By surviving the Holocaust I was given the gift of life a second time; that’s how I look at it. I was incarcerated from May 8th 1942 till May 8th 1945, which happened to be my mother’s birthday. At that point I didn’t know she had been killed. I was still searching for her. And why were they killed: my mother, my father my brothers. All in all 63 members of my family were killed. Why? Because of prejudice and bigotry, and hatred. So how do I live with that? How do I forgive them? What do I do? I always wanted to be the best person I could so that no finger could be pointed at me and say, “She’s a Jew. She’s not righteous.” I always wanted to do the best I could because of what happened to me, to prove I was worthy of having stayed …show more content…
Easter also was fun. They came to our house on Hanukkah. I don’t know if you know what Hanukkah is. The Jewish people celebrate when the Temple was theirs again, before it was destroyed. We Jewish people celebrate it. My neighbors would always come on Passover, too. They liked the unleavened bread the Jewish people eat, called matza. It was a wonderful life. We were in and out of each other’s homes. We played together.
Then comes 1933 and everything changed. Hitler made these powerful speeches saying Jews were not worthy to live and everybody was entitled to take away their possessions. Jews could not attend public schools anymore. It wasn’t allowed and why? Because they were born of the Jewish faith. No other reason. Hitler became bolder and bolder. He took away our jewelry. Anything of value was taken away, including our house. We then lived in a small apartment, in a ghetto setting. You know what a ghetto is? A place where people are confined. They can’t get out. That’s where they stay. That’s where they
…show more content…
She waited until the next morning and went to prison with the special shoes and socks he wore. She begged them to let my father have these things. They only laughed at her! “He doesn’t need anything where he’s going, lady. Go home and take that with you.” Six weeks later the postman brought a letter. My father’s name was Martin and it said the following: “Martin Wolf, age 47, died of unknown causes.” Then they sent a little urn, where you put ashes when someone dies. My father had died! My mother wrote to me, “Our father is no longer with us. What am I going to do? How am I going to exist?”
But that wasn’t all. A few weeks later another letter arrived from the secret police telling me my mother would be deported to the east, whatever that meant. They didn’t explain it. They just said she was going to the east. But we knew from other people, from my classmates who had gone through the same thing with their parents, that going to the east meant going to labor camps and concentration camps, and with not much food and lots of
After The Great depression and World War I, Germany was left in a fragile state. The economy was ruined, many people were unemployed and all hope was lost. The Nazis believed it wasn’t their own fault for the mess, but those who were inferior to the German people. These Nazi beliefs lead to and resulted in cruelty and suffering for the Jewish people. The Nazis wanted to purify Germany and put an end to all the inferior races, including Jews because they considered them a race. They set up concentration camps, where Jews and other inferior races were put into hard labor and murdered. They did this because Nazis believed that they were the only ones that belonged in Germany because they were pure Germans. This is the beginning of World War 2. The Nazi beliefs that led to and resulted in the cruelty and suffering of the Jewish people
Night by Elie Wiesel and Life is Beautiful share common themes. Both of these stories take place during the Holocaust, which was when Hitler wanted to annihilate all of the Jews. One theme they both share is father-son “bonding”. In both stories, 2 of the main characters are the father and son who are both going through the Holocaust. Another theme is silence. There are times in both Night and Life is Beautiful that silence plays a key role. A third theme between the two is innocence. Elie was very young when he entered into the concentration camps. Joshua is even younger when he goes through the Holocaust.
From 1933 onwards, Adolf Hitler and his Nazis began implementing simple discrimination laws against the Jews and others who they did not see part of their master race. Hitler and the Nazis believed that German power was being taken by the Jews. Hitler was able to convince his followers of this issue with the Jewish question as it was known, and get away with murdering millions of people in an attempt to cleanse society of anyone inferior to the master race. The Holocaust lasted for 12 years, until 1945. Starting as early as 1944, the Allies were finally advancing on the Germans and began taking over their camps. These liberations and takeovers by the Soviets, American’s and other allies slowly began to remove Hitler from power. In my essay I will go into detail on the final years of the holocaust and how it ended.(1)
Six million Jews were killed during the Holocaust. The Jews were persecuted, tortured and slaughtered in concentration camps (“The Holocaust” 1). Night by Elie Wiesel is the powerful memoir of his experiences during the Holocaust. Night shows the tragedy of the Holocaust through the use literary devices, including the themes of loss of faith and cruelty toward other human beings, night as a symbol of suffering and fear, and the use of first person narrative. Night allows the reader to emotionally connect with the victims of the Holocaust, encourages them to never forget the injustice of the Holocaust, and implores the reader to ensure a travesty such as the Holocaust never occurs again.
As a result of unfortunate situations six million Jews were killed, families were taken out of their own homes and put in ghettos, which were large prison type establishments that housed dozens of people in one small apartment. They were then separated from their famil...
Jewish businesses were boycotted and vandalized. By 1939,Jews were no longer citizens,could not attend public schools,engage in practically any business or profession, own any land, associate with any non-Jew or visit public places such as parks and museums. The victories of the German armies in the early years of World War II brought the majority of European Jewry under the Nazis. The Jews were deprived of human rights. The Jewish people were forced to live in Ghetto's which were separated from the main city.
News came to use that we were going to have to move to internment camps. We had a couple months to prepare to go to the internment camps. Some people in other areas only had a couple of days. We learned about the Relocation Centers through posters that had been posted and from talking to other people. The United States called it a Relocation Center so it didn’t sound as harsh as internment camp. Other than that we heard nothing and had no idea what to expect. We had to report to Tulare Relocation Center. We had no idea how long we were going to be at the center. Later, when the relocation camps were built, we were taken by troop trains to Gila Relocation Center in Arizona.
At first, the Jews were not able to leave their house “for three days under, penalty of death” (Wiesel 10). After, the Jews were not able to “own gold, Jewelry, or any valuables” (Wiesel 10). A few days late, all Jews were forced to wear a yellow star. Because of that, the people were able to recognize who was a Jew or not one. After implementation of the yellow star, a new edict removed them the right to “frequent restaurants or cafes to travel by rail, to attend synagogue” (Wiesel 11). Slowly the Jew lost their right as a human being. Later on, all Jews were force to live in two ghettos that was created in Sighet (Wiesel 11). A few week after the creation of the ghettos, Elizer and his fellow Jews were forced to abandon their house and forced into extremely crowded wagons. Within a few months, the Jews slowly lost their rights, belongings and even their
Eighteen million Europeans went through the Nazi concentration camps. Eleven million of them died, almost half of them at Auschwitz alone.1 Concentration camps are a revolting and embarrassing part of the world’s history. There is no doubt that concentration camps are a dark and depressing topic. Despite this, it is a subject that needs to be brought out into the open. The world needs to be educated on the tragedies of the concentration camps to prevent the reoccurrence of the Holocaust. Hitler’s camps imprisoned, tortured, and killed millions of Jews for over five years. Life in the Nazi concentration camps was full of terror and death for its individual prisoners as well as the entire Jewish society.
The Holocaust was a horrible time for everyone involved, but for the Jews it was the worst. The Jews no longer had names they became numbers. Also they would fight and the S.S. would watch and enjoy. They lost all personal items, then forced to look and dress the same. This was an extremely painful and agonizing process to dehumanize the Jews. Which made it easier to take control of the Jews and get rid of them.
The Jews were different from the general population of the countries where they were. They had different customs, had a different religion and dressed different. Because they were grouped in the ghettos these differences were increased. However, when Germany became a nation in 1871, there was a halt in anti-Semitic laws. In 1900, Jews could buy houses, and while they were subject to restrictions, they were more comfortable under Ge...
“Wake up Lily! The Germans are taking us!” yelled my mother. I jumped out of bed and packed a bag full of valuables and clothing.
Those who survived are here to tell the tragic and devastating history of their lives. The survivors have shared brutal but yet realistic stories from each of their experiences before, during, and after the Holocaust. History shall never repeat itself in the manner of racism, murder, and fear of our leaders. The burning hope of those who were involved still generates an enormous sadness upon the many who have heard the horror of the Holocaust.
My name is Eva Berlinski. I’m only 13 years old and I was brought up
During the late 1920s and early 1930s, Germany was experiencing great economic and social hardship. Germany was defeated in World War I and the Treaty of Versailles forced giant reparations upon the country. As a result of these reparations, Germany suffered terrible inflation and mass unemployment. Adolf Hitler was the leader of the Nazi party who blamed Jews for Germany’s problems. His incredible public speaking skills, widespread propaganda, and the need to blame someone for Germany’s loss led to Hitler’s great popularity among the German people and the spread of anti-Semitism like wildfire. Hitler initially had a plan to force the Jews out of Germany, but this attempt quickly turned into the biggest genocide in history. The first concentration camps in Germany were established soon after Hitler's appointment as chancellor in January 1933.“...the personification of the devil as the symbol of all evil assumes the living shape of the Jew.” –Adolf Hitler