On May 13, 1939, the St. Louis was carrying 937 passengers who were just trying to escape the effects of the Holocaust that were starting to spread wildly throughout Germany. Almost all of these passengers were Jews that were escaping from the Third Reich. The German transatlantic liner was scheduled to leave and sail from Hamburg, Germany to Havana, Cuba (2). Their trip was set to last about two weeks, and then they would be rid of all Nazis and German wars. They would remain in Cuba until they met the quota requirements to enter the United States. This was the idea, but this is not what happened.
The Jews wanted desperately to escape what was happening in Germany (2). When they finally got their chance, they jumped at it. This trip was expensive and since a lot of Jews had recently lost their jobs, only few could afford it. Most families could only pool together enough money for one family member to go, and then they hoped that they could make enough money in America to pay for their families’ trip over (1). Many Jews worried about the voyage over and how harsh they would be treated since a Nazi flag flew over the ship. But to their surprise, they were treated quite pleasantly. The St. Louis was a luxury liner so they were treated to nice food and good entertainment. The ship got to Havana on May 27, 1939. Sadly, the passengers had no idea what had gone on while they were on the ship. Just a week before, the Cuban government had altered and the new government did not allowed visas. They would only allow 28 passengers enter the country because they were the only ones who had valid passports (1). The passengers soon became worried. The ship was stranded off the coast of Cuba for 5 days while the crew members decided what to do...
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...nce but they were arrested in Paris, and transported to the Gurs internment camp. During the summer and fall of 1941, they entire family had gained visas to leave the country. They left France, crossed Spain, and left from Lisbon to the United States (3). This was one of the many stories of the families that left Germany in search of a haven in a different country. Everyone was trying to escape Germany and the few hundreds who got the opportunity to were turned down by various countries. Obviously, no one was generous enough to take in the Jews when they needed help the most. Regardless of the inhospitable countries, they finally found refuge for a short period of time before they found themselves right back into the arms of the Germans. The St. Louis Incident was a good attempt at seeking refuge for the Jews, but ended in failed attempts for the Jews.
The Germans had started the deportations of Jews on July 22, 1942. Solomon’s two brothers and sisters were all sent to the camp Treblinka. Once they got deported he had never seen any of his family again.
After this the Jewish citizens of Germany realize that they really weren’t wanted in Germany after all so, they start the move out of Germany and move back to America.
In the book Night by Elie Wiesel, it talks about the holocaust and what it was like being in it. The Germans were trying to make the German race the supreme race. To do this they were going to kill off everyone that wasn’t a German. If you were Jewish or something other than German, you would have been sent to a concentration camp and segregated by men and women. If you weren’t strong enough you were sent to the crematory to be cremated. If you were strong enough you were sent to work at a labor camp. With all the warnings the Jewish people had numerous chances to run from the Germans, but most ignored the warnings.
...ler passed a series of laws against the Jews. It constrained their rights. They became non-citizens, and had to give up their passports, and were given new ones that were stamped labeling them. Their businesses, homes, and their private belongings were taken away from them. In 1941, an order was made to annihilate all the Jews, it stated, "All Jews without exception are to be destroyed."
Jews way of living while in a concentration camp was a harsh time. They died of many different causes. For example: Starvation, Diseases, gas chamber, shot, burned to death, beat to death, or put to working hard labor. Some lived without the knowing of what was happening to their family members because they were at a different camp. For a fact, every jew lived in fear while they were locked up at a camp. They never knew when there time was to come. The more they showed fear the more harsh the Nazis
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.
that all Jews over 6 years had to wear a Star of David. Also Jews were
During the time of the Holocaust, there were many Jews who were being persecuted because of their religious beliefs. Although many individuals and groups were involved with the persecuting, many brave people stood up for the Jewish people and decided to save their lives. They did this by rescuing the Jews from the Nazis or other groups who were putting them in danger. These types of people were known as rescuers. The people who rescued the Jews from the Nazis including Corrie ten Boom and her family, the rescue operations, and a group of non-Jews called the Righteous Among the Nations, risked their lives to save the Jews.
The world should have been more in-tuned with the major events of the 1930’s such as Hitler’s election as Chancellor of the Reichstag, Kristallnacht, and the boycott of Jewish businesses. Because of the war, the camps, and the mass murders, Germany was ground zero for Jewish civilians. Hell on Earth became a reality in Treblinka. Jews were branded like slaves and lost their identities. Mothers were forced to leave their children, and thousands of families were separated. To wake up one day with your mother and have her marched into the gas chambers the next, never seeing her again or even saying goodbye, would be traumatizing and cruel beyond belief.
Would you be brave or patient enough to hide in a tiny space for three years with little food and nothing to do? Like the Frank family, many other Jewish families found secret places to hide. The Stermers, Bileckis, and Haars were all involved with hiding during the Holocaust to avoid being sent to concentration camps by the Nazis.
Jews all over Europe feared for their lives and many were aware that the punishment for their religion depended on the country they were fortunate, or unfortunate, enough to live in. Hitler not only held prejudice against Jews, homosexuals, gypsies and those who harboured any of the above, but also held firm convictions that some countries’ citizens were fit to die, no matter their religion. No one was hit harder by this prejudice as was Poland. Hitler hated all Polish citizens and hated Polish Jews even more. In Warsaw, Jews were confined to a blocked off area which came to be known as the Warsaw Ghetto. Many of these Jews never saw outside the Ghetto again and for those who did it was only en route to a concentration camp or labour prison. Food rations inside the Ghetto were very low and though many outsiders smuggled food in, there was not nearly enough to keep everyone alive. Many died of starvation or died due to illness they had contracted because their bodies had grown so weak. Throughout the war, Sweden remained neutral and many Jews from neighbouring countries were smuggled in. Nazi police soon realized that they had to find ways to prevent this from happening and turned to the animal world. Dogs were trained to detect the scent of humans and soon, all boats leaving for Sweden were searched to detect any Jews that were hiding in basement compartments. Most Jews were discovered before they could escape and this discouraged many more from attempting to do the same. Jews that were apprehended were not treated much differently by the Nazis but the Jews left behind received the brunt of the their anger. Danish Jews in particular were often accused of planning to escape because of their proximity to Sweden. There are stories of countless ...
During the time there was a group of people thought of as “outcasts” for a reason that was given by Germanys dictator. These people were known as the Jewish. They had beliefs and ways of life that they enjoyed. The population in Germany that weren’t Jewish thought of their ways as unacceptable. They beat them tortured them, destroyed family stores, discriminated them, gave them labels, they also gave them things that weren’t supposed to be given. Between 1939-1945 the Jews were sent to concentrati...
Before they were actually sent to the concentration camps they were first taken to a ghetto. The mass killing centers was where many of the Jews were sent to through 1942 - 1945.
During the years of the war, America’s immigration policy and the restriction of Jewish immigrants was very apparent. The January 1943 Telegram Confirming Reports of Mass Executions of Jews in Poland talks about the Immigration Reform Act of 1924 and how it passed tight quotas on immigration. In 1924, the Unites States passed the Immigration Reform act. This act granted as little as two percent of the immigrating population a visa they needed to enter the U.S. Getting a visa could mean life or death for many immigrants. Instead of America helping the Jews escape Germany and Hitler, they blocked them out with more strict immigration policies. President Franklin D. Roosevelt and other officials warned that stricter controls on immigration were needed to prevent foreign threats from invading our nation. But innocent Jews trying to escape death don’t seem that harmful to most people. They also refused to, “ raise their immigration quotas in order to accept large numbers of refugees” (Lichtheim and Riegne 1). Because of this, many European Jews were not expected into America and in return harshly affected by Adolf Hitler and the Nazis. Some even died a horrible deaths in concentration camps just because America was afraid of giving out too many visas. Because of actions like these, the Jews were turned down in their time of need, especially when they
The Jews’ upset with Lindbergh began when he started taking regular trips to Nazi Germany after it had instated “Hitler’s 1935 racial laws [which] had denied German Jews their civil, social, and property rights, nullified their citizenship, and forbidden intermarriage with Aryans” (Roth 6). Despite these atrocities against the Jewish