Decimation of Jewish Culture during Holocaust Essay Example

caricatured cartoons of Jews with hooked nose and apelike. The papers were influential and the distribution was about half a million copies by 1938. As soon as Hitler took power, he called for new election in an attempt to get full control of the parliament. They used the government machines to terrorize the opposition, arresting their leaders and banning meetings. During the campaign for the election the Reichstag burned, the Nazis blamed the communist for the act, thus getting more votes.

The government abolished individual rights, protection, the freedom of press, assembly and rights to privacy nullified. When the elections were held, the Nazis had won majority votes, thus enabling them to consolidate their power of dictatorship.footnoteRef:3 2: Holocaust Memorial Center. The Holocaust: An Introductory History, Accessed 2014) pg. 135 3: Christian, Gerlach. (2015). The Wannsee Conference, the Fate of German Jews and Hitler’s decision to exterminate All European Jews.

With their tyranny in number in the parliament, the Nazis passed the Enabling Act, which gave Hitler more room to exercise his dictatorial efforts and undermine the democracy. They were able to silence their critics, they formed sophisticated police and military force. The secret state police was given the freedom to arrest anybody, the special unit SS protection unit controlled the concentration camps and the ghettos. The SD the security service for the SS served as the intelligence unit for Nazis to keep the enemies under surveillance.footnoteRef:4 4: Longerich, peter. Holocaust. The Nazis prosecution and murder of Jews.

The Jews isolated from the society based on the race, the Nazis developed their theories justifying German as the superior and strong destined to rule, while the Jews as weak

and destined to the extinction. The Jews were removed from their professionalism, and confiscating their business. The progressive exclusion of Jews from the German society. In 1938, a Jewish boy shot a German secretary, this led to the attack and the killing of thousands of Jews, destroying their property and many arrested and sent to the concentration campsfootnoteRef:5. The government came up with new identity cards that indicate the nationalism the race, the idea was to single out the Jews out of the society. 5: Cesarani, David. (2011). the Nazis Hatred of the Jews. Why the Nazis did hated Jews so much? Oxford University Press. New York. vol. 4. Pg. 267.

In 1939, the German invaded Poland, thereby triggering the World War II, the Nazis formed the ghettos for the Polish Jews. They were deported forcefully from their homes and concentrated in the ghettos isolated from the society. The concentration of the Jews in the ghettos made it easier for the Nazis to kill them. The population lacked the food, water, and the sanitary facilities required for survival, many died of starvation.footnoteRef:6 6: German Invasion of Poland: Jewish refugees. (1939) Holocaust Encyclopedia. Washington Dc.

During that time the Nazis came up with a term Final solution, they were determined to eradicate all the European Jews by all means, shooting, poison gassing and torture. The Jews could be lined shoot with automatic weapons and buried in mass graves. Although other ethnic groups were killed such as the Soviet prisoners of war, Polish intellectuals and gypsies, the Jews were the most targeted. Women and children separated from the other groups, then killed with poisonous gas. Hitler established six death

camps: Chelmno, Belzec, Treblinka, Maidanek, Auschwitz and Sobibor. All the death camps were located along the railway lines for transportation to be easy. The camps served different purposes, from slave labor camps, concentration camps and some transit camps.footnoteRef:7 7: Christopher, Browning, R. (1939). The Origins of Final Solution: The Evolution of Nazi Jewish Policy. University of Nebraska Press.vol. 2.pg. 36- 110.

The Jews were forced to have marks identifying, then forced to the ghettos and transported to the killing centers. Those who were strong could be forced to work as laborers in factories without food thus perishing.footnoteRef:8 At the last term of Hitler, the Nazis started marching the prisoners alive in the concentration camps to their territory. Many died as a result of starvation and sickness, others shot along the way. When the Jews could not stand the suffering any more, they started to resist. They remained clean, alive and observe their religion. Others tried to escape from the camps, once they succeed, they could stay with their families in the mountain with the hostile communities. The resistance of the small unorganized groups from the ghetto hungered the Nazis, who were superior with armed forces.footnoteRef:9 8: Konniyln, Feig, G. (1981). Hitler’s Death Camps; the sanity of madness. Foothill college, 1981) pg.12-13. 9: . R. J. Rummel. Democide: (1990). Nazi Genocide and Mass Murder. Pg. 174)

During this period the children were not spared. The Holocaust exposed them to trauma, those who showed their art work describe their new perspective of the world. The women and children were subjected to inhuman situation, undergoing painful experience. Most did not only undergo through torture, but also died. The available piece

of works from those who witnessed, shows merciless and heartbreaking situation that these people went through. They were killed in the killing centers, forced labor and concentrated in ghettofootnoteRef:10 10: . Lithtblau Eric (2013).The Holocaust Just Got More Shocking. New York Times.

Bibliography

1. Hayes, Peter (2015). How was it Possible? Maryland: University of Nebraska press.
2. Holocaust Memorial Center. (2014). The Holocaust: An Introductory History. pg. 135.
3. Christian, Gerlach.( 2015). The Wannsee Conference, the Fate of German Jews and Hitler’s decision to exterminate All European Jews. Journal of the Modern history (Chicago) vol. 4 pg. 759.
4. Peter Longerich. (2010) Holocaust: the Nazis prosecution and murder of Jews. (Oxford University Press. vol. 3 pg. 333.
5. Cesarani, David. (2011). the Nazis Hatred of the Jews. Why the Nazis did hated Jews so much? Oxford University Press, New York.vol. 4. 267
6. German Invasion of Poland: Jewish refugees. 1939”. Holocaust Encyclopedia. Washington Dc.
7. Christopher Browning, R. (1939). The Origins of Final Solution: The Evolution of Nazi Jewish Policy University of Nebraska Press. vol. 2.pg. 36- 110.
8. Konniyln, Feign, G. (1981).Hitler’s Death Camps; the sanity of madness (Foothill college, 1981) pg.12-13.
9. R. J. Rummel. (1991). Democide: Nazi Genocide and Mass Murder. Pg. 174.
10. Lithtblau Eric. (2013). The Holocaust Just Got More Shocking .New York Times.