Dear Mr. Ward,
Learning about the holocaust was an eye-opener as well as a
depressing way to spend my summer days. As the aunt of two half-Jewish
nieces and one half-Jewish nephew (my sister’s husband is Jewish) I felt a
horror realizing what might have become of them had they been born in a
different time and place.
In the section called “Nazi Rule” Hitler is introduced. The German
people were living in an economic depression and looking for any way out.
Hitler convinced many people that Germany’s problems were due to Jews,
Gypsies, the handicapped and other non-white groups. He proposed a
master race should rule the world and that this race would be called Aryan.
The qualifications for the Aryan race were blond hair, blue eyes and tallness.
I find these requirements ironic seeing as Hitler had none of these qualities.
In “Jews in Prewar Germany” it talks about Jewish people holding
positions of great importance in Germany. Although Jews had been
discriminated against before Hitler’s rise to power, it was taken to the
extreme when the Nazi’s took over. Jewish businesses were trashed and
teachers at schools and universities were fired.
The Killing Squads, Killing Centers, and deportations were described in
“The Final Solution.” The Killing Squads started on June 22, 1941, after
Germany invaded the Soviet Union. The jobs of these squads were to kill
Jews. Usually, an entire town was rounded up, taken to open fields, and
executed. The Killing Centers were worse. After being deported to one of
the six concentration camps, men were separated from women and children.
Physicians chose which victims were healthy enough to do forced labor. The
weak were taken to gas rooms and killed. One of the best known camps was
Auschwitz. Here, physicians would experiment on young children to improve
methods of sterilization and medical treatments for German soldiers. Jews
were enslaved just because they looked and believed differently.
In “Nazi Camp Systems” anyone who could was forced to work. These
prisoners were given to private firms to boost war production. They were
subjected to long walks called “Death Marches”. When Germany’s army
started collapsing, the prisoners were moved inside Germany. Many Killing
Centers were then liberated by Soviet and American forces. The Nazis
tried unsuccessfully to hide their crimes. After the war men responsible for
crimes of the Holocaust were tried. Some went to jail and some were
acquitted. Quite a few were sentenced to death. Hitler escaped
prosecution by killing himself before the end of the war.
The final section, “Rescue and Resistance” describes some of the
revolts. Some Jews escaped and formed large groups that killed many
German soldiers. They formed Z.O.B. (Zydowska Organizacja Bojowa or
Jewish Fighting Organization) in the Warsaw ghetto. When troops
infiltrated the ghettos the Jews fought back for nearly a month before
being captured. Revolts started in Killing Centers because of the Warsaw
uprising. People were inspired and chose to die fighting.
While learning about the Holocaust has saddened me it has given me a
new perspective on life. People who are different do not deserve to be
treated this way. I now have a new respect for people who do not abandon
their beliefs and themselves when faced with the ultimate sacrifice – death.
Sincerely,
Jordyn Adcock