The Holocaust: Systems of Persecution

This was an essay that I had to write for school. I got one of the highest grades out of my entire class...but personally, I don't think I did very well. Tell me what you think.

       Propaganda, the relocation of people to the Ghettos, the creation of laws to strip people of their rights, and the use of technology to increase the efficiency of the machinery of genocide. Genocide is a term created after World War II to describe the systematic murder of an entire, political, cultural, or religious group. These are just some of the numerous systems that Adolf Hitler used to implement the Holocaust. Because of Hitler, nearly six million Jews were exterminated. Hitler's idea of a "perfect world" was a world full of people, but only people with blonde hair and blue eyes, although he himself had dark hair and brown eyes.  So basically, he is a hypocrite in my opinion.

        One of the systems of persecution that was used to implement the Holocaust was the use of gas chambers and gas vans. The Nazis would capture innocent Jews, Gypsies, whatever...and stick them in gas chambers at the concentration camps, often telling them that the stalls were for showering. With the gas vans, the Nazis would tell their prisoners that they were taking them to the showers. If that did not get them in the van, the Nazis would just beat them with guns and whips and anything else to get them to enter. It was so packed, that when they opened the van doors to place them in the gigantic grave, the naked, dead bodies would instantly fall to the ground. They were packed like sardines. At the grave, they would have some of the fellow prisoners take the bodies and throw them into the grave. It was devastating for them to do that because they would often see some of their friends lying lifeless and beaten on the ground. I would hate to be in that position.

        Another system of persecution that the Nazis used to implement the Holocaust was working. They would work their prisoners basically to death. Prisoners would get little to no food at all, therefore making it physically impossible to function well. Some would come down with terrible, terrible sicknesses. Despite their sicknesses, they would have to work in the fields and wherever else they were needed. Hiding their sickness was the key to survival. If a Nazi heard a cough or anything keying them that somebody was sick, they would go over to the prisoner and either beat them down or...kill them. That is just unfair. The prisoners would have to go as far as to prick their fingers for blood so they cold smear it on the sickly, just to make the sickly look healthier than what they are really during inspections.

        If they survived the atrocities that I have mentioned, they would most likely perish from suffocation or freezing. The barracks they were housed in were often jammed packed with prisoners, nearly 400 per facility, even though they were only meant for about 100 people. The Nazis would seal the doors and chimney shut, making it practically impossible for fresh air to seep in. During the winter time, it was freezing cold in the barracks. The beds were bunk beds made out of wood, making them very uncomfortable to sleep on. I do not think they even got a pillow. All they got was a thin blanket, and usually, there were not enough to go around! So at night they would have to cram together just to keep warm.

        So as you can see, the Holocaust was a devastating time in history. Hitler was adored by thousands, but hated by millions. He was a selfish, imprudent, heartless man who cared about nobody except for himself. Well, he cared for his wife, but the day after they married, they both committed suicide just seconds apart. He nearly eradicated a race of people and changed the history of the world. Six million Jews would still be alive today if it were not for Hitler. Plus, because of his visions of the world, he basically caused World War II. It makes me wonder if he did all this just so his name would be in history books and such, or if he did this because he would have actually thought the world would be better his way, or both. Ironically, he left home at the age of sixteen with dreams and hopes of becoming a painter.

Reviews

[Freedomgirl16]

This is super helpful! Great info. It could help a student like me.

[Ahmad Alhour]

I can sense the ideological background in this topic from the way you write and express untill the management of ideas and thoughts as all...

I found it interesting and meaningful!

Good Job...