Holocaust is a Greek term that as used to describe the mass murder of Jewish people residing in Germany Reich and the territories occupied by Germany during the Second World War. This genocide was sponsored by Nazi Germany which was led by Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party in which six million Jews were killed. There about nine million Jews Europe during the Second World War. This means that over two-thirds of Jews residing within this region were killed. The number of Jewish children killed in this holocaust was about one million. It is also important to note that three million Jewish men and two million Jewish women were killed during this world war (Rosenfeld 2011). Over forty thousand facilities were used within Germany and territories which are occupied to round up and kill Jews. There are various arguments as to why Jews were persecuted to such an extent. In this paper, the author gives brief introduction to holocaust including some of the reasons behind the persecution of Jews.
Jews were persecuted in great numbers by the Nazi Germany. Various methods were used to persecute and kill the Jews. They Jews were confined in overcrowded ghettos where they were compelled to live under inhuman conditions. They were then were transported by freight train to camps where they were exterminated (Fitzgerald 2011). The conditions under which they travelled were so pathetic that quite a large number of them died before they could reach their destination. Those who survived when then killed in the extermination camps. The people who survived the journey were then killed in gas chambers. Long before the killing of Jews began, discrimination had already taken root in different aspects of life (Yahil 1991). Jews were forced to surrender their property to the Germany and forced deportation enforced upon them. During this deportation it is unfortunate to note that few states were willing to accept the Jews into their territories. This therefore forced many Jews to commit suicide because there was no where they could find refuge (Rossel 1992). This caused untold suffering to all the Jewish irrespective of the territory in which they were living. The killing of Jews was done using gas chambers as well as shooting by people who had been recruited by the Nazi Germany.
There was massive discrimination against the Jews in the period leading to the holocaust. Universities within the Germany-controlled stopped admitting Jews. The Jews who were already studying in the Universities were stripped off their degrees. This was done irrespective of whether they were qualified or not. As if this was not enough, Jews who working in these Universities were fired without any valid reason (Longerich 2010). This discrimination was so intense that the Jews felt very isolated within the Germany-controlled territories. It is important to note that the discrimination against the Jews very intense because no institution religious group or social group supported. Several reasons can be sided for the reasons behind lack of support for the Jews during this period of the holocaust (Bergen 2009). Indeed, some groups were actually in support of the Nazi’s ideology that the Jews were evil and therefore were supposed to be eliminated. Even religious groups like Christians did not declare their solidarity with the Jews. Indeed there was a high level of fear among people and groups within the Germany territory making fear one of the reasons for failure of people to support the Jews. However, the main reason behind this lack support was the fact that people believed Jews were evil and therefore were supposed to be eliminated.
The Jewish religion was considered evil among a good number of Christians because according to them, the Jews had rejected Jesus Christ and thus rejecting God. Given that they had rejected God, they were considered by such religious groups as evil people. This is why such organizations did not sympathize with the Jews during the holocaust (Brenner 1999). Instead, these organizations actually supported the Nazi Germany as it caused atrocities to the Jewish community (Merridale 2006). People were made to believe that the Jews were evil through the use propaganda by the Nazi regime. This regime different media channels to portray Jews as evil people who did not deserve to live. Another reason why Jews were exterminated is the fear among the ideology by the Nazi Germany that Jews planning to take over their territory. This caused the Nazi Germany to kill Jews in large numbers spearing only those who had converted from Jewish to other religions. It is however important to note that people were only spared if they were born by grandparents who had been converted long time ago. This therefore forced some Jews to get assimilated into other religions and cultures in order to spare their lives. The Jews who managed to get assimilated into other cultures were able to escape the suffering that was being inflicted upon them by Adolf Hitler and his allies. Nazi Germany caused untold suffering to the Jews through the holocaust.
Bibliography
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Catherine Merridale, Ivan’s War: Life and Death in the Red Army, 1939–1945 (New York: Picador, 2006), p. 291.
Fitzgerald, S. Children of the Holocaust Wisconsin: Capstone, 2011. Print
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Rosenfeld, A.H. The End of the Holocaust Indian: Indiana University Press, 2011. Print
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