Women in the Holocaust

538 Words2 Pages

Women went through many hardships during the Holocaust, but many didn’t differ from the ones that men went through. It would be incorrect to say that women and men went through exactly the same things. While they did go through many similar things women were treated slightly differently because of their gender. In the beginning of the war, everything was very gender specific. Everyone followed traditional gender roles where men would support the family financially, and women would take care of the kids and housework. This affected the chance of women having non-Jewish colleagues, close friends, or families to protect them because they didn’t venture into the world. Many believed that the Germans would not harm women, so they didn’t plan ways for women and young girls to escape. Women did have some advantages over men, though. Their skills of caretaking and homemaking helped them throughout the war, especially during the early ghetto days. Neither gender had more advantages then the other. Only certain things helped them. Women were not likely to be harassed, arrested, or imprisoned when the war first started. As the war progressed, women were soon held to the same level of torture. Germans were not typically allowed to sexually assault the Jewish women because they were considered them beneath them, but many did not follow that particular rule. Women were humiliated in the streets and forced to perform dirty tasks regularly. They were often subjected to gender specific tasks, like undressing in front of German officers. Despite this type of harassment, it was typically not until the liquidation of the ghettos that women and children were subjected to the extreme violence and brutality that left even the experienced ghetto chr... ... middle of paper ... ...n according to Nazi racist hierarchy or their religious and political affiliations that made them targets, not their sex. (2013, Women During the Holocaust section). Works Cited "Women during the Holocaust." United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. United States Holocaust Memorial Council, 10 June 2013. Web. 19 Mar. 2014. Ofer, Dalia, and Lenore J. Weitzman. "Women in the Holocaust | Jewish Women's Archive." Women in the Holocaust | Jewish Women's Archive. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Mar. 2014. Ravitz, Jessica. "Silence Lifted: The Untold Stories of Rape during the Holocaust." CNN. Cable News Network, 24 June 2011. Web. 20 Mar. 2014. Kershner, Isabel. "Women's Role in Holocaust May Exceed Old Notions." The New York Times. The New York Times, 17 July 2010. Web. 21 Mar. 2014. Weitzman, Lenore , and Dalia Ofer. Women in the Holocaust. Yale University Express, 1999. eBook.

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