Essay Example on Holocaust: Atrocity, Anguish, & Senseless Mass Murder

Introduction

The Holocaust began slowly but steadily, where age-old prejudice proceeded to discrimination. Discrimination culminated in persecution. The persecution led to incarceration, and the incarceration resulted in annihilation. Any chapter in life that touches on the Holocaust leaves many of us numb. Indeed, the Holocaust that faced over six million Jews was an atrocity, anguish, and senseless mass murder that would not have been allowed to sail in light of the day. With the tide of xenophobia and nationalist politics seemingly rising on both Atlantic sides, it is more important now than ever to commemorate the Jew's Holocaust. In doing so, our entire universe can be reminded of what toxic ideologies can result in when they get hold of the whole continent or world. It is a fact that something equivalent to a Holocaust did not happen overnight, but it was a culmination of a long history of anti-Semitism that arose in Europe over more than 2000 years (Berenbaum, 2020). Issues such as Anti-Semitism directed to the Jewish race, the death or labor camps, and the aftermath of the Holocaust paint a somber mood across the civilized western worlds. Thus, as the world commemorates the Holocaust, it is good to note that its commemoration symbolizes a period of revolution that stood against hatred. Hence, this study affirms the significance of remembering the Holocaust for future generations.

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Anti-Semitism towards Jewish Race

The Jewish people were targeted for extermination. Throughout the Middle Ages, the Jews were regarded as usurers and even portrayed as aliens. Illustrations across the majority of parts in Europe painted Jews as devils with cloven feet and horns. The hatred towards the Jews was not a question of religion but only Judaism. What many thoughts were religious discrimination for the Jews community turned out to be a thriving political, social, and secular anti-Semitism (Berenbaum, 2020). The notion that Jews were threatening and dangerous raised Ant-Semistism to extreme levels. A unified pseudoscientific theory and anti-Semitic racism resulted in gained full acceptance that resulted in Jews being persecuted in most parts of Europe, Germany, and Russia leading the front. For instance, Adolf Hitler termed the Jews as a haven of all manner of evils that included cultural decline, diseases, social injustice, Marxism, especially communism and capitalism. The Nazi takeover of power resulted in more anti-Jewish measures and ideology, such as the Aryan race that included Jews excluded from some studies and professions (Berenbaum, 2020). Children of Jewish parents were not allowed to attend any learning institution. Non-Jewish people were urged to boycott Jewish businesses. Propaganda talking ill of the Jews was spread across the globe through the Weekly Nazi Newspaper, such as the Der Sturmer (The Attacker). The Jews were defined and even subjected to humiliation in public places. Genocide and unprecedented violence against the Jews, race were taken to other levels. Systematic mass murder for Jews, the race was the order of the Nazi authorities. The normal privileges and rights, such as documented information, business permits, and education that many non-Jews enjoyed, were denied (Berenbaum, 2020).

The Labor/Death Camps

Concentration camps throughout Europe served different purposes. In most instances, these types of camps were known as concentration camps where people were detained without trial ("Types of camps"). Those in the camps were kept under harsh conditions, exploited for hard labor, and even exterminated in there. The administrators of these camps had a distinctive disregard for the inmates' health and lives. Across all the camps, the facilities and sanitation were extremely wanting. Point to note, torture, humiliation, and brutal treatment was something familiar in camps. Approximately, more than a million people perished in the labor or death camps over the Holocaust period ("Types of camps"). The camps were categorized into the following. The first category were extermination camps. These were used for mass murder by the Nazi regime from 1941 to around 1945. The most brutally murdered in these camps were the Jews. Examples of extermination camps included Belzec, Treblinka, Chelmno, and even Majdanek ("Types of camps"). Apart from the majority being killed by the administrators in the extermination camps, some died because of hunger, being overworked, or murdered by various diseases inheritable in the camps. The second category were transit camps ("Types of camps"). These were camps used to detain prisoners before their deportation to other Nazi camps briefly. Overall, these camps were characterized by awfulness and unsanitary conditions. Forced Labor camps, too, were set up where people were detained to offer cheap labor ("Types of camps"). People were forced to work. Little time was provided for people to rest after work. Thus, death rates in these categories of camps were extremely high. Lastly, there were Prison of War camps that hosted allied military personnel and officers who were captured or surrendered to the Nazis ("Types of camps"). The detainees in these camps died as a result of either disease, mass shootings, or starvation.

The aftermath of the Holocaust

All of Europe's Jewish population was displaced. The wounds of the Holocaust were slow to heal. Most survivors found it explicitly impossible to return to their respective homes. Most persons lost their families and their non-Jews neighbors. Those who were lucky and found their loved ones resorted to building their lives once again ("How did survivors rebuild their lives?"). There was also an unprecedented number of refugees across the world. The number of displaced populations on the move skyrocketed across Europe, who included people from various survivor camps ("How did survivors rebuild their lives?"). There was an increase in Death Marches that involved in relocating all the prisoners from various camps. For other brave people, they resorted to returning home and starting over again ("How did survivors rebuild their lives?"). An ongoing aspect of tracking down the masterminds of the Nazi war and bringing them to justice for those who escaped.

Conclusion

The history of the Holocaust demonstrates that targeting a particular group has detrimental consequences. It is a fact that the Holocaust took place. Despite this evidence, racism amongst other races is still a struggle for many. With all the documentation in place as it pertains to the Holocaust, the extent of unforgivable and inhuman acts of evil does exist in our society. Despite the hatred being spread across the world, we all are thankful to the majority of the people in the world who stood firm against the Nazis and worked together as a team to defeat the Nazi's ideologies that were wreaking havoc to the Jews community.

References

Berenbaum, M. (2020, January 14). Holocaust. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/event/HolocaustHow did survivors rebuild their lives? (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.theholocaustexplained.org/survival-and-legacy/rebuilding-lives-case-studies/

Types of camps. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.theholocaustexplained.org/the-camps/types-of-camps/