, the men were put in 36
degree Fahrenheit water. Then they would be able to find a way to save pilots stranded in
the North and Baltic Seas. Before they could be revived, many of the men died of severe
brain hemorrhaging" (Gilbert 115). The Nazis used quite a few methods of extermination,
but the most common were gassing, burning, shooting, beating, and inhumane testing.
Gassing was the easiest, cheapest, and most efficient way of annihilation. Jews were put
in chambers disguised as showers and then gas was let in. "They were all sent to the
showers, naked with a bar of soap, so as to deceive them into believing that they were
truly going into a shower. Most people smelled the burning bodies and knew the truth"
(Chartock 145). To most people the Holocaust represents an unfortunate event, and perhaps
the cruelest crime in history. What many fail to consider is the pain and misery these
prisoners faced throughout these unfortunate times. Also, many people have the stupid
mistake that this treatment was forced only on a certain "few," possibly the unfortunate
victims or the uncooperative ones this is nowhere near "real life". The truth is that all
prisoners were treated wrongly from the time that they were captured and separated from
their family, till the moment they were forced into death. The Holocaust was not
responsible for the deaths of only a few hundred or even a few thousand of prisoners. In
fact, the number of people killed is estimated to be near 6 million. Those who were not
involved can picture the life spent in these concentrations; however, the torture
experienced by these people is far from what we can mentally comprehend. The victims
spent months, possibly years, living a torturous life, only to realize in the end that it
was for nothing.
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Press. 
Levi, P. (1988). The drowned and the saved. New York: Vintage International. 
Nomberg-Przytyk, S. (1985). Auschwitz: True tales from a grotesque land. Chapel Hill,
North Carolina: The University of North Carolina Press. 
Steiner, J. (1967). Treblinka. New Yorker: Simon and Schuster. 
Wiesel, E. (1988). The Night Trilogy. N.Y.: The Noonday Press. 
Zuckerman, A. (1991). A voice in the chorus: Memories of a teenager saved by Schindler.
Stamford, Connecticut: Longmeadow Press.