The Death March: Lessons Learned from the Holocaust

Unfortunately tyranny and oppression has many examples in history .One of the worst ones is the Nazis from the Second World War. The Nazi death camps and the stories told by eyewitnesses about the inhuman treatment of individuals are a reminder of those horrible days . We should tell the stories and listen to these eyewitnesses to make sure that history does not repeat itself. We also should speak out against Holocaust denials and against oppressive governments. The world population including Europeans and Americans can be blamed partially for this cruel tragedy because they looked the other way when there were early indications of improper treatment of Jews and minorities in Europe. These nations not only dismissed the anecdotal warning signs but even bought into the Nazi propaganda for a long time. Tyranny and oppression were used by the Nazis, then the Communists, but the world and its people still have not learned from the past, and are not willing to stand up against it. It is difficult to understand the cruelty of the human race.

I was reading the stories of the Death March of 1944-45, and I could not stop thinking about all those people who had to walk hundreds of miles in the winter. The death march was the last segment of World War two, but there was a long history before it. It started at the concentration camps in Germany. All Jews and other minority groups were transported to different locations. There were two different types of camps. There were the death camps, and concentration camps. The stories of the concentration camps were horrific, but nobody survived to tell the stories of the death camps. In the concentration camps kids were separated from their parents. Families were torn apart. Incredible physical su...

... middle of paper ...

...the socialists, and I did not speak out

because I was not a socialist.

Then they came for the labor leaders, and I did not speak out

because I was not a labor leader.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out

because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me, and there was no one

left to speak out for me.”

Let’s stand up against cruelty when they come for others, not just when they come for us.

Works Cited

“A Teacher’s Guide to the Holocaust-Bystanders.” ATeacher’s Guide to the Holocaust-Bystanders. 1997. Web. 16 May 2014.

“Bio of Margit Buchhalter Feldman.” Holocaust Memorial. Web. 15 May 2014.

“Death March.” Center for Holocaust & Genocide Studies : University of Minnesota. 2009. Web. 16 May 2014.

“Death Marches.” United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. United States Holocaust Memorial Council. 10 June 2013. Web. 18 May 2014.