On September 1st, 1939 Germany invaded Poland, which started World War II in Europe. The war between Germany and the Soviet Union was one of the deadliest and largest duels of all mankind. It caused an overall change in Jewish people 's lives because they lost family members, homes, and the reason to live. There was a political shift in climate during that time because of the mass genocide it caused. Germany went from a place where people lived to a huge European power that singled out on one race. The story "Under A Cruel Star" by Heda Margolius Kovaly takes place in Prague, Czech Republic from 1941-1968. Kovaly describes her life, everything the Jewish people went through during the Holocaust, and it also depicts how communism was a growing
Most thought this because of the consequences of communism and mass destruction it can cause within a country. Kovaly says "Rudolf could decide on the basis of statistics- mostly falsified, or course- that under communism people lived a better and happy life. I saw from close-up and with my own eyes that this was not true. (p.65) While it is great that citizens live under similar economic terms and are assured of the same paycheck every week, communism is not an environment that will allow businesses or people to flourish. On the opposite of a Capitalist society, where businesses are abled skyrocketed earnings, a Communist society affects businesses ability to grow. If each worker is given the same amount of money this can affect their motivation to do things and go above and beyond. Everyone who earns the same amount of money for the same amount of work seems like a peaceful agreement and a proletariat paradise but it does not always turn out that way. Unfortunately, communism can often lead to widespread corruption and sometimes encourages greed. Kovaly says "It is often said that power corrupts, but I think that what corrupted people in our country was not the power alone but the fear that accompanied it." (p.71) Communist nation 's ruling class tend to be greedy since it is impossible for classes that are beneath them to gain any insight into how the nation truly works. One last underlying cause on why post-war victims disliked the idea of communism was because there was no personal freedom. Capitalist societies often take for granted many personal freedoms that are completely eliminated under Communist Regimes. Freedom of speech is completely taken away, and those who criticize any workings of their government often subject severe and very harsh punishments. Communism often focuses on agriculture and production, things in which
Throughout the 19th century, capitalism seemed like an economic utopia for some, but on the other hand some saw it as a troublesome whirlpool that would lead to bigger problems. The development of capitalism in popular countries such as in England brought the idea that the supply and demand exchange systems could work in most trade based countries. Other countries such as Russia thought that the proletariats and bourgeoisie could not co-exist with demand for power and land, and eventually resorted to communism in the early 20th century. Although many different systems were available to the countries in need of economic change, a majority of them found the right system for their needs. And when capitalist societies began to take full swing, some classes did not benefit as well as others and this resulted in a vast amount of proletariats looking for work. Capitalists societies are for certain a win-loss system, and many people did not like the change from having there society changed to a government controlled money hungry system. On the other hand, the demand for labor brought the bourgeoisie large profits because they could pay out as much as they wanted for labor.
Poland was devastated when German forces invaded their country on September 1, 1939, marking the beginning of World War II. Still suffering from the turmoil of World War I, with Germany left in ruins, Hitler's government dreamt of an immense, new domain of "living space" in Eastern Europe; to acquire German dominance in Europe would call for war in the minds of German leaders (World War II in Europe). The Nazis believed the Germans were racially elite and found the Jews to be inferior to the German population. The Holocaust was the discrimination and the slaughter of approximately six million Jews by the Nazi regime and its associates (Introduction to the Holocaust). The Nazis instituted killing centers, also known as “extermination camps” or “death camps,” for being able to resourcefully take part in mass murder (Killing Centers: An Overview).
At the beginning of 19th century, the form of anti-Semitism becomes more serious. Germanys seems to isolate and eliminate Jews. When the Nazi Party, led by Adolf Hitler, comes to power in Germany in 1933, it wants to set up the Perfect Nazi state. The Nazi wants to stamp out any opposition to their rule, so they set up a system of camps, for instance, concentration camps, death camps for holding people that they see as “undesirable”. Lots of those “undesirable” people are Jews. From 1933 to 1945, about six million Jews are murdered and it is called the Holocaust. The Holocaust is the greatest single case of mass murder in history and is difficult to ignore. After World War II, survivors of the Holocaust tell their stories directly or write down what happens in the Holocaust. One of the plenty writings is Night by Elie Wiesel who is Holocaust survivor and awarded the Noble Peace Price in 1986. This work is based on his experience with his father, Chlomo, in the Nazi Concentration camps at Auschwitz and Buchenwald between 1944 and 1945. Another effective book is Fugitive Pieces by Canadian poet Anne Michaels which is awarded Orange Prize and the Books in Canada First Novel Award. As a young boy during the Holocaust in Poland, Jakob Beer is seven-year old and his parents are murdered by Nazi soldiers and his sister, Bella, is abducted. Jakob flees and is rescued by a Greek geologist Athos Roussos. Athos hides Jakob successfully in Greek, then at the end of war, to Toronto. Both characters Elie and Jakob’ experiences reflect a truth which is no matter how harsh the situation is, one tends to overcome all obstacles to obtain a life of fulfillment. The courage can be gained from love, faith and intension of survival...
Karl Marx 's writing of ‘The Communist Manifesto’ in 1848 has been documented by a vast number of academics as one of the most influential pieces of political texts written in the modern era. Its ideologically driven ideas formed the solid foundation of the Communist movement throughout the 20th century, offering a greater alternative for those who were rapidly becoming disillusioned and frustrated with the growing wealth and social divisions created by capitalism. A feeling not just felt in by a couple of individuals in one society, but a feeling that was spreading throughout various societies worldwide. As Toma highlights in his work, Marx felt that ‘capitalism would produce a crisis-ridden, polarized society destined to be taken over by
During World War II, the Nazi regime, under the leadership of Adolf Hitler, attempted to eliminate all the Jews and other “inferior peoples” of Europe. The Nazis and their collaborators killed millions of people, including six million Jewish people and other minority groups, such as 200,000 gypsies and 200,000 disabled people ("Introduction to the Holocaust”). This terrible period in history is now referred to as the Holocaust ("Background to the Holocaust”). A young girl named Anne Frank wrote one of the most notable Jewish texts from this period. Her optimism about the future should inspire the resolution of the modern religious and racial conflicts which stem from WWII era prejudices.
Ironically, Communism has never existed anywhere. There has never been a system implemented in our entire history by which a society has been utterly classless. Communism would be a type of egalitarian society with no state, no privately owned means of production and no social class (Wikipedia). Today there is a selection of “Communist” states that exist in a variety of locations on our globe. Sadly, all of the claimed Communist states including the late Soviet Union were and are despicable and corrupted examples of the idea of Communism. By using Stalin as an example it is quite possible to portray to the reader a simple and effective example of the flip side of attempted Communism. Stalin took control of a weak government and crafted an illusionary Communist state. Ironically, Stalin had set himself up as the dictator of a completely totalitarian society. By using the people of Russia, he was able to harness the government and use it for his own needs. This is quite similar to 1984 with the concept of Big Brother. Although Big Brother is not a person, the inner society that controls “him” creates a Stalinist nation; this was quite purposefully included by Orwell.
...roposal for the world and Communism was too far-fetched and would not work. Every time there has been a push towards Communism, it has always failed. There have been several unsuccessful attempts, all ending in a problematic dictatorship. While he did realize freedom was a major issue, he lacked in knowledge that family life was also significant.
Lukas, Richard C. Did the Children Cry?: Hitler's War against Jewish and Polish Children, 1939-1945. New York: Hippocrene, 1994.
Trotsky thought that Communism could not survive in the USSR alone. He argued that the capitalist countries of the West feared Communism and would try to destroy it. For this reason, he said, it was necessary to spread Communism to the countries of Western Europe and to their overseas colonies. This would be done by giving help to revolutionary groups and parties in Western Europe.
In Under a Cruel Star, Heda Margolious Kovaly details the attractiveness and terror of Communism brought to Czechoslovakia following WWII. Kovaly’s accounts of how communism impacted Czechoslovakia are fascinating because they are accounts of a woman who was skeptical, but also seemed hopeful for communism’s success. Kovaly was not entirely pro-communism, nor was she entirely anti-communism during the Party’s takeover. By telling her accounts of being trapped in the Lodz Ghetto and the torture she faced in Auschwitz, Kovaly displays her terror experienced with a fascist regime and her need for change. Kovaly said that the people of Czechoslovakia welcomed communism because it provided them with the chance to make up for the passivity they had let occur during the German occupation. Communism’s appeal to
The Holocaust, ‘the systematic, bureaucratic, state-sponsored persecution and murder of approximately six million Jews by the Nazi regime and its collaborators”. Many died during this horrid epoch in history, however, some people were able to survive the horrors, whether by hiding or by managing to stay alive until their liberation. two of those people are Vladka Patel Meed and Leah Hammerstein Silverstein, both of Poland. These two women have very different survival stories although one thing that their stories have in common is taking residence in the infamous Warsaw Ghetto for a period of time.
It changed the economy and the growth of big countries, including Germany, Great Britain, United States, Japan, Russia and France. Aside from this, Jews were greatly influenced too. They were damaged, but then gifted. The war started on September 1, 1939 when Germany invaded the territory of Poland, which was allied with Great Britain and France. German officials signed a peace treaty on August 24-25 with the Soviet Union to prevent them from acting in the invasion and to stay in peace between both countries.
In order to provide knowledge on how communism was unable to provide the benefits promised you must first know what communism is. Communism is “an ideology that seeks to create human equality by eliminating private property & market forces” (Karl Marx). So abolishing the personal ability to act freely will create fairness between one another. Freedom is “an individual’s ability to act independently without fear of restriction or punishment by the state or other individuals or groups in society” (O’Neil). The rights given to you in the U.S. constitution are an example of this. Equality is “material standard of living shared by individuals within a community, society, or country” (O’Neil). Gender rights and ethnic rights are examples of this. The link between equality and freedom is “tightly interconnected, and shapes politics, power and debates over justice” (O’Neil). O’Neil also states that the biggest question relating to the connection of freedom and equality is “must one come at the expense of the other?” In simpler terms you may also ask, does the more freedom given to the people directly the level of equality there is, and vice versa. The way communism creates equality by “eliminating private property and market forces” is, when the people can no longer compete through these freedoms, there are no more advantages creating separation between one another. So everyone is on the same economic level. There are many reasons why promised benefits of communism were not provided. I believe a combination of “Flaws in the line of thinking’ and ‘Misapplication of principles by those in power’” (Hoard). These both had parts in why the theory of communism did not flourish.
It is clear that capitalism is more advantageous than communism in every aspect in the economy. All stakeholders such as common people, state, government, banks, and investors will benefit more in a capitalist economy. The best way to describe a communist economy is as an old lady who is demotivated in her life and just wants to eat and sleep, while a capitalist economy can be described as a motivated young man who wants to keep achieving more and more in his life.
Back to Poland, 1939: a small boy roamed around the Umschlagplatz, an assembly area for the Jews before they were loaded onto cattle cars toward certain death. He was all alone, his mother murdered, his father taken away. The s...