Contents 

1. Anti-Semitism in Europe
2. Rise of the Nazi Party in Germany
3. Nazi’s Harshest Persecution of Jews
4. Concentration Camps
5. Ghettoes
6. Euthanasia Program
7. Yellow Stars
8. Holocaust Death Camps
9. Nazi Rule Ends
10. The aftermath of the Holocaust
11.  Sources

 

 

Introduction

The Holocaust is one of the most tragic and devastating events in human history. The persecution and genocide of Jews during World War II had a profound effect on the world and continue to be remembered every year in memorials, vigils, and other commemorative projects. To best understand this dark period in our past, it is important to investigate the history behind it.

Anti-Semitism in Europe

Anti-Semitism has been a pervasive force throughout history, especially in Europe. Historically, this prejudice has been based on religious and cultural differences between Jews and non-Jewish populations. In the Middle Ages, Jews were frequently persecuted due to their monotheistic faith and belief in a single God. Throughout the centuries, they faced discrimination, expulsion from countries, forced conversion to Christianity, and even death at the hands of people who did not share their beliefs or culture.

In modern times, anti-Semitism was especially pronounced during Nazi Germany’s reign from 1933 to 1945. During this period Jews were subjected to extreme acts of violence such as deportation and mass murder by gas chambers in concentration camps. Additionally, Jewish property was confiscated with impunity as part of Nazi Germany’s policy of annihilation against Jews living within its borders. The Enlightenment period during the 17^th and 18^th centuries stressed religious tolerance and harmony. Napoleon Bonaparte and other European rulers ended restrictions on Jews.

Rise of the Nazi Party in Germany

The Holocaust began with the rise of Adolf Hitler’s Nazi Party in 1933 Germany. Hitler’s plan of racial purity was enforced by new laws against Jews, which led to their isolation from society and eventual mass murder in death camps across Europe. By 1945 million were dead due to concentration camps, forced labour, ghettos, starvation, disease, or execution. The survivors were few but those that lived endured extreme psychological trauma for years after the war ended as well as economic hardship due to the loss of property or family members.

The roots of Hitler’s anti-Semitic behaviour are not clear. He was born in Austria in 1889 and served in the German army during ww1. Like many other anti-Semites of Germany, he held responsible Jews for the defeat of Germany in 1918. Hitler was obsessed with the idea of Aryanism (the superiority of the German race). He believed that the Pure German race should rule the whole world. From 1933 onward he launched a movement against Jewish persecution.

Nazi’s Harshest Persecution of Jews

Concentration Camps

Racial purity and territorial expansion were the main worldviews of Hitler. From 1933 onward his foreign and domestic policies were based on these worldviews.  Firstly, the Nazis party launched the harshest persecution against their rivals such as communists and social democrats. The first concentration camp was established by the Nazis at Dachau in 1933 and communists were their first prisoners.

After 1933, Nazis undertook an Aryanization of Germany and Jews became the largest target for persecution. In November 1938, Jewish homes were demolished and Synagogues were destroyed by Nazis. Thousands of Jews were arrested and some 100 were killed.

Ghettoes

In 1938, Germany started the 2^nd world War and invaded western Poland. German police took over the properties of Polish Jews forcefully and forced them to live in ghettoes. In Poland, Jewish ghettoes were surrounded by barbed wire and high walls. These Ghettoes became breeding grounds for diseases because of hunger, poor sanitation system, overpopulation, and poverty. In 1940, the German empire was expanded to Luxembourg, France Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands, and Belgium. Jews from all over Europe and thousands of Romanian people were transported to Polish Ghettoes.

Holocaust Euthanasia Program

Meanwhile, in 1939, the Nazi govt selected around 70,000 Germans for mental or physical illness in the so-called Euthanasia program. These selected people were to be gassed to death. In this Euthanasia program, most of the chosen people had Jewish ethnicity. In 1941, Hitler put an end to Euthanasia program because of the protest of some prominent religious leaders in Germany.

Holocaust marking of Yellow Stars

In German-held territories, Jews were marked with a six-pointed yellow star. The yellow star made them an open target for killing in gas chambers or deportation to Polish ghettoes.

Holocaust Death Camps

In late 1941 Polish ghettoes were full of sick, weak, old people. German officials started mass transportation of these least useful people to death camps. From 1942-1945 Jews were transported to death camps in German territories as well as German allied states. The heaviest deportation to death camps took place in 1942 when an armed revolt rose in the Warsaw ghetto. 300,000 Jews were transported to death camps only from the Warsaw ghetto.

Nazi Rule Ends

On May 8, 1945, Nazi rule officially ended in Germany. This marked the end of a period of great suffering for many people throughout Europe and beyond. The Nazi regime had been in power since 1933 and in that time, millions of Jews were killed as part of their oppressive policies.

The end of Nazi rule was the result of a long and brutal war that saw the Allied forces unite against Hitler’s Third Reich. After Hitler’s Suicide, German forces began the evacuation of many death camps. Some 375,000 people were killed by Germans in death camps.

The aftermath of the Holocaust

 The Holocaust was a devastating event in world history that left an enduring mark on the Jewish people and other minority groups. It is estimated that 6 million Jews, along with millions of other victims, were persecuted and executed during this period of Nazi terror. The aftermath of the Holocaust has had far-reaching implications for generations to come.

The destruction of European Jewry and its effects are still being studied by scholars today. As a result, multiple studies have been conducted to understand both the physical and psychological effects on those who survived or were displaced as refugees after World War II. Survivors experienced long-term physical ailments such as malnutrition or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Psychological trauma included feelings of guilt for having survived when others perished and feelings of alienation from their pre-Holocaust lives.

 Sources

What Was The Holocaust? By Gail Herman
The Holocaust A New History by Laurence Rees