The Agony of the Jews Under Hitler

“The agony of the Jews under Hitler is too important and too outrageous to be forgotten; yet it can be remembered it seems, only in ways that distort its meaning and deny its importance… When Auschwitz became a social myth, a metaphor for modern life, people lost sight of the only lesson it could possibly offer: that it offers, in itself, no lessons (Rosenfled).

-Christopher Lasch (Social historian)

This quote talks about how people are forgetting the meaning of the Holocaust. It wasn’t just about people dying. There is more meaning than that. The Holocaust was also about racism and targeting one group of people as an inferior race. It also shows that one person can be a dictator and make many people believe certain negative ideas. These ideas are powerful because they can lead to innocent people dying. The Holocaust is an event that is remembered now and will continue to be remembered in generations to come. The Holocaust was an event that happened in Europe, where there was a tremendous amount of people killed, and there was a large amount of discrimination.

To start off, the Holocaust happened in Europe. The Holocaust was from January 30, 1933 to May 8, 1945 and it took place during World War II. An article from Jewish Virtual Library website tells us what Holocaust means in Hebrew. In Hebrew, Holocaust was called Ha-Shoa (Berman). It also has a Greek meaning which the article “Introduction to the Holocaust” from the website Holocausts Encyclopedia tell us. The word “Holocaust “comes from a Greek word meaning “sacrifice by fire” (Introduction to the Holocaust). Hitler was extremely involved with the Holocaust. In 1934 Hitler’s anti-Jew campaign was set in motion. From the Jewish Virtual Library website article, H...

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...lled Einsatzgrupper also discriminated and killed Jews. There is information about them in the article on the Jewish Virtual Library website. Einsatzgrupper were a mobile killing group that rounded up Jew town by town made them strip and go into a pit that was dug earlier and then shot them (Berman). By the end of 1942, the Einsatzgrupper killed more than 1.3 million Jews.

In Europe during World War II, the Holocaust killed an extreme amount of people, both Jews and Gypsies, as well as other people, such as homosexuals and people who had other political ideas. The Holocaust also brought a large amount of discrimination. The Holocaust is a memorable event and even today it is remembered for all the bad but also for all the lessons it has taught people. This event will continue to be remembered because it shows how society can be both good and evil if we allow it.