A young Jewish woman, four months pregnant, stood in a line of hundreds of women, all in the same state as her: cold and hungry. It was below 0° outside. The cold wind whipped across the women’s cheeks. The only clothing they had to protect them was the dirty, tattered clothes they had worn on that day. That dreadful day when all their freedoms were stolen. The SS (Schutzstaffel) officer appeared before them, dressed in big, black boots, a crisp uniform, and a loudspeaker in hand. “All pregnant women line up, he barked. Line up, line up — your food portions are being doubled”(O'Connor online). Women up and down the line stepped up. Some of them were not even pregnant, just eager to take advantage of the offer. The girls were hungry. They had not eaten in days. Their last meal consisted of rock solid bread and cold soup that contained mostly water. It was no surprise that many women stepped up to take on the offer. The young Jewish woman did not. Something held her back. Two hundred women stepped up that day. Two hundred were sent to the gas chambers. She was one of the lucky few that survived.
The Holocaust was a tragic event that took the lives of 6 million innocent Jews, of which one million were just children.The Nazis tortured, mistreated, neglected and forced these Jews to do extraneous hard labor and if that didn't kill them, then they died in gas chambers and mass murders. Very few survived, but if they were able to escape from the hands of these killers, they were forced to live with the memories of their traumatic experiences. Many people, psychologists included, predicted that these survivors would fall into depression and live a sorrowful life, knowing how evil the world could truly be. Contrary to popular belief, ex...
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...arch for Positive Effects. American Academy of Experts in Traumatic Stress, n.d. Web. 31 Oct. 2013. .
Klein, Gerda Weissmann. All but My Life. New York: Hill and Wang, 1995. Print.
O'Connor, Joe. "Pregnant in Auschwitz: Toronto Holocaust Survivor Recalls Split-second Decision That Saved Her and Unborn Son." Pregnant in Auschwitz: Toronto Holocaust Survivor Recalls Split-second Decision That Saved Her and Unborn Son. N.p., 25 Aug. 2012. Web. 30 Nov. 2013. .
Shklarov, Svetlana. "Theory Through the Eyes of Child Survivors of the Holocaust." Kavod.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 Oct. 2013. .
Niewyk, Donald . "The Will to Survive." In The Holocaust Problems and perspectives of Interpretation, ed. Donald L Niewyk. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1997. 59-66.
The Holocaust will forever be known as one of the largest genocides ever recorded in history. 11 million perished, and 6 million of the departed were Jewish. The concentration camps where the prisoners were held were considered to be the closest one could get to a living hell. There is no surprise that the men, women, and children there were afraid. One is considered blessed to have a family member alongside oneself.
A Lucky Child by Thomas Buergenthal is a memoir about his time as a Jewish child in multiple ghettos and death camps in and around Germany during World War II. The author shares about his reunions with family and acquaintances from the war in the years between then and now. Buergenthal wished to share his Holocaust story for a number of reasons: to prevent himself from just being another number, to contribute to history, to show the power and necessity of forgiveness, the will to not give up, and to question how people change in war allowing them to do unspeakable things. The memoir is not a cry for private attention, but a call to break the cycle of hatred and violence to end mass crimes.
The Third Reich sought the removal of the Jews from Germany and eventually from the world. This removal came in two forms, first through emigration, then through extermination. In David Engel’s The Holocaust: The Third Reich and the Jews, he rationalizes that the annihilation of the Jews by the Germans was a result of how Jews were viewed by the leaders of the Third Reich-- as pathogens that threatened to destroy all humanity. By eliminating the existence of the Jews, the Third Reich believed that it would save the entire world from mortal danger. Through documents such as Franzi Epsteins’s, “Inside Auschwitz-A Memoir,” in The Jew in the Modern World: A Documentary History by Paul Mendes-Flohr and Jehuda Reinharz, one is able to see the struggle of the Jews from a first-hand account. Also, through Rudolf Hoess’s “Commandant of Auschwitz,” one is able to see the perspective of a commandant in Auschwitz. In Auschwitz: A History, Sybille Steinbacher effectively describes the concentration camp of Auschwitz, while Hermann Langbein’s People in Auschwitz reflects on Rudolf Hoess’s power and control in Auschwitz as commandant. Through these four texts, one is able to see the effects that the Third Reich’s Final Solution had on the Jews and the commandants.
For many educated people learning about the Holocaust can send them feelings of sorrow or deep remource. Not only for the meaning of the word, but why it is called that. The pure evil of the final solution created thought of and created by none other than Adolf Hitler will never stop haunting people more than half a decade later. One of the prominat things that everyone missed in his highly sold auto-biography "My struggle". The thought of solid hatrid found within the cover of the horiable book will always burn in the souls that it harmed from the day it began till the dawn of today.
The Holocaust was a very impressionable period of time. It not only got media attention during that time, but movies, books, websites, and other forms of media still remember the Holocaust. In Richard Brietman’s article, “Lasting Effects of the Holocaust,” he reviews two books and one movie that were created to reflect the Holocaust (BREITMAN 11). He notes that the two books are very realistic and give historical facts and references to display the evils that were happening in concentration camps during the Holocaust. This shows that the atrocities that were committed during the Holocaust have not been forgotten. Through historical writings and records, the harshness and evil that created the Holocaust will live through centuries, so that it may not be repeated again (BREITMAN 14).
An estimated six million Jewish people were killed during the Holocaust, and many were thought to have survived due to chance. Vladek in Art Spiegelman’s graphic novel, Maus, is one of the few Jewish people to survive the Holocaust. Though Vladek’s luck was an essential factor, his resourcefulness and quick-thinking were the key to his survival. Vladek’s ability to save for the times ahead, to find employment, and to negotiate, all resulted in the Vladek’s remarkable survival of the Holocaust. Therefore, people who survived the Holocaust were primarily the resourceful ones, not the ones who were chosen at random.
The Holocaust tends to be a bitter memory and an unpleasant subject to discuss. Although this event took place many years ago, repercussions are still present in the twenty first century. Especially in Germany, the Holocaust not only influences patriotism, but it also influences education and immigration policies. In contrast to other countries where nationalism is common, Germany has been forced to lessen the sense of nationalism in order to dispose false beliefs some individuals have of German racism. By allowing people from other countries to become German citizens, Germany avoids transmitting the sense of being a better and a cleaner race. A further sector influenced by the Holocaust is the education system. Approaches to teach about this event are difficult since the Holocaust is a sensitive issue and continues having vital importance in numerous families. Although the Holocaust continues conveying negative influences, the Holocaust also led to positive medical and technological improvements. In fact, numerous improvements are unknowingly implemented in societies today. Therefore, the Holocaust is one of the most horrific and influencing events in history whose repercussions are still felt in Germany today. However, in spite of the horrific occurrences, the associated medical findings and technological improvements make it intricate to look at the Holocaust as plainly evil. Thus, societies should view the Holocaust with a broader perspective.
Williams, Sandra. “The Impact of the Holocaust on the Survivors and their Children.” at http://www.sandrawilliams.org/HOLOCAUST/holocaust.html, 1993
"Victims." A Teacher's Guide to the Holocaust. University of South Florida, 1 Jan. 1997. Web. 19 May 2014. .
As early as age thirteen, we start learning about the Holocaust in classrooms and in textbooks. We learn that in the 1940s, the German Nazi party (led by Adolph Hitler) intentionally performed a mass genocide in order to try to breed a perfect population of human beings. Jews were the first peoples to be put into ghettos and eventually sent by train to concentration camps like Auschwitz and Buchenwald. At these places, each person was separated from their families and given a number. In essence, these people were no longer people at all; they were machines. An estimation of six million deaths resulting from the Holocaust has been recorded and is mourned by descendants of these people every day. There are, however, some individuals who claim that this horrific event never took place.
Morrison, Jack G.. Ravensbrück: Everyday Life in a Women's Concentration Camp, 1939-45. Princeton, NJ: Wiener, 2000. Print.
During the rule of Adolf Hitler, many children who were Jewish lived a very frightening and difficult life. They never were given the love and compassion that every child needs and deserves growing up. The Holocaust is a story that will continue to be shared till the end of time.
Who survived the holocaust? What are their lives like today? What has been the government's response towards those who survived after World War II? Have the survivors kept their faith? How has the survivors next generation been affected? The survivors of the holocaust were deeply effected by the trauma they encountered. This unforgettable experience influenced their lives, those around them, and even their descendants.
Childhood is a powerful and important time for all humans. As a child, the things one sees and hears influences the choices and decisions they make in the future. “How a child develops during early and middle childhood years affects future cognitive, social, emotional, language, and physical development, which in turn influences their trust and confidence for later success in life” (Early and Middle Childhood). Yehuda Nir’s, The Lost Childhood is a first person memoir based on the life of a youthful Jewish child who survived the Holocaust. Taking place from pre-World War II 1939, to post-World War II 1945, this memoir highlights the despicable things done during one of the darkest times in modern history. Prior to being published in October