The Second World War of 1939-1945 is often known as the war that redefined the international balance of power with the rise of the United States and the Soviet Union as the world’s first superpowers and the decline of Europe. Others, on the other hand, would remember the war because of the atrocities committed by Nazi Germany and the eccentricities of its leader, Adolf Hitler. In terms of his military and political strategy, experts were torn from lauding Hitler for his ingenuity and elaborate schemes to criticizing him because of the impacts it brought to Europe. However, it was Hitler’s borderline obsessive desire for racial superiority and purity which earned him infamy as he ordered the massive killing of thousands ethnic minorities and Jews or the Holocaust. While many commemorations and lessons were done regarding this piece of the War period, not many are aware of the actual events surrounding the Holocaust and its impact to the world. The Holocaust continuous to serve as a reminder of the oppression of Jews and ethnic minorities in the Nazi period and a reminder for governments to prevent future occurrences of these oppressions especially if reports reveal its presence.
The term “holocaust” comes from the Greek terms “olah” or a wholly burnt offering and “holos” or whole or complete. According to Schweber and Findling (2007), the terms were first used in 200 BCE as it was seen in the book of Genesis 22: 13. The verse said: “Abraham went and took the ram and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son”. The term “caust” in the word ‘holocaust’, on the other hand, comes from the root word “caustos”, which means to burn something or cauterize. Some experts, using the first use of the term “olah” to pertain to the Holocaust, believed that the killings of the Jews under the Nazis had a religious purpose much like how Isaac was almost sacrificed by Abraham as ordered by God. Observers saw the Nazis as God’s agents and it was God who directed these events. However, others argued against this analogy considering that the Holocaust reflected man’s desire to become better than his fellow man and prove it through inhumane means. Officially, the term “holocaust” was coined by Elie Weisel in the 1950s despite the fact he did not invent the term. However, Weisel was one of the few who used the term in print in the 1950s. The term then gained prominence in the 1970s after the discussions regarding the tragedy and now, the term is now used to speak about the atrocity committed by the Nazis .
In order to understand the Holocaust, it is important to understand the beginning of Anti-Semitism in Europe. Crowe (2008) stated that despite their role in the development of religion and civilizations, Jews were often treated as outsiders in territories in which these Jews migrate. Many found the Jewish traditions and beliefs contradictory to what is practiced in the country, often finding it conservative to the updating religions already practiced in several parts of Europe. The situation also gets worst as Jews often separate themselves from their non-Jewish neighbors as they prefer to stay close to their fellow believers. Europeans also found Jewish practices questionable, often finding Jewish laws conflicting with local laws. If these Jews found the law unsatisfactory, they would immediately leave and find new lands to settle. Eventually, Europeans grew weary and suspicious over having Jewish communities in their territories and later on, some Europeans developed hatred for these Jews. Anti-Jewish groups and politicians have started to find ways to eject these Jews from the European regions, often accusing them for causing several issues in the country. Some experts found this treatment ironic as Christians were also given the same treatment since it was established. Regardless of this similarity, Christians supported the anti-Jewish movements to drive these Jews away. Some Jewish communities immediately escaped back to the Holy Land when these anti-Jewish movements continued to make life difficult for the community. However, a few had no choice but to return back to Europe as they were also driven out of the Holy Land. Others opted to convert to the European religion in order to escape prejudice and scrutiny, but this did not stop the Europeans from showcasing their displeasure to the Jews .
In Germany, Rossel (1992) stated that Jews were also seen as a suspicious group much like their European counterparts. Germans treated them in scrutiny since the fourteenth century and often ensured that these Jews are discriminated or separated from society. The German government declared that all Jewish properties would be owned by the state whilst some governments in the country ordered that the state would collect the debt and use it. By the 17th century, Jews were ordered to mark their homes for easier identification of Jewish communities and schedules were distributed as to when Jews can visit specific public areas. Passports were also required by the government to monitor Jewish movements throughout the country.
When Adolf Hitler became Chancellor of Germany in 1933, many hoped that Hitler would bring the country back into supremacy due to the losses it had incurred in the First World War. While Hitler did aim to revive Germany’s supremacy, he had other plans while in office that took most of his attention. Hitler immediately ordered for the cancellation of human rights and freedoms. Anyone who opposed this order would be executed by the Gestapo, Storm Troopers and the Schutzstaffel (SS). Once the situation had normalized throughout the country, Hitler and the Nazi Party introduced their racial superiority policy. For the group, Germans should be seen as the “superior race” and is currently at risk from “inferior races”: Jews, Romas or Gypsies and the handicapped. The Party revived several earlier policies imposed by the country towards these Jews and minorities which was further fueled by the Reich Citizenship Law of 1943. Under the Law, all properties and debts by Jews would be surrendered to the state once they die or if a German owes a Jew. In 1941 and 1942, the government also imposed no-Jew/minority zones and house markings. The German authorities strictly enforced this Law, prompting many Jews to live in seclusion or in hiding. Others fleeing the country to escape possible oppression . According to Aronson (2004), for those Jews who were unable to do so, they were subjected to the Kristallnacht or the ‘Night of Broken Glass’ wherein the Germans would organize raids and campaigns to destroy Jewish businesses and even murdered several Jews in the process. Around the same period, the Nazi slowly conducted small genocides of Hitler’s political opponents and discussed the “Final Solution” to the Jewish question.
It was only until Germany invaded Poland in September 1, 1939 did clear records of the Nazi Holocaust came into focus. The first targets of the first wave of the Holocaust were political opponents, the academe, priests who fought against the Nazi order, and the sick. They were brought to gas chambers for their deaths while a few were brought to concentration camps. Nazi leaders realized that for the “Final Solution” to take shape, they had to utilize the territories they have conquered to create areas where they can remove these minorities to the picture . While the plan was taking shape, a special paramilitary detachment called the Einsatzgruppen were assigned to eliminate Communists through gunfire. Coy (2011) stated that it was the SS who executed most of the captives of the Einsatzgruppen and records stated that these SS cornered Jews with zeal and immense fanaticism that they even found the Einsatzgruppen unable to fulfill their goal. In order to remedy this problem, SS leaders met in a villa located on Lake Wannsee to discuss what was deemed as the “final solution to the Jewish question” or the eradication of Jews throughout Europe in January 1942. Reinhard Heydrich was tasked to design the “Final Solution” plan and the Nazis made sure the final preparations were made as they continued their campaign against Russia’s Bolsheviks. Following the earlier waves of the holocaust, the German authorities started to target families and children and ordered their deaths. However, it became too hard for the Nazi Security Police to continue executing given the numbers of these captives.
With the Nazis having access to state-of-the-art technologies and have full dominion over their territories, they started building various infrastructures such as concentration camps, labor camps and extermination camps in their Eastern territories to hold these minorities . Trains would operate 24 hours, bringing their captives in one of these camps until they are killed. Extermination were done through gas chambers and ovens, especially in the Auschwitz and Treblinka camps while others were subjected to heavy labor or torture by the supporters of the Nazis and even the German people . Ofer and Weitzman (1998) stated that prisoners were segregated and separated from their families, subjecting them to the worst treatment possible as some of them were forced to go naked while others were forced to harsh labor even if they are children. Women were also degraded by cutting their hair and prohibiting them from cleaning their blood if they are experiencing their monthly menstruation. Some of these women were raped to break these women further. For those who were unable to stand the treatment, they would kill themselves in the process . By the time the Second World War ended, it is estimated that almost a million Jews and ethnic minorities (including political prisoners, professionals and clergy) were killed by the Holocaust. The six major concentration camps had their respective contributions to the tally. Sobibor killed 250,000 prisoners since 1942. Treblinka managed to kill 750,000. Auschwitz-Birkenau recorded kills of 440,000 due to the combined impacts of gassing, illness and malnutrition similar to Majdanek .
As the mass killings were done by the Nazis, the Allied Powers did not immediately react despite records that Hitler was indeed removing in killing Jews and minorities throughout the region. According to Gleason (1984), the Allied leaders did not treat the reports seriously as it sounded preposterous that Germany was killing precious manpower that would help them sustain the war effort. However, the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) reported that these exterminations were a reality as some of their contacts reported in 1944 that Auschwitz was slowly developing as a death camp and into a forced labor camp. It was also the same period wherein 700,000 Hungarian Jews were murdered. Another document by the OSS revealed that Belzek, Sobibor and Treblinka continued to act as death camps. Survivor accounts and caught SS members also revealed just how much torture and suffering were done towards these Jews. Some accounts even revealed that the gas destroyed the skin of the victims, while others developed mutations. Despite these reports, the Allied Powers only acted when photographic evidences were shown and analyzed, proving the veracity of these claims. Critics and historians often note that the CIA and the MI-6 failed to determine the relationship of these movements to the reported killings of Jews and minorities in these selected areas. For the British government, they did log the movements of these prisoners but were considered unreliable information. While there were a few who reported these findings regarding the Holocaust, only a few believed it . International action only became possible upon the defeat of Germany in 1945 according to Petropoulos and Roth (2005). This permitted the Allied Powers to seize Nazi strongholds and possessions, and the denazification of the country. Caught officials and soldiers, as well as supporters, were classified based on their guilt and were subjected to trials, known today as the Nuremberg trials. Some have tried to deny the claims of their guilt, while others said they were only following orders from the Nazi leadership. The American-English led trials took years to come up with their decision and eventually ordered the death of these surviving members of the Nazis. Some of the members of the accused were stripped of their rights, imprisoned with or without hard labor and were even required to pay restitution. However, many did agree and questioned as to why the Allied Powers allowed the situation to occur further. Some even blamed the Allied Powers for the massive deaths incurred through the Holocaust .
For the Germans, the post-Holocaust period also opened their eyes with the impacts of their inaction or involvement. According to Wyman and Rosenzveig (1996), Germany slowly reabsorbed the victims of the war and aided in their recovery and protection. Early reparations were done between the two parties and reconciliation was done to improve German-Jewish relations. History was also rewritten to show the reality of the Holocaust and rebuilt the war torn country. Some Germans also began discussions on improving Jewish-German relations through providing their support for the establishment of Israel and the wars in the Middle East. Jews were also permitted to access services and exercises their rights as Germany was reconstructed .
Today, the Holocaust remains as a heavy reminder for many – especially the Jews – of the atrocities done to these victims for the sake of racial purity. Biale (2011) stated that many Jews nowadays often dedicate ceremonies in remembrance of the Holocaust and fought for racial and religious equality around the globe. Jews also found the event traumatizing as it revealed just how much oppression and suffering were done to their fellow men. Some even recalled how powerless these people were against the Nazi rule. Jews also aimed to stop the possible recreation of Auschwitz, especially in the current situation of Jews in Israel given the current skirmish they have with the Palestinian Liberation Organization .
The story of the Holocaust remains as a common topic when discussing the Second World War and the Nazi Germany. It entailed the long history of anti-Semitism and anti-racial minorities due to the belief of many of the Jewish traditions and norms. Germany took this suspicion further and engaged into anti-Semitism and anti-Jewish sentiment, ensuring that these unwanted citizens knew of their displeasure of having these people within their community. However, by the time Hitler came into power, it was clear that eradication would please his desire to ensure that purity would remain for the German people. Many perished because of the ideals of German superiority and as the war ended in 1945, the damage had been catastrophic and traumatizing. Many criticized the lack of action for the Allied Powers as the country only acted after the end of the War. It is crucial that governments around the globe remember the Holocaust and be reminded that it is important to prevent further onset of these events. Everyone should be treated equally no matter what race or religion they may be as killing or suppressing them would only insight complications and terrible impacts for the future.
Works Cited
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