FREE ESSAY ON HOLOCAUST

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 many Jews were killed by Nazis. 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 exper- ienced by the
victims is unimaginable by any standards. 
In the early 1930's, the United States was reveling in turmoil. Eastern Europe was on the
verge of power, and in a small western European country called Germany, trouble was
brewing. 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 a person had built or molded for
themselves, 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 subjected 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. This category
included: Jews, mentally and physically ill, nonsupporters of Nazism, gypsies,
homo-sexuals, 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 concentra-tion
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 unbear-ably 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 such as: 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 malnourishment. 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 mutilation
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. This was overcome
by the cooks, who sometimes used the dead bodies as food for the prisoners.
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 gunsmanship by shooting the Jews' finger tips and noses. 
Prisoners were put through terrifying experiments without their consent. The first tests
performed were sterilization tests. Three methods were tried, including sterilization by
medication, sterilization by x-rays, and 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 
sea water. The third set of test were 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 were 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 a catastrophic event, and perhaps the cruelest
crime in history. What many fail to consider is the pain and misery these prisoners
endured throughout these unfortunate times. Also, many people have the misconception that
this treatment was inflicted only on a certain "few," possibly the unfortunate victims or
the uncooperative ones This is nowhere near actuality. 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 coaxed or 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. 
The life spent in these concentration can be pictured by those who were not involved,
however, the agony 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.