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Tyler Abma

College English

Mr. Neuburger

2/9/09

Research Paper

The Holocaust

The Holocaust refers to the disastrous period of time when millions of European Jews

experienced torture and death at the hands of Adolf Hitler and the Nazis. The Jews faced many

inconceivable acts of terror and destruction between 1933 and 1945. According to the History

Learning Site, approximately six million Jews were killed in this time frame, which is only an

estimate along with all other numbers generated about the Holocaust. In addition, five million

others, including gypsies, homosexuals, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Soviet prisoners of war, and the

mentally and physically disabled, were persecuted and killed along with the Jews (1). Many

questions arise when mentioning the Holocaust. One may wonder how Hitler became so

powerful along with why he had such an incredible amount of hatred for the Jews. Also, one

may ask how Hitler managed to turn almost all of Germany against the Jewish community. In

addition, many do not understand why the Jews were not more active in the resistance against

Hitler and the Nazis. Finally, one might wonder how the Jews were killed so quickly and

efficiently. These questions, along with many others, must be answered to completely

comprehend the catastrophe known as the Holocaust.

Adolf Hitler was not born into a rich and powerful family. He did not attend a prestigious

school. In fact, he did not receive very much education at all. According to the History Learning

Site, in school he was lazy and he dropped out of school at age 15 after the death of his father,
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Alois. Three years later, his mother died as well. With his parents gone and no major schooling,

Hitler had a rough time supporting himself. Art always was a great talent of his so he decided to

apply to the Vienna Academy of Art. However, they rejected his application because he did not

finish school. In addition, they rejected the paintings he presented because the paintings did not

have enough people in them. He spent most of his time selling post cards he painted along with

shoveling snow for money. In addition the History Learning Site states it was at this time his

hatred for the Jewish race began. “He was convinced that it was a Jewish professor that had

rejected his art work; he became convinced that a Jewish doctor had been responsible for his

mother’s death; he cleared the snow-bound paths of beautiful town houses in Vienna where rich

people lived and he became convinced that only Jews lived in these homes. By 1910, his mind

had become warped and his hatred of the Jews - known as anti-Semitism - had become set” (2).

In 1914, in an attempt to make something of himself, Adolf Hitler tried to join the

Austrian army, but could not pass the physical examination. In contrast, after the war started

later in the year, he crossed over the border to join the German army. After a much less rigorous

physical examination, he enlisted in the German army. Hitler, an extremely brave soldier, took a

very dangerous job, regimental runner. In fact, he received the Iron Cross—Germany’s highest

award for bravery—and five other medals for bravery for his service in the war. However, Hitler

had not expected the conclusion of the war to turn out the way it did. While hospitalized in 1918

after being blinded by a gas attack, Germany surrendered. The History Learning Site states, “By

the time he left hospital with his eyesight restored he had convinced himself that the Jews had

been responsible for Germany’s defeat. He believed that Germany would never have surrendered

normally and that the nation had been "stabbed in the back" by the Jews.” Once again, Hitler
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blamed the Jewish race for his problems and began hating them even more. He vowed to get

revenge on those who he thought responsible for this deed (3).

Adolf Hitler ran for president of Germany in 1932 against Paul von Hindenburg and two

other minor candidates. He had a lot of support but only managed a second place finish.

However, according to Jacob Hornberger, Hitler’s National Socialist German Workers Party, or

Nazi Party, won 230 seats in the Reichstag, which made it Germany’s largest political party, a

major victory for Hitler and the Nazis. In contrast, political deadlocks marred the beginning of

this term so they had another election later in 1932. The Nazis lost 34 seats in the Reichstag.

Even though they still were the largest party, they had definitely lost approval of many voters (1).

The deadlocks did not put the chancellor in good standing with President Hindenburg, so after

the previous chancellor resigned his position, Hindenburg appointed Adolf Hitler to the position.

Although the Nazi party did not have great power in the Reichstag, Hitler as chancellor helped to

turn them into a powerful machine.

On February 27 of the following year, Hitler received a phone call while he finished his

supper. It told him Communist terrorists set the Reichstag on fire. After Hitler arrived at the

scene, the Nazis arrested a Dutch Communist named Martin van der Lubbe, according to

Hornberger. In contrast, many historians agree van der Lubbe had been in contact with the Nazi

party and most likely even assisted by them. “Why would Hitler and his associates turn a blind

eye to an impending terrorist attack on their national congressional building or actually assist

with such a horrific deed? Because they knew what government officials have known throughout

history — that during extreme national emergencies, people are most scared and thus much more

willing to surrender their liberties in return for “security.” And that’s exactly what happened

during the Reichstag terrorist crisis.” In fact, the day after the fire occurred, Hitler persuaded
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President Hindenburg to issue a decree which suspended civil liberties. Also, two weeks later

Hitler requested the Reichstag to give him all of its powers. On March 23, 1933, the Enabling

Act went into place which made Adolf Hitler the dictator of Germany, without any legal or

constitutional restraints (2). When President Hindenburg died in 1934, Hitler abolished the title

of president and pronounced himself Fuhrer and Reich Chancellor. Hitler completed his rise to

power after he used his powers as Fuhrer to eliminate all of the competition.

Hitler used propaganda as one tool to create a general dislike for the Jewish community.

The Jewish Virtual Library states, “A major tool of the Nazis' propaganda assault was the weekly

Nazi newspaper Der Stürmer (The Attacker). At the bottom of the front page of each issue, in

bold letters, the paper proclaimed, "The Jews are our misfortune!" Der Stürmer also regularly

featured cartoons of Jews in which they were caricatured as hooked-nosed and apelike. The

influence of the newspaper was far-reaching: by 1938 about a half million copies were

distributed weekly.” In addition, Hitler created a sophisticated military system to silence any

critics. This military system included the S.A. (Storm Troopers), Gestapo (Secret State Police),

S.S. (Protection Agency), and S.D. (Security Service of the S.S.). Furthermore, “With this police

infrastructure in place, opponents of the Nazis were terrorized, beaten, or sent to one of the

concentration camps the Germans built to incarcerate them. Dachau, just outside of Munich, was

the first such camp built for political prisoners. Dachau's purpose changed over time and

eventually became another brutal concentration camp for Jews.” The Nazis portrayed the Jews

as evil and cowardly, whereas they portrayed the Germans as hardworking, honest, and

courageous (2). All of these tools combined to create a broad feeling of Anti-Semitism among

the Germans. However, not all of the Jews gave in to Hitler and the Nazis without putting up a

fight.
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“The Germans' overwhelming repression and the presence of many collaborators in the

various local populations severely limited the ability of the Jews to resist. Jewish resistance did

occur, however, in several forms. Staying alive, clean, and observing Jewish religious traditions

constituted resistance under the dehumanizing conditions imposed by the Nazis. Other forms of

resistance involved escape attempts from the ghettos and camps. Many who succeeded in

escaping the ghettos lived in the forests and mountains in family camps and in fighting partisan

units. Once free, though, the Jews had to contend with local residents and partisan groups who

were often openly hostile. Jews also staged armed revolts in the ghettos of Vilna, Bialystok,

Bedzin-Sosnowiec, Cracow, and Warsaw,” states the Jewish Virtual Library. Furthermore, “Jews

also revolted in the death camps of Sobibor, Treblinka and Auschwitz. All of these acts of

resistance were largely unsuccessful in the face of the superior German forces, but they were

very important spiritually, giving the Jews hope that one day the Nazis would be defeated” (6).

Although this resistance occurred, it did not stop the Nazis from exterminating millions of Jews.

The Nazis killed the Jews little by little until the beginning of 1942 when the Final

Solution was set into place. The Jewish Virtual Library states, “On January 20, 1942, several top

officials of the German government met to officially coordinate the military and civilian

administrative branches of the Nazi system to organize a system of mass murder of the Jews.

This meeting, called the Wannsee Conference, marked the beginning of the full-scale,

comprehensive extermination operation [of the Jews] and laid the foundations for its

organization, which started immediately after the conference ended" (5).

In the spring of 1942, six death camps had been set up in Poland specifically for the

extermination of the Jews. These death camps became killing centers where most Jews had

almost zero chance of surviving. Therefore, approximately 3.5 million Jews died at these death
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camps, according to the Jewish Virtual Library. In contrast, the young and healthy Jews worked

instead of sent to the gas chambers at the camps because the Final Solution required so much

manpower. They worked extremely long days, which caused thousands of deaths from so much

physical labor. When Hitler’s reign of terror came to its final stages, the Nazis marched the

prisoners still alive to territories the Germans still controlled. The Nazis forced the Jews to walk

hundreds of miles, which led to the death of about 250,000 more Jews (5).

All of these things combined with many more make the disaster of the Holocaust. Many

questions are still left unanswered and will continue unanswered for eternity. However, these

facts give a brief overview of some of the main points in the catastrophe known as the Holocaust.

"Adolf Hitler - born 1889 died 1945." Historylearningsite.co.uk. 2008. History Learning Site. 29

Aug. 2008 <http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/adolf-hitler.htm>.

""Final Solution": Overview." 20 May 2008. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. 27

Aug. 2008 <http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/article.php?lang=en&moduleid=10005151>.

"History of the Holocaust-An Introduction." Jewish Virtual Library. 2008. The American-Israeli

Cooperative Enterprise. 27 Aug. 2008

<http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/holocaust/history.html>.

Hornberger, Jacob G. "How Hitler Became a Dictator." LewRockwell.com. 1 Sept. 2006.

Future of Freedom Foundation. 27 Aug. 2008

<http://www.lewrockwell.com/hornberger/hornberger100.html>.

"Resistance During the Holocaust." 2005. 29 Aug. 2008 <http://www.iearn.org/hgp/aeti/aeti-

1998-no-frames/resistance.htm>.
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"Summary of the Holocaust." Jewish.co.uk. 8 July 2003. Something Jewish. 27 Aug.

2008 <http://www.somethingjewish.co.uk/articles/64_summary_of_the_holoc.htm>.