Holocaust
"...I realized I didn't have my prisoner's cap. Any prisoner at morning roll call without his cap was shot ." What would it be like if your life depended on something as simple as whether or not your hat was in your possession? To have a simple twist in fate be the deciding factor in whether or not you were going to live? This was everyday living for some European Jewry. Six million people's twist of fate ended tragically. To classify all of the Jew's experiences - both survivors and the deceased- as similar is unfair, for many different factors played a role in their experiences from 1933 to 1945. As the Nazi's hold on Europe was clenched tighter and tighter, a living Jew became more and more of a rarity. Throughout history Jews have been discriminated against, yet in 1933 things changed. No longer was a Jew looked at as religiously different, but now they were considered biologically different. Hitler's rise to power in Germany changed life drastically for the German Jews. But the question arose, what was a German Jew (it is important to keep in mind this applies only to the Jews of Germany)? To begin the large-scale classification system, Germans were first broken up into two main groups
The United States was allowing a select number of Jews in and there were no exceptions to the rules. In the end, they were beyond the Nazi's grasp and a much higher power controlled them, their lives were in the hands of fate. " Many death camps, such as Treblinka, exploited the victims bodies before and after their death. In 1937, Kurt Klein followed the lead of his sister and immigrated to America at his parent's urges. Mass deportation of Jews occurred and families were broken apart. Oddly enough, a Nazi official, Ministerialrat Killy, fell under the category of a second degree Mischlinge and was married to a Mischlinge of the first degree. The thought "I believe that God will keep us together and under the roof of our house ," along with the fact that family and friends were nearby convinced many Jews not to leave while they still had a chance. Sadly, the brutality of this occurrence was not uncommon in the Third Reich's mass killings. A mere walk through town could be life threatening as Gerda shares in her memoir. The receiving of the Jews at Auschwitz was very systematic. The continued search for the answer to the Jewish question led to the Final Solution in which Europe would be purified with the liquidation of all Jews by mass murders. They felt America held better opportunities for their family and they would join the children when the time came. Although Jews were not allowed into German universities or school, learning still continued by way of home schooling or secret schools. In fact, in the 1930's Germans actually encouraged the Jews to emigrate. However, there were exceptions to this rule which were rightfully called "liberations.
Common topics in this essay:
Auschwitz Sonderkommandos,
Final Solution,
Jews Germany,
Jews Russian,
Jewry Six,
Rudolf Vrba,
Aryans Jews,
Donat Majdanek,
Kurt Klein,
Laws Aryan,
final solution,
mass killings,
tell people,
extermination camps,
nuremberg laws,
death marches,
german jews,
mass murder,
twist fate,
jews leave,
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Acceptance Essays
