How did the Holocaust Come to Be?

  Anti-Semitism has been around for a long time, much longer than World War II. the Nazi party picked up this anti-Semitism and began to blame the problems of Germany on the Jews. Germany had just lost World War I and was in shambles. They lost so much afterwards and when someone like Adolf Hitler came to vie for power he was welcome. One of the first things he did was give the people someone to blame for their problems. They took onto it like never before. Although it would seem like all of Germany held this view, given the carnage that occurred, but really only a small part of Germany held this view. Many were able to support the idea of "the Jews" being at fault, but more like a broader sense than actual violence against the Jewish people. There were enough people who hated the Jewish people within the party for the Holocaust to happen.

    One explanation for how the Holocaust was allowed to happen was fear. It's one of the more popular reasons. They tried to say they were too scared to disobey the Nazi party, but it was never proven that there were any punishments for refusing to kill the Jews. When it came to people protesting about just the Jews they didn't really have anything happen to them. Really the people who knew about the situation just ignored them. It wasn't considered a priority to them.

    Another reason shown was that they had something to gain from what happened to the Jews. All the valuables the Jewish people had to leave behind was now open for the German people. They also had more land and jobs available for them. People are willing to overlook anything in the face of their own greed. In recent years historians learned that there were public auctions for the sudden increase in treasures.

    Probably the strongest reason for the Holocaust to happen was the deference of authority. People did not want to diverge from the group and also wanted to please the people in charge. They wanted to conform and when they committed atrocious acts were then able to rationalize their actions to themselves. This way they did not see their actions as very bad, but something that might even be necessary.

Hopefully nothing like this ever happens again.

works cited

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, www.ushmm.org/learn/introduction-to-the-holocaust/ethical-leaders/background/causes-and-motivations.

WWII: 'Night' Life

How anyone thinks Eliezer faked and dramatized parts of his story in order to popularize the Holocaust and make money is beyond me. Reading Eliezer Wiesel’s account of his experience in the WWII Holocaust through his novel, Night, has opened my eyes to the pain and suffering that truly went on at this period. The speed at which the isolation and condemnation of Jews happened was incredible. The pinnacle point of a boys life happens during his teenage years. In the prime of Elie’s teenage years his life changed dramatically. Just finding the basis on who he wanted to be and finding the work he wanted to do through his faith is tragic as it was all taken from him. Not only was his striped of the only things he knew in life, but it was replaced with hell. Entering Auschwitz for the first time, the imagery in which he described the smell of burning flesh and the condition in which he saw humanity broken, he had already died to himself.  

Night incapsulates the story of an insider in the Holocaust, an important view many tend look over as it is not a popular view to be shared. The importance of this rare story come from the root of why we study history in the first place. History, or rather the mistakes of history, should never be repeated. Although the Holocaust is not the only case of mass genocide, it is one of the biggest. The book harped on an individual’s experience, one that wasn’t easy to write about. The Holocaust should be seen as an educational tool to critique current and future society and government. The government choices that led up to Eliezer’s life through the Holocaust should be ones that generations now should take seriously. Linking the smallest decisions of previous and modern society, this book is worth reading and studying as it calls attention to a life modern times does not want to face. 

Denial

The film, Denial, is about an admired writer and historian that must present historical truth to prove the Holocaust actually occurred in attempt to avoid a law suit of libel against well known Holocaust denier, David Irving.

In 1996, a historian, Deborah Lipstadt was pursued in the UK courts because David Irving was directly referred to as a falsifier of history in her book Denying the Holocaust. In the film, Irving is suing for libel or defamation of his name. In the case of a libel suit, the plaintiff must call for proof that the claims are in fact true. In this case, Deborah would have to prove that the Holocaust actually took place in order to free herself of the charges.

This case is specifically unique in the fact that Deborah makes it through the trial without testifying herself, unlike David who acted as his own council throughout the trial. They explain that in testifying herself, her defense will take away from the actual case which is to prove that the Holocaust did exist and that Irving is a denier. Along with that no living Holocaust survivors were called to testify to save them the embarrassment and humiliation in facing Irving. Would this have made a difference? Finally there is no jury involved in the final decision. There is only one judge to make the important verdict.

The most memorable scenes in my opinion were the images used to let viewers see the piles of shoes and exhibits of all the misery that people had to suffer through during the times of the Holocaust. Using the imagery of misery really, in my opinion showcased everything at stake in the trial. It was a way that the audience could really connect. There are still Holocaust deniers in today's society. One could argue that this film is even more important now than ever. I urge everyone to if not watch, look into this case. 

Citations:

Bradshaw, Peter. “Denial Review – Overwhelmingly Relevant Assertion of Truth.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 26 Jan. 2017, https://www.theguardian.com/film/2017/jan/26/denial-review-holocaust-rachel-weisz

Wloszczyna, Suzan. "Denial Movie Review & Film Summary (2016) / Roger Ebert." RogerEbert.com, 30. Sept. https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/denial-2016.

Hitler's Road to Power

Some may think of Adolf Hitler as being an evil leader of Germany, which I'm not saying isn't true, but there was much more to him than just that. The way in which Hitler rose to power was an interesting one. Adolf Hitler was born in Austria on April 20th, 1889, and his 130th birthday just passed but isn't exactly celebrated the way a normal birthday would...if you know, you know. What a lot of people don't know is that Hitler served in World War I as "dispatch runner, taking messages back and forth from the command staff in the read to the fighting units near the battlefield" ("Adolf Hitler"). He was unlike any soldier and would often use watercolors and paint what he saw in war, and he never complained about the conditions or food. It wasn't until 1916 that he was wounded during the Battle of the Somme and was hospitalized. While in recovery, this is when his hatred first arose. 

Hitler travelled around Berlin and saw a variety of "anti-war sentiment among German civilians" and blamed the Jews for all of this ("Adolf Hitler"). A few years following this, Hitler joined the German Workers' Party in Munich in 1919. Although Hitler was not impressed with the condition of this Party, he was intrigued by the fact that it would be more than just a political party and would become a movement. Hitler started to gain power in this Party and changed the name to the National Socialist German Workers' Party, Nazi for short. With Hitler in charge, the Nazi Party had about 3,000 members by 1920, and he was officially named leader in 1921. The Nazi Party mastered mass propaganda and Hitler would deliver speeches that caused uprisings from his audience. In 1923, Hitler organized an armed uprising in Munich, the Beer Hall Putsch, but failed because of the poor planning and led to Hitler's arrest.

While serving his short prison term, Hitler wrote the book Mein Kampf, which was published in 1925. This book highlighted the fact that the Germans were the "master race" and needed to be protected against Jews and Slavs. In 1929 to 1930, Hitler and the Nazis came to power while the Great Depression was occurring. Hitler took this opportunity to gain support of the Nazi Party and by 1932, Hitler ran for president of Germany and was elected chancellor in 1933. Once Adolf Hitler was in office, the Nazi concentration camps were opened and the Jews were at risk. In 1934, Hitler became fuhrer of Germany, leading to the Germans and Russians occupying Poland in 1939. This is when the Holocaust came into full swing and the Jews' lives were at stake. Three million Jews were under Nazi control by 1939 and were forced into concentration camps. 

The Holocaust is known as one of the biggest, if not the biggest, genocide throughout history. About six million Jews were killed during the Holocaust, all while under the rule of Adolf Hitler. In 1945, Hitler commits suicide, leaving no real justice to be served. Many see Adolf Hitler as the most despicable leader in all of history, and this may be true, but he grew up like any other normal kid. Hitler caused millions of unjustifiable deaths and the power went straight to his head. It is hard to imagine what it would've been like to live in Germany while Hitler was ruling, either bowing down to a horrible leader or fearing for your life every single day. 

"Adolf Hitler." World History Project, worldhistoryproject.org/topics/adolf-hitler/page/1. Accessed 22 Apr. 2019.

Bullock, Allan, et al. "Adolf Hitler ." Encyclopedia Britannica, 16 Apr. 2019, www.britannica.com/biography/Adolf-Hitler. 

Engelhart, Katie. "The Return of Hitler." Maclean's, 21 Apr. 2010, www.macleans.ca/news/world/the-return-of-hitler/.