Category: Holocaust

Introduction

The persecution of Jews in Germany commenced shortly after Hitler took over power in 1933 (Landau, 2006). The initial anti-Jewish policies were moderate and propagated exploitation to a small extent. However, further amendments and creation of additional laws intensified the persecution of Jews in many ways. The main aim of implementing these policies was to dismiss Jews from Germany by denying them access to social and economic opportunities. The first policy was the Law for the Restoration of the Professional Civil Service that illegalized the employment of non-Aryan individuals in government institutions (Landau, 2006).

As a result of the law’s implementation, Jews were ejected from their job positions in government institutions. The anti-Jewish laws resulted in several outcomes that enhanced the persecution of Jews. In addition, they were denied jobs in business enterprises operated by Germans of Aryan descent. Examples of actions that emanated from the implementation of anti-Jewish laws include banning of books authored by Jews, closure and takeover of businesses, denial of voting rights, physical violence, illegalization of marriage relationships with Germans, denial of passports, and dismissal of students from German learning institutions (Cesarani & Kavanaugh, 2004).

Nazi anti-Jewish policies

The major policy that the Nazi implemented was the Law for the Restoration of the Professional Civil Service that excluded Jews from government jobs. This policy did not give the expected outcomes because it was ambiguous with regard to its definition of a Jew. Therefore, the government implemented more stringent and exploitative policies. Widespread persecution of Jews elicited international concern and Germany risked attracting economic sanctions. Individuals who propagated the persecution of Jews made calls for exemption from persecution by the Hitler government. In addition, requests were made for implementation of laws that would restrict the economic activities of the Jews, revoke their citizenship, and illegalize inter-racial marriages (Landau, 2006).

The Nuremberg Laws

The Nuremberg Laws were implemented after Hitler was pressured to take stern action against the Jews (Cesarani & Kavanaugh, 2004). A critical aspect of the laws was an in-depth definition of a Jew. The aftermath of much deliberation between Hitler and top Nazi officials was the drafting of two laws namely the Law for the Protection of German Blood and German Honor and the Reich Citizenship Law (Browning, 2000). According to the Law for the Protection of German Blood and German Honor, a Jew was defined as an individual who had more than two grandparents of Jewish descent (Anti-Jewish Legislation in Prewar Germany, 2014).

Anyone who did not fit the description was considered as half breed. The law illegalized marriage unions between Jews and Aryan Germans. In addition, it barred young German women from working in Jewish homesteads. The Reich Citizenship Law held that only individuals of German descent were considered as citizens. This law abolished the citizenship of Jews and took away their voting rights (Browning, 2000). Jews who were working in government institutions were required to abdicate their jobs. The First Decree to the Reich Citizenship Law stipulated that under no circumstance could a Jew become a Reich citizen (Browning, 2000). As such, Jews were not supposed to hold any public office or participate in election processes.

Law for the Restoration of the Professional Civil Service

The government drafted and implemented this law in order to retire Jews and other Hitler’s opponents from job positions in government institutions. Only individuals of Aryan descent were allowed to work for the government. This law barred Jews from working as teachers, lawyers, judges, doctors, tax consultants, musicians, and professors (Anti-Jewish Legislation in Prewar Germany, 2014). The law did not impress President Hindenburg who requested for amendments. In order to win his approval, Hitler amended the law and excluded individuals who had fought in World War I, individuals who had worked in the civil service since the start of the war, and people who had lost a loved one during the Great War. The amendments were effective for a short period because they were revoked after the death of Hindenburg. One of the monumental effects of the law was the resignation of the great scientist Albert Einstein from the Prussian Academy of Sciences (Cesarani & Kavanaugh, 2004).

The Hitler government argued that the law was aimed at simplifying administration and restoring the professionalism that was characteristic of the German civil service. These laws achieved the goal of blocking the emancipation of Jews in Germany because it rendered them aliens in their own country. The Nazi government was quick to defend these laws by claiming that they were aimed at emancipating Jews from the numerous legal restrictions that they had been subjected to. However, this claim was sheer propaganda. The laws ensured that Jews had no influence in education, politics, health, and other key sectors (Cesarani & Kavanaugh, 2004). Several laws were implemented to restrict the economic activities of Jews. For instance, they were denied government contracts that were only awarded to Germans of Aryan descent (The Holocaust, 2014). Access to health services was limited because the law did not allow Jews to work as doctors and nurses. The law had severe consequences on the lives of Jews because their companies collapsed and widespread persecution denied them their human rights.

Law against the Crowding of German Schools

This law limited the number of Jews that could be admitted to German schools and universities (Anti-Jewish Legislation in Prewar Germany, 2014). The government argued that the law was aimed at reducing overcrowding, which was cited as a common source of low quality education. In several programs, the number of Jews was restricted to a maximum of 5 percent of the number of students enrolled (The Holocaust, 2014). During the closing months of the year 1939, the law barred Jews from attending German public schools after several amendments were made (Cesarani & Kavanaugh, 2004). The law also specified the number of women that could be admitted to institutions of higher learning.

Law Regarding Change of Family Names

This law barred Jews from using certain names. They could only use names that were approved by the Reich Minister of Interior. Those who had other names were ordered to assume an additional name that would distinguish their descent. Males were ordered to take the name Israel and females were ordered to add the name Sarah (The Holocaust, 2014). The minister of interior issued a document that listed names that Jews could sue as first names in naming their children. The law excluded those of foreign nationality.

Laws that exploited Jews economically

The Hitler administration implemented several laws that had severe consequences on the economic wellbeing of Jews. For instance, certain laws required them to register their property. This was aimed at excluding Jews from the German economy. Many Jewish owned businesses were taken over by Germans who expelled workers (The Holocaust, 2014). The government determined the prices that the businesses could be sold to interested Germans. In 1939, a decree issued by the government ordered Jews to surrender precious stones that were in their possession (Anti-Jewish Decrees, 2014). The Gun Law barred Jews from participating in the gun trade (Cesarani & Kavanaugh, 2004). The laws played a key role in impoverishing Jews and making them inferiors in Hitler’s administration.

Anti-Jewish actions that emanated from the policies

Discrimination, persecution, exclusion from economic activities, and widespread exploitation were the results of the aforementioned anti-Jewish polices. Persecution was conducted through government sanctions and sometimes through unofficial attacks by Nazi radicals who argued that the laws were lenient. Jewish business people were intimidated and in other cases forced to shut down their enterprises, which were later seized and sold to Germans at low prices (Anti-Jewish Decrees, 2014). Their businesses were boycotted after government decrees that ordered Germans not to buy goods from businesses owned by Jews. Many employers revised their employment contracts to include clauses that barred non-Aryan Germans from taking jobs in their enterprises (The Holocaust, 2014). The laws further banned Jews from accessing certain public amenities such as libraries, recreational parks, theatres, exhibitions, restaurants, holiday resorts, and beaches (Anti-Jewish Decrees, 2014).

In addition, Jews were not allowed to enter premises that were operated by Aryan Germans. Other restrictions that they experienced included access to state pensions, insurance payouts, and government jobs. Access to health care services was a great challenge because the Hitler administration prohibited Jews from visiting government hospitals (The Holocaust, 2014). Religious freedom was highly restricted. For instance, a synagogue was demolished in Munich because it was considered as a traffic hazard. The Kristallnacht was characterized by mass murderers and arrest of Jews and destruction of synagogues. In order to propagate persecution, Jews were denied passports and those that had them were confiscated.

In 1939, Jews were evicted for their houses, had their radios confiscated, and were subjected to a curfew that limited their movements (Anti-Jewish Decrees, 2014). Persecution intensified in the 1940s when Jews were barred from using public telephones, owning pets, and leaving the country. In 1942, students were dismissed from German schools thus denying them access to education. The anti-Jewish laws encouraged discrimination because police officers and law courts halted their services to Jews (The Holocaust, 2014). All government institutions shunned Jews and treated them unfairly.

Conclusion

The Holocaust was characterized by implementation of anti-Jewish policies that exploited Jews. The laws were implemented shortly after Hitler took over power in Germany. The Nuremberg laws were implemented after pressure mounted on Hitler to take stern action against the Jews. They include the Law for the Protection of German Blood and German Honor and the Reich Citizenship Law. The Law for the Restoration of the Professional Civil Service was the first anti-Jewish policy to be implemented by the Hitler administration. The aftermath of the law’s implementation was the dismissal of Jews from government jobs. Laws that exploited Jews economically were also implemented. These laws led to the collapse or takeover of businesses owned by Jews. Te anti-Jewish laws denied Jews voting rights, travel documents, access to public amenities, and enrolment in German schools. They perpetuated the murder of Jews and encouraged economic exploitation. Synagogues were destroyed and interracial marriages were banned. Jews were denied German citizenship and could only use specific names that were ratified by the Hitler administration.

References

Anti-Jewish Decrees. (2014). Web.

Anti-Jewish Legislation in Prewar Germany. (2014). Web.

Browning, C. R. (2000). Nazi policy, Jewish Workers, German Killers. New York: Cambridge University Press.

Cesarani, D., & Kavanaugh, S. (2004). Holocaust: From the Persecution of the Jews to Mass Murder. New York: Psychology Press.

Landau, R.S. (2006). The Nazi Holocaust. New York: I. B. Tauris.

The Holocaust: Nazi Germany and the Jews 1933-1929. (2014). Web.

The Relationship of Jehovah’s Witness and the Country of Germany

Prior to the establishment of the Nazi regime within Germany, the relationship between members of Jehovah’s Witness and Germany was strained. This was due to several reasons with one of them being the fact that the members of the religion were often thought of as heretics by the mainstream Protestant and Catholic churches at the time (Article 1).

Other reasons came in the form of the door to door preaching being conducted by members of Jehovah’s Witness which government officials often sought to limit due to it being compared to illegal peddling (Article 1). The relationship between Germany and Jehovah’s Witness further deteriorated at the advent of the Nazi regime wherein the former actively sought to ban all activities done by the members of the latter which culminated in thousands of members of Jehovah’s Witnesses being sent to concentration camps (Article 1).

Response to Escalating Persecution

The concept of “spiritual resistance” in the case of members of Jehovah’s Witness during the era of the Nazis in Germany focused primarily on continuing the acts associated with their faith despite the persecution they were up against. This took the form of underground pamphlets and leaflets that were produced and distributed by members of Jehovah’s Witness in order to spread their faith despite the bans being put in place despite such actions (Article 1). Other manifestations of this “spiritual resistance” came in the form of bible meetings and secret gatherings where members of the faith could convene and carry out their religious observances.

This was in direct violation of the Nazi edict that such gatherings were illegal yet they were carried out anyway due to their desire to continue to practice their faith (Article 1). Lastly, when they were placed in concentration camps, members of Jehovah’s Witness continued to act in a stoic and peaceful fashion and did not actively resist the guards. While most may view this as subservience, in reality they were merely practicing the tenets of their faith and even continued to try to convert people while they were in prison (Article 1).

Avoiding Persecution

When examining the article, it becomes immediately apparent that members of Jehovah’s Witness could have completely avoided their fate if they had simply renounced their religious beliefs. It should also be noted that as soldiers of Jehovah’s army they could not bear arms for any single nation which resulted in numerous members being ostracized for not being “nationalistic enough” (Article 1).

Other notable instances which showcase instance which would cause members of the organization to clash with the government came in the form of them refusing to raise their arms when it came to saluting Hitler as well as not participating in the German Labor Front (Article 1). All these factors combined resulted in them being labeled as “traitors” in the eyes of the Nazi government which, when compounded by their minority religion status, created a considerable level of persecution directed against them. If they had conformed to the wishes of the government, then it is likely that they would not have been persecuted at all (Article 1).

On the other hand, it is important to note that for some people their religion is an indelible aspect of who they are. It is something that is so ingrained into their being that to renounce it would be the same renouncing themselves. Through such a perspective, it is not surprising that despite the threat of persecution and death, members of the Jehovah’s Witness continued to uphold their ideals. From my own personal standpoint, I have to admit that what they did was brave and I do fully agree with the concept of dying for something that you truly believe in.

Stories of Jehovah’s Witnesses

For me, the best stories were those of Adolphe Arnold, Emma Arnold, and Simone Arnold since they delved into the experience of a family that was torn apart yet brought back together in the end (Article 2). Their individual stories revolved around the family members each having a happy life with Arnold being an art consultant, Emma being a weaver and Simone merely being a young child (Article 2).

They lived a happy life until the Nazi occupation of France yet were subjected to one of the worst experiences imaginable as each came across a different test to their faith. I picked these individuals to write about since they exemplified how important faith is when it comes to helping a person endure the harshest of situations with only their faith to keep them strong.

Importance of Faith

The journey I have taken when going through this exercise has taught me that faith is an indelible aspect of a person’s existence that helps them to endure almost any problem. The stories I have read and the bravery I have seen has helped to reaffirm my convictions in regard to my religion and how I need to step back and see just how integrated into my life my faith is. While I have to admit that my own convictions are severely lacking when it comes to adhering to all aspects of my faith, the fact remains that at the end of the day I would want to stand for something that I truly believe in rather than go along with what others say I should believe in.

Modern age can be characterized by a great attention which is given to such issues as tolerance and humanism. However, unfortunately, recognition of the necessity of these issues came after a great number of different mournful events which happened in the 20th century. Two world wars, some cases of genocide and holocaust made people rethink their attitude towards human life and understand that it should be respected.

That is why, nowadays great attention is given to issues which led to the death of millions of people (“Introduction to the Holocaust” para. 4). Holocaust is one of these issues. People are still horrified by the aftermath of this horrible phenomenon. That is why, it is vital to understand the reasons of this process and main factors, including antisemitism and propaganda, which influenced its development.

First of all, it should be said that holocaust is a term used to describe the process which main aim was total extermination of Jews all over the world (“The Holocaust” para. 2). This process was started by Hitler and his government. Being a part of the ideology of Nazism, it led to the elimination of a great number of Jews in the countries which were conquered by Germany. Having defeated Hitler, soldiers were horrified by discoveries made in concentration camps. The only purpose of these areas was to kill people and these camps were turned into ideal death machines.

It is obvious, that people, who worked in these camps, knew perfectly what their mission was. That is why, analysis of the dominant ideology in Germany of that period of time is needed to understand the issue better. The thing is that Hitler became the leader when Germany was weak. Defeat in the WWI and reparations which it should pay made German economy and industry almost ruined. People were depressed as they saw the aftermath of their actions which led to war.

Under these conditions, someone, who could be called responsible for the collapse, was needed. Hitler proclaimed Jews as the main enemies and insisted on the creation of final solution to this problem (Young 21). It was political and ideological choice. The thing is, that very often these people were more successful that the rest of population in Germany and their conditions of living were better. That is why, Hitler used envy to make people believe that Jews were the root of their problems. Being a good orator and leader, he managed to persuade people that Jews should be discriminated. Antisemitism obtained great popularity in Germany (The Holocaust: An Introductory History” para. 7).

Additionally, propaganda also influenced mentality of people greatly. German government devoted much attention to this issue being sure that it could help them to save their power and make people believe them. Goebbels tried to create a system which would be able to influence people every day. That is why, population of Germany started to believe that Jews should be at least discriminated.

Having outlined the main points of the proposal connected with the holocaust, it is possible to make a certain conclusion. Being a mournful event in the history of humanity, holocaust should be investigated in order not to make the same mistake again. While analyzing this question, such issues as propaganda and antisemitism should also be taken into account and researched. It has already been stated, that mass extermination of a great number of people is impossible without some ideological basis. That is why, it is possible to suppose that propaganda helps to create the image of the enemy and promote development of antisemitism.

Works Cited

“Introduction to the Holocaust“. Holocaust Encyclopedia. 2014. Web.

“The Holocaust“. History. com. 2009. Web.

“The Holocaust: An Introductory History“. Jewish Virtual Library. n.d.. Web.

Young, James. “Towards a Received History of the Holocaust.” History and Theory. 36.4 (1997): 21-42. Web.

Introduction

It is imperative to note that the Holocaust is often viewed as the biggest crime in human history, and this topic is frequently studied by scholars. Many books and articles are focused on this subject matter, and there are many opinions on the reasoning behind this catastrophe. Work by Primo Levi titled “Survival in Auschwitz” is especially fascinating because the author shares his personal experience and explains struggles that he had to go through at that time. A review of this piece can help to get a better understanding of these events and its primary causes.

Discussion

The central character has to deal with numerous issues and situations over the course of the novel and was able to survive in the end. Moreover, his perspective on the whole situation is valuable because it helps to understand some of the aspects of the Holocaust that are not commonly known. It is necessary to mention that the hatred towards Jews was present on the territory of the Europe even before the propaganda by Nazis. “Even the children, even the old, even the ill” is the line that draws attention (Levi 14). It suggests that such factors were not important to Germans, and they lacked ay empathy towards these people. Individuals were aware

Also, it is important to note that Hitler’s ability to influence people was truly astounding. People were not satisfied with the government, and Hitler has proposed an alternative. He was able to gain an enormous following thanks to his unique speaking abilities. Many viewed him as a dangerous person, but he was able to take advantage of numerous situations to gain power. Hitler was aware of the fact that enormous percentage of the population has hated Communism, and it was an outstanding opportunity to promote his ideas.

Moreover, he could deliver misleading information to ensure that the population is against Jews. One of the core aspects that should not be overlooked is that they were linked to Communism, and it has affected the way they are perceived by others. Another issue that needs to be discussed is that the economy of Germany was hurt because of the World War I, and it has affected the pride of the nation. Many individuals have noticed that some Jews are becoming a vital of the society and are richer than others. Furthermore, it leads to a tremendous tension, and many Germans were jealous and did not want to accept this situation. It can be seen that such ideas were not reasonable, but many individuals were depressed and had to express their anger in some way.

Propaganda has played a critical role, and it was not a hard task to get support from citizens. The role of psychological factors also should not be overlooked, and Nazis understood that they can take advantage of this fact. One of the lines states that “there is the good Häftling, portrayed stripped to the waist, about to diligently soap his sheared and rosy cranium, and the bad Häftling, with a strong Semitic nose” (Levi 39).

This quote indicates that artwork was used to have a psychological impact on Jewish prisoners. Some of their features were quite exaggerated, and the fact that they were viewed in a negative light without any reasoning was especially worrying. It is believed that Hitler had personal hatred towards Jewish people and had many other motives. Also, another problem that needs to be discussed is that they were viewed as incredibly weak and inferior to others.

Guards used force without any emotions or anger because they were used to such actions. The central character has to work in an unsafe environment, and he was viewed as a slave. Most individuals were killed without any doubt, and others had to serve while they were useful. It was evident that the system was already established, and personnel knew what they had to do. Another aspect that is worth noting is that Hitler was elected, and it indicates that the population supported his ideas.

It can be seen in this novel that the way Jewish people are treated is irrational and unjustified, but they were influenced by the Nazi ideologies and believed that it is the only possible option in their situation. “They construct shelters and trenches, they repair the damage, they build, they fight, they command, they organize, and they kill” is another quote that needs to be discussed (Levi 141). In other words, the author believes that one of the primary reasons for such actions is the mentality of Germans that has established over the years.

It is understandable that he did not see any redeeming qualities because the way they were treated was inhumane. However, it is paramount to understand that many people have committed numerous crimes because of obedience. They do not think that they are responsible for the actions because the orders were given by the authority.

One of the factors that allowed such terrible events to happen is an enormous military power of the Germany. Some of the strategies and techniques that were used during the World War I were improved. The army was incredibly motivated and determined to recover its strength. It is necessary to understand that prisoners were isolated from the outside world. Barbed wires and towers were used to protect the camp and to ensure that local population is not aware of what is going on inside.

Any contact with them was strictly forbidden. Moreover, the area was controlled and monitored to avoid leakage of the information. It is evident that Germans wanted this operation to stay secret because they were aware of the fact that numerous complications could occur if something goes wrong. Furthermore, they wanted to minimize records and destroyed any evidence. Code names were used to hide intentions, and it can be seen throughout the whole novel that enormous attention is devoted to secrecy. One of the primary objectives of this approach was to ensure that the population is not aware of the killings, and there are no rebellions. It was much easier to manage people when they did not have an understanding of the policies.

Conclusion

In conclusion, it is possible to state that there were psychological, historical, and economic reasons that have led to the Holocaust. Levi demonstrates that the mentality of Germans has been affected, and the level of hatred towards Jewish people was enormous. Many people understood that their actions are violent and unreasonable, but they believed that they are doing the right thing, and this would increase the power of their country. Nazi propaganda was so powerful that people agreed with almost anything that was said to them because they trusted the authority.

Works Cited

Levi, Primo. Survival in Auschwitz. New York, NY: Simon and Schuster, 1996. Print.

For understandable reasons, the World War II remained the most notorious bloodbath in the 20^th century. However, apart from costing hundreds of millions of soldiers their lives, WWII also produced one of the most atrocious phenomena in the human history, which was the Holocaust (Shaw 78). Started in 1942 and taking place until the end of the war, the Holocaust was the genocide of Jewish people arranged by Hitler and implemented by the Nazi army (Grabowski 257).

Even though concentration camps were established before 1942, it was only after the identified date that mass killings of Jews along with the deportation of the survivals to death camps became the official policy of Nazi Germany and was implemented extensively. The outcomes of the Wannsee Conference, during which Hitler’s policy toward Jews, i.e., their complete extermination, was proclaimed as the ultimate goal, can be viewed as the primary reason behind the Holocaust of 1942.

To pinpoint the exact date at which the Holocaust started is a rather difficult task because of the convoluted nature of the phenomenon. The anti-Semitic policies of Nazi Germany were established well before the WWII erupted. (Luxenberg-Eisenberg 426). However, it was only after 1942 that the anti-Semitic ideas were heralded as the foundation for the state’s foreign policy and the crucial step toward implementing the Nazi German ideas (Hirschfeld 31). Particularly, the Wannsee Conference held in Berlin should be viewed as the starting point of the Holocaust implementation on a massive scale (Hirschfeld 44).

It was during the conference that Reinhard Heydrich ordered that the so-called Endlösung (i.e., the Final Solution) implying the extermination of Jewish people across Europe should be carried out (Luxenberg-Eisenberg 426-428). Therefore, the prejudices against Jewish people that were viewed as the essential philosophy of Nazi Germany served as the reason for the Holocaust to commence. Particularly, Nazis, who were the proponents of the Aryan race theory, claimed that Jewish people were on the far opposite of the pure Nordic race and, therefore, were viewed as undesirable and unneeded (Hayes 111).

The Holocaust was implemented by deporting millions of Jewish people from European states to concentration camps, where they were doomed to death at the hands of soldiers, due to poor living conditions, or suicide (Lopez-Munoz and Cuerda-Galindo 89). Furthermore, countless numbers of Jewish people were ruthlessly killed by Nazis. Jewish people were deported from Slovakia, France, and other European states to Auschwitz and Belzec, the concentration camps where they were forced into slave labor, tortured, and killed in gas chambers (Hirschfeld 61).

Even though the hatred-fueled policy toward Jewish people among Nazis had been implemented before 1942, it was after the specified date that the process of extermination gained the scale of a Holocaust due to the results of the Wannsee Conference, with mass deportations to death camps and mass murders of Jews. Even though WWII triggered a range of devastating outcomes for all parties involved, it was the Holocaust, and especially the Holocaust of 1942, that remained its most horrid product. The genocide will always remain one of the most tragic events in the history of the humankind. Even with the military tribunals that followed the defeat of Nazi Germany, the Holocaust can never be forgotten. It is a horrendous mistake that people need to be reminded of not to repeat the past mistakes ever again.

Works Cited

Grabowski, Jan. Hunt for the Jews: Betrayal and Murder in German-Occupied Poland. Indiana University Press, 2013.

Hayes, Peter. How Was It Possible? A Holocaust Reader. University of Nebraska Press, 2015.

Hirschfeld, Gerhardt. The Policies of Genocide (RLE Nazi Germany & Holocaust): Jews and Soviet Prisoners of War in Nazi Germany. Routledge, 2014.

Lopez-Munoz, Francisco, and Esther Cuerda-Galindo. “Suicide in Inmates in Nazis and Soviet Concentration Camps: Historical Overview and Critique.” Frontiers in Psychiatry, vol. 7, no. 1, 2016, pp. 88-94.

Luxenberg-Eisenberg, Florence. “Management Changes and Challenges to Preserve Holocaust Extermination Site.” Review of International Comparative Management, vol. 14, no. 3, 2013, pp. 425-437.

Shaw, Martin. War and Genocide: Organised Killing in Modern Society. John Wiley & Sons, 2015.

Introduction

This paper is devoted to the analysis of the Holocaust in general and the Stuttgart Declaration of Guilt in particular. It is going to review the advised literature. Besides, it will answer the questions so as to reflect on the read materials.

Literature Review

In November 1945, the Nurnberg trial started. There were 21 accused in the courtroom, and the court was deemed to resolve their fate (Marrus 12). The accused were the representative of the so-called elite of the Nazi society and administration. Each defendant was accused of one or more of the following points:

1. collusion so as to commit crimes which are mentioned in the other points,
2. crimes against the world,
3. wartime crimes, and
4. crimes against the humanity (Marrus 18).

Specific accusations included murders of more than six million Jewish people, aggressive war, savage cruelty of concentration camps, and use of slave labor (Marrus 47). The judges represented the states which were the main winners in the war: Great Britain, France, the USSR, and the USA (Marrus 52). Each of the accused claimed to be innocent. Many of them stated that they had been following orders and instructions. Besides, they questioned the authority of the court (Marrus 64). The judgment was announced on October the 1st 1946. Eighteen accused were found guilty, three of them were found innocent. 11 accused were sentenced to death, the rest were sentenced to more than ten years of imprisonment (Marrus 70).

From my viewpoint, it is not fair to blame the Holocaust on the German people. It is a universal truth that not all Germans were Nazis, whereas not all Nazis were Germans. That is why the world cannot find Germany guilty for the Holocaust. Therefore, this is a group of people with Hitler at the head of it who are expected to be charged with this crime. Therefore, I would not accept the Stuttgart Declaration of Guilt. This declaration limits the guilt for the threats of the war to common Germans (Stuttgart Declaration par. 4).

What is more, they treated it as a betrayal. Ordinary people did not participate in the Holocaust, and they did not want the war. They wanted to live in peace. Thus, treating them as guilty for the Holocaust is the same as treating them as guilty for the fact that they are Germans. However, the poem by a German priest Martin Niemoller is addressed to, it is possible to accuse the whole world of its inactivity and indifference. “Then they came for me” (Niemoller par. 4) is a famous quote from this poem which was pronounced to accuse German intellectuals of their inactivity and nonresistance to Nazis. It is assumed that the phrase was first said in 1946. However, its printed version appeared only in 1955. In reality, there exist many ways not to notice what the person is unwilling to notice. Besides, there are many ways to forget what the person does not want to remember or is tired of knowing. It happens when an unsightly reality does not involve nor touch this person. However, as history proves, no one is likely to stay aside in wars and terror.

Therefore, everyone of every sort must not hide behind others and wait for them to be killed but take an active part so as to prevent any dramatic actions. Indifference is the worst thing that might occur. If it is not personal business, it does not mean that the help is unnecessary. One day it could become the personal business, but no one is likely to come and give a helping hand since there is nobody left or they assert that it is not their personal business. It is impossible to defeat the great evil alone. It is crucial to uniting the forces. It is believed that there are more good people in the world than bad people, but it is claimed that bad people tend to be organized better. I think my opinion reflects my ethical beliefs since I am unwilling to divide the world into cultures and religions. What is essential is conscious.

Taken into account the above-said I would like to assert that any totalitarian regime is evil in its essence. People are born to be free and happy, and a totalitarian regime denies them both. I absolutely and ultimately agree that it is characterized by dehumanization.

“Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil” is a book which was written by Hanna Arendt. She witnessed the court which considered the case of Adolph Eichmann, who was responsible for the final resolution of the Jewish issue in Nazi Germany. The court took place in Jerusalem in 1961. Based on what she saw and heard in the court, Arendt analyzed the events so as to give them an objective evaluation in the book. Once released, the book was criticized more than any other work on moral philosophy written in the 20th century. Her careful attempts to investigate the forms of responsibilities and separate the responsibility from the intention was not understood in a correct way and entrained many people’s indignation and anger.

In the book, Arendt claims that Eichmann wanted only to climb the career ladder. He did not possess any features of anti-Semitism. The subtitle of the book managed to take the reader to the “banality of evil” (Arendt 142), and this phrase serves as the final words in the last chapter. Besides, she quotes what Eichmann said in the court so as to prove that he was not passionate about what he did. Therefore, Arendt treats Eichmann as non-guilty since he just did his job: “He did his duty…; he not only obeyed orders, he also obeyed the law” (Arendt 135). When it comes to my opinion, I would not judge the author’s viewpoint. However, from my perspective, Eichmann is guilty because he obeyed the law which was aimed to legalize murders. I feel strongly that murders are not acceptable in any society. I believe that killing innocent people because they are different is the most horrible thing that humanity could think of.

Finally, as for the question concerning whether to forgive someone who commits a war crime or a crime against humanity or not, the answer is a willing no. This is due to the fact that everyone must be responsible for their actions regardless of orders and instructions. If the choice is between killing an unarmed pacific person or dying of failure to execute an order, the person should prefer the second.

Conclusion

To sum it up, this paper has been devoted to the analysis of the Holocaust in general and the Stuttgart Declaration of Guilt in particular. It has reviewed the advised literature. Besides, it has answered the questions to provide a reflection on the read materials.

Works Cited

Arendt, Hanna. Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of the Evil. Viking Press, 1963.

Marrus, Michael R. The Nuremberg War Crimes Trial, 1945-46: A Documentary History. Bedford, 2015.

Niemoller, Martin. “First They Came for the Socialists…” Ushmm. Web.

“Stuttgart Declaration of Guilt.” History.ucsb. Web.

Introduction

Nowadays, it became a commonplace practice among many historians to suggest that the Jewish Holocaust accounts for the most important and yet strongly phenomenological episode of the WW2. The reason for this is that the concerned event did not only prove to the whole world that a modern state is fully capable of exterminating people en mass on an industrial scale (simply because they have been proclaimed ‘undesirable’), but also that the willing perpetrators, in this respect, may consist of the morally upstanding and socially productive citizens.

Moreover, the sheer number of the murdered Jews (6 million) poses a question – how was it possible for the Nazis to achieve such a ‘feat’ within a matter of three years (1942-1945), in the first place – especially given the fact that at the time Germany needed just about every available resource to be used for the continuation of its war-effort? In my paper, I will analyze the concerned phenomenon at length while promoting the idea that there was the combination of three main prerequisites for the Holocaust to take place.

They can be outlined as follows: the historical legacy of anti-Semitism in Europe, the particulars of the German national character (mentality)/the fact that the Nazis did succeed in dehumanizing the Jews, and the irrational (bestial) hatred of Jews, which used to be experienced by people in Eastern Europe throughout the WW2.

Body of the paper

When it comes to expounding on the Holocaust-related subjects, most modern authors emphasize that it would prove quite inappropriate referring to the 20^th century’s most infamous act of genocide outside of what accounted for its major prerequisite – the fact that up until the end of the WW2, it used to be a commonplace occurrence among Europeans to experience anti-Semitic anxieties. There are quite a few reasons for this to have been the case.

Probably the most important of them has to do with the theological differences between Christianity and Judaism – something that resulted in prompting Christians to perceive Jewish people as being nothing short of ‘infidels’ while assigning them with the collective blame for the crucifixion of Jesus. The Catholic Church contributed rather substantially towards bringing about such a state of affairs –especially throughout the 15^th-17^th centuries when one of the Inquisition’s priorities was to hunt down the Jews.

Therefore, there is indeed nothing too surprising about the fact that, as Bergen noted: “All of the false accusations… that Jews were traitors and conspirators, that they killed Christ—remained familiar in Europe into the twentieth century” (5). Partially, this explains why up until the beginning of the 20^th century, European Jews used to suffer from being subjected to a number of different governmentally endorsed forms of discrimination. For example, the Jews were allowed to settle only in the designated (predominantly urban) areas, while effectively prevented from being able to move freely across most European countries.

This, in turn, naturally resulted in causing more and more European Jews to end up affiliating themselves with what at the time used to be deemed the highly ‘intellectual’ professions of bankers, shoemakers, tailors, journalists, etc. While referring to the German town of Bischberg in the mid-1800s, Silbermann pointed out that: “The (town’s) Christian population made its living primarily from farming, while the Jewish family heads were partly engaged in business of every kind, and partly practiced trades” (82). Later in history, the fact that the Jews were overrepresented in the economy’s banking sector will be proclaimed to be yet another proof of these people’s tendency to ‘scheme’.

Nevertheless, as it appears from the available eyewitness accounts, prior to the Nazi’s 1933 seizure of political power in Germany, the Jews and ethnic Germans were able to coexist peacefully, with the former continuing to assimilate into German society, as its integral part. The reason for this is simple – as these accounts indicate, despite their essentially formal association with the religion of Judaism, most Jews in the pre-WW2 Europe used to be the highly secularized and intellectually advanced individuals (Esther 326).

Consequently, this resulted in inducing these people’s adherence to the values of a civic living – just as it used to be the case with the most progressive Europeans at the time. According to Lovinson: “We (Jews), as a religious minority, had to take the interests of the state into account… Before the invention of social and racial anti-Semitism, the views of our Christian environment completely coincided with our own” (113). What helped the matter even further is that throughout the historical period in question, more and more secularly minded Jews were choosing in favor of becoming Christianized – something that was supposed to eliminate the remaining obstacle on the way of their social integration.

The European Jewry did succeed in this undertaking rather spectacularly. As the indirect proof of the validity of this statement can serve the fact that following the outbreak of the WW1, most Jews in Germany, France, Britain and Austro-Hungary ended up being overwhelmed with the patriotic fervor – just as it was the case with their non-Jewish compatriots (Tanzer 271). At that time, the issue of anti-Semitism in most European countries had effectively ceased being considered even slightly acute (Geissmar 159).

Such a state of affairs, however, did not last for too long. Because Germany was forced to accept the terms of the 1919 Treaty of Versailles, which produced a heavy blow on the functioning of the economy and consequently resulted in triggering the hyperinflation of 1923 in what came to be known as the Weimar Republic, the country’s public discourse started to grow increasingly anti-Semitic. The same development was taking place in other European countries, as well. The main reason for this had to do with the fact that, in the aftermath of the WW1, it began to occur to Europeans that the war’s only de facto winners were the rich and powerful (bankers and industrialists) – regardless of what happened to be the specifics of their national affiliation.

As Bergen pointed out: “There were also big winners in 1923, as is true of every inflationary situation: people with property in forms other than money, speculators, and above all debtors” (46). Given the Jews’ traditional affiliation with the banking sector, and also the fact that the representatives of the ‘chosen people’ played an important role in bringing about the Russian Communist Revolution of 1917, the postwar rise of anti-Semitic sentiment in Europe continued to gain an exponential momentum.

Adolf Hitler and his political party NDSAP were quick enough to take practical advantage of the concerned tendency. The Nazis proclaimed that all of Germany’s problems were caused by what Hitler and his cronies used to refer to as the influence of the ‘Jewish plutocrats’, who they believed were on the mission of conquering the whole world by the mean of economic and spiritual subversion (Bergen 37).

The seeds of Nazi propaganda fell on the moistened soil – due to being utterly frustrated with the Weimar Republic as a ‘failed state’, many Germans were naturally predisposed to believe that the key to their country economic and geopolitical betterment was the reduction of Jewish influence in Germany. It must be noted that throughout the thirties, many people in other European countries were turning increasingly anti-Semitic, as well. The validity of this suggestion can be illustrated, concerning the fact that along with Germany and Italy, there were many other explicitly fascist states in Europe at the time, such as Poland (headed by the ardent anti-Semite Pilsudski), Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Spain, and Finland.

Before the outbreak of the WW2 in 1939, the top-officials from these countries considered it thoroughly appropriate to raise their concerns about the ‘dangers’ to the world, posed by the ‘international Jewry’. Anti-Semitism was also gaining strength in France and Britain. Many members of the British Royal family (such as Unity Mitford) were outspoken admirers of Hitler and of his intention to ‘cleanse’ Germany of the Jews.

It did not take too long for the Nazis to begin setting the ground for what will later become to be known as the ‘final solution of the Jewish question’ – that is, a physical extermination of European Jews. The enactment of the so-called ‘Law for the Restoration of the Professional Civil Service’ in 1933 marked the beginning of the process of German Jews being stripped of their constitutionally guaranteed rights and freedoms – something that eventually has led to the ‘disfranchisement’ of Jewish Germans, as human beings (Kaplan 24).

The decision to exterminate the Jews en masse was made by the Nazi governmental officials during the 1942 Wannsee Conference. The concerned event marks the beginning of the most gruesome phase of the Jewish Holocaust, when the Jews within the Nazi reach used to be rounded up, transported to the extermination camps (such as Auschwitz), murdered with the help of the poisonous gas Zyklon B, and burned to ashes (Bergen 175).

Even today, many people continue to wonder how the perpetration of such a horrible crime by the Germans (the representatives of probably the most intellectually advanced and culturally refined nation on Earth) proved possible, in the first place? After all, it does not represent any secret that Germany’s contribution to the worldwide development of philosophy and music remains unsurpassable. Whatever improbable this may sound, but the answer to this question relates to the above-stated.

The reason for this is apparent – one’s ability to excel in philosophy/music presupposes that the concerned person is capable of operating with the highly abstract mind-categories. In its turn, this process is usually initiated after he or she manages to become mentally detached from the surrounding physical reality. Therefore, there is nothing too surprising about the fact that the Nazi ‘final solution’ lexicon is rich with the abstract and emotionally neutral sounding euphemisms, such as ‘resettlement’, ‘special treatment’, ‘vermin’ (concerning the Jews), etc. Apparently, to be able to proceed with implementing their murderous plan for the Jews, the Nazis needed to distance themselves from the former as ‘subhumans’.

In the Nazis’ mind, they have never killed any Jews as human beings – rather, they have been subjecting the Jews to ‘special treatment’, because this is how ‘vermin’ should be dealt with. In its turn, this explains a striking paradox, often observed by those who study the Holocaust – most of those Nazis that were in charge of organizing the ‘final solution’ never exhibited any signs of mental deviation. As a rule, they used to consist of the socially conscientious individuals who held family values in a particularly high regard. While referring to the war-criminals who served in the Reserve Police Battalion 101, infamous for having been deployed during the mass shootings of Jews in the USSR, Browning noted: “Never before had I encountered the issue of choice so dramatically framed by the course of events and so openly discussed by at least some of the perpetrators.

Never before had I seen the monstrous deeds of the Holocaust so starkly juxtaposed with the human face of the killers” (xvi). Therefore, it will make much more sense referring to the Holocaust as not merely the byproduct of Nazism, but also as something would not have taken place if the Germans were not quite what they are (or at least what they used to be). Hence, the unmistakably German features of the genocidal atrociousness, directed against the Jews – emotional unengagement (coolness), the heavy use of euphemisms when referring to the acts of genocide, and reliance on the latest technologies to make the mass-murder procedures more efficient.

Nevertheless, the Germans would not be able to progress quite as far implementing the ‘final solution’, if it was not up to the enthusiastic collaboration, on the part of the representatives of many other European nations. For example, quite a few upstanding citizens in Vichy France considered it an honor helping the authorities to discover the hiding places of Jews so that these people could be rounded up and sent straight to Auschwitz to be slaughtered, in a similar manner with cattle (Levi 15).

Nevertheless, it were specifically the Latvians, Ukrainians and Poles that proved themselves the most reliant helpers of the Nazi cause of ridding humanity of ‘Jewish vermin’ – despite the fact that the Germans used to consider these nations utterly inferior. For example, the Ukrainians made the bulk of the SS-Hiwi (Hilfswilliger – willing helper) units, the members of which were entrusted by the Nazis to perform the most gruesome tasks, such as carrying out the mass-executions of Jews and pulling golden teeth out of the executed victims’ mouths: “The Hiwis… did most of the shooting” (Browning 18).

In fact, as it appears from Browning’s book, the SS officers themselves were utterly appalled by the sheer cruelty with which Hiwis used to treat their Jewish victims – as if the representatives of these nations in Hiwi service were experiencing an acute emotional pleasure out of being allowed to kill Jewish civilians in the most sadistic manner. In part, this can be explained by the fact that killing the Jews just for the sake of doing it has always represented nothing short of ‘national hobby’ among the Ukrainians and Latvians – the history of both nations validates the soundness of this suggestion better than anything else.

Even though the Poles used to be murdered en mass by the Nazis, as well, this did not seem to have had much effect on the Polish people’s willingness to contribute to the cause of ‘liberating humanity from Jews’. After all, by the year 1939, Poland represented the Europe’s most fanatically Catholic and yet most impoverished and uneducated nation. One does not have to be particularly smart to realize that when combined, these factors create a particularly nutritious soil for anti-Semitism to take a strong root.

Therefore, there is nothing too odd about the fact that the Poles have been reported strongly anti-Semitic as far back, as in 1920 – the year when Poland managed to retain its independence from Soviet Russia: “The Poles had taken charge (of the town). This led to a spate of arrests. Some Jewish boys were detained, supposedly on suspicion of being communists. They were savagely tortured” (Etonis 8). As it was mentioned earlier, throughout the 20^th century’s thirties, Poland has been turned into a classic fascist state, in which the propaganda of anti-Semitism enjoyed a semi-official status. Therefore, there is indeed nothing incidental about the fact that during the WW2, many Poles exhibited as much fervor in killing the Jews, as it was the case with Ukrainians.

The massacre of Jedwabne, which resulted in the deaths of at least 500 Polish Jews at the hands of the raging mob of Polish peasants, exemplifies the validity of this statement perfectly well. As the event’s eyewitness, Julia Sokolowska (quoted in Gross’s book) recalled: “Germans did not beat the Jews; the Polish population bestially massacred the Jews, and Gentians only stood to the side and took pictures, and later they showed how Poles killed the Jews” (80). As of today, Poland continues to deny that the Poles had anything to do with the massacre.

Conclusion

The three major ideas, developed throughout the paper’s entirety, can be summarized as follows:

1. Even though by the end of the 19^th century, the Jews did manage to integrate into most European societies, there was nothing too stable about these people’s newly attained social status. This explains why after the end of the WW1, they ended up being turned into nothing short of ‘escape goats’ for all of the war-related carnage in Europe.
2. The rise of Nazism in Germany, as well as the practical implementation of the ‘final solution’ by the Nazis, appears to have been innately concerned with the functioning of what can be referred to as the Western ‘collective’ or ‘archetypal’ psyche. In its turn, this explains why the Nazis were able to succeed in dehumanizing the Jews with apparent ease.
3. The Ukrainian, Latvian and Polish Nazi-collaborators seem to have been just as active in inducing the Holocaust, as the German Nazis themselves. This, of course, calls for the application of some appropriate discursive amendments to the official historiography of the Holocaust.

I believe that the provided insights into the issue at stake, and the deployed line of argumentation as to what predetermined the perpetration the 20^th century’s greatest crime against humanity, are fully consistent with the paper’s initial thesis. Apparently, there is indeed a strongly defined phenomenological sounding to just about any research that aims to uncover the deep-seated driving forces behind the Holocaust. What also emerges from the paper is that it is much too early assuming that all of the guilty parties have been properly identified and forced to face criminal charges.

Works Cited

Bergen, Doris. War & Genocide: A Concise History of the Holocaust. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield, 2009. Print.

Browning, Christopher. Ordinary Men: Reserve Police Battalion 101 and the Final Solution in Poland. New York: Harper Perennial, 1992. Print.

Esther. “12.” Awakening Lives: Autobiographies of Jewish Youth in Poland before the Holocaust. Ed. Jeffrey Schandler. New Haven: Yale University Press. 321-418. 2002. Print.

Etonis, S. “1.” Awakening Lives: Autobiographies of Jewish Youth in Poland before the Holocaust. Ed. Jeffrey Schandler. New Haven: Yale University Press. 3-19. 2002. Print.

Geissmar, Clara. “Remembrances.” Jewish Life in Germany: Memoirs from Three Centuries. Ed. Monika Richarz. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1991. 155-162. Print.

Gross, Jan. Neighbors: The Destruction of the Jewish Community in Jedwabne, Poland. New York: Penguin, 2001. Print.

Kaplan, Marion. Between Dignity and Despair: Jewish Life in Nazi Germany. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998. Print.

Levi, Primo. Survival in Auschwitz. New York: Touchstone, 1996. Print.

Lovinson, Martin. “Story of my Life.” Jewish Life in Germany: Memoirs from Three Centuries. Ed. Monika Richarz. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1991. 111-117. Print.

Silbermann, Eduard. “Memoirs.” Jewish Life in Germany: Memoirs from Three Centuries. Ed. Monika Richarz. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1991. 80-93. Print.

Introduction

The public memory of the Holocaust is formed under the impact of writers of Holocaust literature. At that, the most prominent writers are Elie Wiesel considering the issue from the Jewish perspective and Primo Levi and Jean Amery following the non-Jewish one.

Non-Jewish perspective

Levi, an Italian Jew, was released from Auschwitz in 1945 by the Soviet troops. In addition to his pain, Levi concerns the increasing temporal distance and habitual indifference of hundreds of millions of people towards the Holocaust and the survivors¹ It causes the feeling of anxiety that was fuelled by the sense of responsibility of survivors. Levy concerns of the alarming and rapidly coming oblivion speaking of it as of a new fear – a sign of solidarity inherent in victims of the Holocaust.

Describing the feelings of many victims after their liberation, Levi, above all, pinpoints shame for guilt which lies on others, but victims tend to consider themselves to be involved in these events. Levi and others sharing his point of view understand: what had happened around them, to them, and in them is irreversible.² It would never be washed off proving that humankind has the potential to create infinite grief, and grief is the only power that grows out of nothing without effort. As Levi states, it is enough not to see and hear.

Jewish perspective

Amery was in Auschwitz along with Primo Levi, yet they never met. Before he was caught and tortured by Gestapo, Amery participated in the Belgian Resistance. After the liberation, Amery and Levi discussed their experiences in letters. Levi appreciated Amery but criticized his manner to respond with a blow. This was the position of Amery which remained after the Holocaust as well. Initially, it was a conscious protest against the perverse world of the fascist regime. Furthermore, the writer held his position after Auschwitz and became so rigid and inflexible that he couldn’t find any joy in life, in the very process of existence.³

Those who meet the difficulties panoplied gain dignity but pay for it too high a price as they cannot escape destruction. At that, he points out that torture in the concentration camp resembled rape – sexual intercourse without the consent of one of the partners as the attack in which there is no hope or possibility of resistance. Being one of the representatives of the Ethics after the Holocaust, Amery argues that one of the most important results of the concentration camps for survivors is a feeling of loss of confidence in the world.

The cultural prerequisite of a moral human being is the confidence that in the event of a crisis other people will protect them or rather will respect personal individuality. However, as Amery states, the first hit leads to the sensation of helplessness after which nobody could help the prisoner, be it mother, wife, brother, or friend – their efforts are likely to be in vain.

However, according to the reflection of some people who survived the concentration camps, the fear can be caused not only by the lack of assistance from the others but also by the victims’ inaction about the beloved ones. Wiesel describes a situation where he was in the concentration camp witnessing the beating of his father⁴ The writer confesses that he felt nothing. Being a representative of the Jewish perspective, Wiesel states that Auschwitz was the refutation of Christ and the Christian religion in general. In particular, he believes that Christian understand that not Jewish people died in Auschwitz but Christianity.

According to the research by Roskies and Diamant, Jewish writers of Holocaust “have the mania of trying to tell you about the killing – by the hot stream, mass-electrocution, and live burial”.⁵ Why is it necessary to allocate Jewish victims among others? Wiesel claims that although fascists killed many nations, and not all victims were Jews, but all Jews were victims. Holocaust is not only a point in the historical flow of insults but also trampling and destruction of human dignity. It was organized and planned with reckless care performing the destruction of the people that made it an exceptionally cruel phenomenon.

Conclusion

In conclusion, it should be stressed that there are two points of view on Holocaust catastrophe, in particular, non-Jewish and Jewish ones. Both of them consider that those tortures, pain, and shame significantly affected victims and, above all, their hope and belief. However, the non-Jewish perspective focuses on the victims in general, especially on their moral sufferings and emotional state while Jewish writers tend to emphasize religious component and sufferings of their nation.

Answering the core question of can we still believe in God, man, or both, it is possible to note that some of the non-Jewish writers, namely, Amery can hardly believe in the humanistic beginning and future of humanity. Others, like Levi, did not lose their virtue and faith even after the harsh events of the Holocaust. It also became evident that the Jewish representatives believe in God and the strength of the Jewish nation as before.

Bibliography

Langer, Lawrence L. Art from the Ashes. New York: Oxford University Press, 1995.

Roskies, David G., and Naomi Diamant. Holocaust Literature: A History and Guide. Waltham: Brandeis University Press, 2012.

Footnotes

1. Lawrence L. Langer, Art from the Ashes (New York: Oxford University Press, 1995), 8.
2. Ibid., 9.
3. David G. Roskies, and Naomi Diamant, Holocaust Literature: A History and Guide (Waltham: Brandeis University Press, 2012), 25.
4. Ibid., 27.
5. Ibid., 29.

These days, it is often that one hears and reads about the tragedy that happened to the Jewish people during the Second World War, the Holocaust. Even before the war in the 1930s, Germany introduced several laws that limited rights of Jewish people, forbidding them from going to school and living outside particular remote areas. In today’s world, the subject of tolerance and respect for the individual, regardless of the nation, should be at the forefront and on an equal footing with other socially essential issues. This essay covers the Holocaust in terms of its causes and consequences.

Wars and conflicts based on religious, economic, racial, and other reasons were happening throughout the history of the human race. Such conflicts were followed by new theories and ideologies that were supposed to uphold one of the side’s aggressive views. Since the forties of the twentieth century, another such theory, called the Holocaust, came into use in the context of the mass extermination of Jews in Europe by the Nazis. It is worth noting that there is no fundamental difference between the Holocaust and genocide. The only difference is that the first one is a legislatively approved and ideologically supported plan of destruction of the whole ethnos.

Anti-Semitism and the history of dislike for the Jews have deep roots: the Jews were persecuted starting from Egyptian pharaohs, the rulers of the Roman Empire, the monarchies of Europe, with equal force experienced humiliation from both Muslims and Christians, in ancient times, in the Middle Ages and new history. The source of this hatred was religious, cultural, and national differences. According to ideas of anti-Semitism, Jews were considered to be biologically and genetically damaging. Therefore, in the opinion of the Nazis, they posed a danger to the purity of the nation.

From the moment the Nazis came to power in 1933 until the collapse of the regime in May 1945, according to various estimates of historians, about six million Jews were killed. There is no exact number and namesake list of victims. Moreover, by the end of the war, the Nazis destroyed even the traces of death camps – there is evidence of the destruction of already buried human remains before the arrival of the Soviet troops. All property seized during the Holocaust – from children’s toys to jewelry and real estate – was immediately distributed within the country. As promised, Hitler improved the lives of German citizens of the Aryan race at the expense of the Jews.

A large number of works of art are dedicated to the Holocaust, and they usually show two main trends among Jews: resistance to Nazi violence or total submission. In almost every ghetto, the underground functioned, and uprisings broke out regularly. However, as history has shown, there are survivors among the prisoners, and these are people who have mostly behaved obediently and have not shown resistance to the Nazis.

In the modern world, the Holocaust scenario does not seem so realistic. After the terrible experience of the Second World War, modern people have become more tolerant to each other. It is the education of tolerance that helps prevent the Holocaust, genocide, and xenophobia. The formation of a person as a person begins from childhood, so from a young age, it is necessary to show and tell the child that all people, regardless of skin color and nationality, have the same rights as each of us.

First of all it I necessary to mention that at the heart of the Jewish particularity is Jewish anguish and victimhood. Like the shared history itself, this distress may, but need not, correspond to reality. Jews have certainly suffered but their pain stays unexamined and mysterious. The Holocaust, now the example of Jewish pain, has long stopped to be a piece of history, and is now regarded by spiritual and material alike, as a piece of divinity – a sacred text almost – and consequently outside examination. And the suffering never ends. No matter how much Jews have suffered they are certainly not suffering now, but for many Jews their history of suffering is not just an inalienable past but also a possible future. So, no matter how safe Jews may be, many feel just a hair’s-breadth away from Auschwitz. Of course there are dissimilarities but there are also likenesses. National Socialism, like Zionism, also required to preserve the racial/ ethnic clarity of one group and to maintain the rights of that ethnic group over others, and National Socialism, like Zionism, also proposed an almost mystical attachment of that group to a land. Also, both National Socialism and Zionism shared a common interest – to separate Jews from non- Jews, in this case to eliminate Jews from Europe – and actively co-operated in the achievement of this aim. And if the similarity among these two ideas is just too great and too bitter to accept, one may ask what National Socialism with its uniforms, flags and mobilized youth must have looked like to those Germans, desperate after Versailles and the ravages of post-First World War Germany. Probably not so dissimilar from how the uniforms, flags and marching adolescents of pre- and post-state Zionism must have regarded to Jews after their history of misery, and particularly after the Holocaust.

The Holocaust, the example for all anti-Semitism and all Jewish suffering, is regarded as being beyond assessment and inspection. Questioning the Holocaust narrative is, at best, socially unacceptable, leading often to social barring and inequity, and, at worst, in some locations is illegal and matter to harsh punishment. Holocaust revisionist scientists, named Holocaust deniers by their adversaries, have confronted this. They do not deny an atrocious and widespread assault on Jews by the Nazi government but they do deny the Holocaust description as framed by present day organizations and elites. Purposely, their denial is restricted to three main areas. First, they deny that there ever was an authorized plan on the part of Hitler or any other part of the Nazi system methodically and actually to get rid of every Jew in Europe; second, they deny that there ever subsisted dangerous gas-chambers; third, they claim that the numerals of Jewish victims of the Nazi assault have been greatly overstated.

Whether those who question the Holocaust narrative are revisionist scholars striving to find the truth and shamelessly persecuted for opposing a powerful faction, or whether they are crazy Jew-haters denying a tragedy and defaming its victims, the fact is that one may question the Armenian genocide, one may freely discuss the Slave Trade, one can say that the murder of millions of Ibos, Kampucheans and Rwandans never took place and that the moon is but a piece of green cheese floating in space, but one may not question the Jewish Holocaust.