The Holocaust

“We must take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented. Sometimes we must interfere. When human lives are endangered, when human dignity is in jeopardy, national borders and sensitivities become irrelevant. Wherever men and women are persecuted because of their race, religion, or political views, that place must – at that moment – become the center of the universe.” -Elie Wiesel, Night 

How did the Holocaust happen? Estimates are that 50-70 million souls died in World War II. Who suffered most?

The Holocaust is the systematic murder of millions of Jews and other civilians during World War II. According to one German philosopher, “The National Socialist killing of the Jews was unique in that never before has a state with the authority of its responsible leader decided and announced that a specific human group, including its aged, its women and its children and infants, would be killed as quickly as possible, and then carried through this resolution using every possible means of state power.” As stated previously, many people equate the Holocaust with the idea of “evil Germans”. This simplifies the real cause of the atrocities. The Germans were not inherently immoral people. Rather, the Holocaust was arguably the most successful psychological manipulation in human history.

The crematorium at Dachau

Labeling children from birth

First, anti-Semitism was not a new phenomenon in Germany. Jews were often scapegoats for problems all over Europe. In Medieval times they were blamed for the plague, during the Crusades they were killed by Christians, and many Jews were forced to live in ghettos in the 1700s and 1800s. Thus, anti-Semitic ideas already existed. Hitler was then able to exploit these anti-Semitic feelings. He actually described exactly what he was going to do in Mein Kampf. Hitler used the ideas of Social Darwinism to argue that Jews were the evil that was at the root of Germany’s problems. Hitler even claimed that Germany lost World War I because of the Jews. Therefore, Hitler encouraged the Germans to blame all of their problems on the Jews.

Further, Hitler implemented his ideas very slowly and methodically. He began putting Jews in “work camps” in 1933. Though many died in these camps, they were not designed to be killing centers. Gradually, however, Hitler began to establish “death camps” designed specifically for mass killings. After 1939, nearly all of the camps were places where Jews were either to be killed or made to work as slave laborers. The Germans established nearly 15,000 camps and sub-camps. The fact that Hitler did not try to do everything at once made it easier for him to carry out his plans without attracting too much attention.

The Jews suffered most during the Holocaust, along with all of the other groups whom the Nazis executed – homosexuals, mentally and physically disabled people, prisoners of war, political and religious opponents, and Gypsies. These groups were all systematically murdered. The atrocities committed during the Holocaust devastated most European Jewish communities and eliminated hundreds of Jewish communities in occupied Eastern Europe. Though the Jews and the other targeted groups suffered during the Holocaust, the Holocaust was a tragedy for mankind in general.

It is unbelievable that so many people could be brutally murdered for such a long period of time. Genocides have occurred since the Holocaust, in Rwanda, Armenia, and Darfur, to name a few. However, the Holocaust was the most planned and systematic of all of the genocides. No one can say explicitly “how” the Holocaust happened. Clearly, it involved a great deal of manipulation, but it truly defies the imagination to envision how so many people would be capable of murdering so many innocent civilians.

Never Again. Memorial at Dachau Concentration Camp.

While in Germany, I visited Dachau. It was an overwhelming experience to see the actual conditions of the camp – the crematorium and the sleeping and living conditions. There were numerous images in the museum around the camp, as well. The images and stories were truly heartbreaking. In citing the Holocaust, the common expression is “Never again”. However, given the genocides in numerous other countries after the Holocaust, one wonders if this is a possibility.

For these reasons, it is necessary that people learn about the Holocaust, learn about World War II, and learn about other genocides. Documentaries have always been, and will hopefully continue to be an instrumental part in ensuring that another Holocaust does not happen. Further, many of the fictional accounts and stories about the Holocaust should remain a part of school curriculum to ensure that everyone remembers what happened during the Holocaust. Some of the more moving accounts I have seen and read are Elie Wiesel’s Night, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, Sarah’s Key, and Schindler’s List. The clip that has always stuck with me from Schindler’s List is the little girl in red. As Professor Drummond stated, “History does not repeat itself. Men do.”

 

I believe that determine who suffered “most” during WWII is impossible to do. Obviously you can look at the number of deaths in each country and make a determination from the country with the most deaths (Russia), but I do not believe that this is an adequate way to determine the level of suffering. During WWII, the men, women, and children put into Concentration camps suffered. The moms who saw their sons go off to war and never return suffered. The young soldiers who watched their friends die in front of them suffered. The people in various countries who were cut off from aid and assistance and starved to death suffered…I don’t think it’s possible to choose between these groups and pick one who suffered the most. WWII was a human tragedy. WWII should not, and hopefully will not, ever happen again.