Research Paper

Holocaust Overview






TiIIani Calvisky





English Comp 102 102
Mr. Neuburger
16 November 2011


Calvisky 2

Picture taken during the Holocaust
Source: http://bit.ly/vo0Fjs
Adolph Hitler came into power in 1933, and within a Iew short years the Jewish
population had been targeted by Nazis as the source Ior Germany`s problems. By the time the
Nazi`s deIeat in 1945, over 11 million people had been systematically murdered. Six million oI
these people were Jews. The targeting oI the Jewish people and their burning is known as the
Holocaust. How the Nazi`s pulled oII such a horrendous act becomes one oI the most important
historical events to understand.
Nazis Views on Jews
Once Hitler got power he launched a campaign against
all Jews. Hitler convinced the Germans that the Jews were to
blame Ior the all the bad that had Iallen on Germany and overall
the loss oI the First World War. According to an article by Jews
in Nazi Germany, the Jews became the main problem in
Germany aIter January 1933.
The article states,

Nazi thugs stopped Germans Irom shopping in Jewish shops. By 1934, all Jewish
shops were marked with the yellow Star oI David or had the word "Juden" written
on the window. German guardsmen stood outside the shops to deter anyone Irom
entering. This was not necessarily a violent approach to the Jews but it was an
attempt to economically bankrupt them and destroy what they had spent years
building up. (History Learning Site)
In addition, on buses, trains and park benches, Jews had to sit on seats marked Ior them. Children
at schools were taught speciIically anti-Semitic ideas. Jewish school children were openly
Calvisky 3

Germany police aIter the Nuremberg Law is passes in
1935. Source: http://bit.ly/umqHQr
ridiculed by teachers and the bullying oI Jews in the playground by other students went
unpunished. II the Jewish children responded by not wanting to go to school, then that served a
purpose in itselI and it also gave the Nazi propagandists a reason to think that the Jewish children
were inherently lazy and could not be bothered to go to school. (Jews in Nazi Germany)
Nuremberg Laws
On September 15, 1935 the Iirst piece oI anti-Semitic legislation was passed in two parts:
the Law Ior the Protection oI German Blood and Honor and the Reich Citizenship Law.
According to The Nuremberg Race Laws, these laws
divided races based upon a person`s lineage as well as
outlawing many liIestyle activities Ior those considered
Jewish. Until this point, Jews as well as those oI mixed
race were called non-Aryans. In addition, The
Nuremberg Laws redeIined these people as either Jewish
or mixed race. Because the German Nazi`s not only
placed blame on Jews, they also targeted thousands oI homosexual and disabled people. These
laws made it much easier Ior Germans to Ieel okay about anti-Semitic belieIs and accept actions
taken against Jews. As the Nuremburg Laws became known, they did not deIine a "Jew" as
someone with particular religious belieIs. Instead, anyone who had three or Iour Jewish
grandparents was deIined as a Jew, regardless oI whether that individual identiIied himselI as a
Jew or belonged to the Jewish religious community. These laws were Hitler`s way oI showing
hatred towards the Jews and as his Iollowers grew in massive amounts, so did hatred towards the
Jews. The laws prohibited any Iorm oI relationship between the Germans and the Jews.
(USHMM)
Calvisky 4

In Germany, two synagogues were burnt.
Source: http://bit.ly/vV6eoA



Kristallnacht
In an article called Kristallnacht: A Nationwide Pogrom, it acknowledges that on
November 7
th
1938 a seventeen year old Jew shot Ernst Eduard Vom Rath, Counselor at the
German Embassy in Pans. On November 9
th
the night oI Vom Rath`s death, German government
in Berlin issued the Iirst oI its decrees against the Jews.
All newspapers and services oI the Jews were at a stand-
still. By November10
th
, two synagogues were burned
down in diIIerent parts oI Germany. Many places in
Poland and Germany had Pogroms, which were violent
anti-Jewish riots. In addition, These Pogroms killed a lot
oI Jewish people. The Jewish religious vestments and books were ruined, windows oI Jewish
shops were shattered and the German Police encouraged everyone to beat Jewish people in the
streets, which began the widespread arrests oI Jews. These violent acts placed upon the Jews
became known as the nights oI broken glass. The name reIers to all the shattered glass Irom
homes and towns that were destroyed by Hitler Iollowers. This brutal act was one way the
Germans tried to disable the Jews. By burning their homes and demolishing their place oI work
the Germans made it nearly impossible Ior the Jews to Iind any kind oI work or Iood.
Kristallnacht: A Nationwide Pogrom. In the article, 'The Crystal Night states, 'During Crystal
Night over 7,500 Jewish shops were destroyed and 400 synagogues were burnt down. Ninety-
one Jews were killed and an estimated 20,000 were sent to concentration camps. Kristallnacht is
Calvisky 5

Thousands oI Jews were Iorced to live together
within a three mile radius.
Source: http://bit.ly/vGIUL9
still known as being one oI the most important turning points in the National Socialist anti-
Semitic policy. (USHMM)
Rounding up Jews Ghettos
According to the article The Ghetto Fights, beIore the war began, the Jewish population
made up approximately one third oI the Warsaw
population. By 1939 the Germans had taken control and
invaded the city, Iorcing nearly 3,000 Jews to live
together within a three mile radius. By 1940 this three
mile square was known as the Warsaw Ghetto. Jews were
badly beaten and neglected. They were starved and
Iorced to live with next to nothing. With every passing
day hundreds oI Jews died Irom starvation and disease. The Jews did not have the strength to
Iight back against the Germans because Iear oI reprisals. In addition, the Germans outnumbered
the Jews by thousands and the Jews knew that they had no standing chance oI deIeating them.
(The Ghetto Fights) An article titled Warsaw Ghetto describes that Jews were surrounded by
walls and heavily guarded by the Germans. They were Iorced to work hard labor in Iight Ior the
war. Shortly aIter the surrender oI Poland, the Germans had shipped Jews Irom all over Poland to
live within the three mile square known as the Warsaw Ghetto. As the living conditions
continued to worsen, more and more Jews were packed into the Ghetto; that stood only 2.4
percent oI the Warsaw city`s surIace according to U.S. Holocaust Museum. At times there were
6 to 7 people living in one room and the daily Iood in-take was less than one tenth the minimum
calories needed Ior survival. Sadly, the individuals that managed to smuggle Iood and saving
were the ones that lived the longest in the Ghetto`s. (Yad Vashem)
Calvisky 6

SS-Lieutenant General Reinhard
Heydrich, ChieI oI the Security Police
and Security Service.
Source: http://bit.ly/gImMq7
Wannsee ConIerence The Final Solution
According to The Holocaust History Homepage, on January 20, 1942, SS-Lieutenant
General Reinhard Heydrich, ChieI oI the Security Police and Security Service, and Iourteen
other high ranking representatives met to discuss what is now
called The Final Solution or the 'ending oI the Jews. This
meeting was known as The Wannsee ConIerence. The Final
Solution was the Germans way oI dealing with the mass amount
oI Jews they had rounded up in the Warsaw Ghetto`s. In the
years leading up to World War II, the German Nazi`s had taken
a leading role in what they called 'The Final Solution oI the
Jewish Problem. In addition, Lieutenant General Reinhard
Heydrich wanted to make sure that the German Nazi`s clearly
understood his orders to completely wipe out the Jewish population. The Nazi`s had several
ways to go about Iollowing the orders oI Heydrich which included: voluntary emigration,
conIinement to ghettos in cities located along rail lines Ior work, Iorced separation and removal
to concentration camps, and Iinally, extermination.
According to the website Holocaust-History, Heydrich states in the Protocol,
In large, single-sex labor columns, Jews Iit to work will work their way eastward
constructing roads. Doubtless the large majority will be eliminated by natural
causes. Any Iinal remnant that survives will doubtless consist oI the most resistant
elements. They will have to be dealt with appropriately because otherwise, by
natural selection, they would Iorm the germ cell oI a new Jewish revival. (The
Wannsee ConIerence)
Calvisky 7

Jews line up as they are headed towards the
selection process.
Sources: http://bit.ly/uwqJAi

Selection Selektion
According to the article At the Killing Centers, the selection process diIIered in the
diIIerent concentration camps however, Ior the majority oI them the Jews would be Iiled into
lines and separated into people who were Iit to work and
people who weren`t Iit to work and Iorced into hard labor
to support the war. The Jews that were not Iit to work
would be sent oII to be killed. AIter the Final Solution
was agreed upon in 1942, German Nazi`s transported all
the Jews to various death camps. Once arriving at the
camps, all Jews were Iorced to line up to go through the
selection process. They were separated men Irom women and children. Then a SS physician
would check the overall health oI each Jew Ior strength and determine whether they were
considered Iit enough Ior Iorced labor. Furthermore, depending on the SS physician`s answers
another SS policeman would point to the leIt or the right. Most oI the Jews had no idea which
way they were going to be sent. They were separated Irom their Iamilies and scared the Jews that
were considered not Iit to work would be sent oII to gas chambers to be killed. To keep panic
Irom arising within the camps, policemen would tell the Jews that were selected 'not Iit Ior
Iorced labor that they were going to take showers to rid them oI lice and diseases. The guards
made them strip and drove them naked to the 'showers and would lock them in big steal rooms.
The article states, 'In some killing centers, carbon monoxide was piped into the chamber. In
others, camp guards threw "Zyklon B" pellets down an air shaIt. Zyklon B was a highly
poisonous insecticide also used to kill rats and insects. (USHMM)
Calvisky 8

A German police oIIicer shoots a Jewish woman who
is still alive Iollowing a mass execution oI Jews Irom
the ghetto
Source: http://bit.ly/i1FDI5
Selection at the arrival ramp in Auschwitz-Birkenau.
Source: http://bit.ly/i1FDI5
Extermination Methods
The article, The Extermination Camps / Killing Methods states that during the Iew years
between 1941 and 1943 the German Nazi`s had killed approximately 3 million out oI the 6
million Jews that were involved in the Holocaust by
extermination methods. As Hitler advanced into the
Soviet Union, the pace oI killings got Iaster. The most
widely used method killing the Jews was the gas
chambers. SS guardsmen would hurdle anywhere Irom
350 to 1200 Jews into a steel cell and lock the doors.
Then, either exhaust gas or poison gas in the Iorm oI Zyclon B or A was released into the gas
chamber, killing all that were inside. Other methods included special trucks were converted into
portable gas chambers. This method killed the Jews by suIIocated them with exhaust Iumes. And
a third method oI killing large groups oI Jews was mass shooting. In one speciIic extermination
camp between 17,000 and 18,000 Jews were killed due to mass shooting in November 1943.
(Danish Center Ior Holocaust and Genocide Studies)
The Death Camps
According to the article The Extermination Camps / From Arriving to., aIter the Final
Solution was placed into action, the Nazi`s quickly created six diIIerent death camps to get rid oI
all Jews. However, no matter what camp the Jews were
sent to they would arrive in large over-packed trucks and
were Iorced to undress and hand over any personal
belongings. Then they would go through a selection
process that separated the Jews Irom that ones that
Calvisky 9

Liberation oI Mauthausen
Source: http://bit.ly/vYOKap

could work and the ones that could not work. In addition, pregnant women, children and the
elderly were most likely sent straight to be killed. In December 1941 until March 1943 and the
summer oI 1944, Chelmno/KulmhoI was the Iirst oI all six death camps to open and about
150,000 Jews were killed. Chelmno`s main Iocus was to brutally kill all Jews in a systematic
Iashion. Auschwitz-Birkenau Iirst opened its doors in March oI 1942 until November oI 1944
and more than a million Jews lost their lives there. Auschwitz was the largest oI all
exterminations camps because it was also a Iorced labor camp. From May until June oI 1942,
October through December oI 1942, and March through August oI 1943, at Sobibor death camp,
over 250,000 Jews were killed. Sobibor`s SS Police guards had Iocused more on mass murder
rather than gas chambers. At Treblinka death camp more than 900,000 were killed Irom July oI
1942 until October oI 1943. And lastly, 60,000 - 80,000 Jews were killed at Majdanek(-Lublin)
Irom October oI 1942 until October oI 1943. There was a Iew people Irom each camp that tried
to rebel. II caught in the act the Jew would be killed immediately. Very Iew Jews managed to
escape. (The Danish Center Ior Holocaust and Genocide Studies)
Liberation
In the article, History oI the Holocaust An Introduction states that with World War II
coming to an end, the concentration and exterminations camps were coming to an end also.
DiIIerent Allied Iorces such as the Soviet Forces and
Americans pulled together to deIeat the German Army
and gradually close in on the Nazi`s. By April oI 1945 all
oI the surviving Jews were released, marking a turning
point in German/Jewish culture. When troops entered the
camps they would Iind piles oI corpses, bones, and human ashes. Soldiers also Iound thousands
Calvisky 10

Soon aIter liberation, surviving children oI the
Auschwitz camp walk out oI the children's barracks.
Source: http://bit.ly/dYQjOp
oI Jews and children suIIering Irom disease and starvation. A year aIter the German deIeat, some
200,000 Jews had occupied three main zones: Soviet, British, and America. American had
occupied more than 90 percent oI Jews that were Ireed and they did not start to return back to
Germany until late 1957. (Jewish Virtual Library Homepage)
AIter Liberation Until Israel iI Iormed
In the article The AItermath oI the Holocaust, Iollowing liberation some Jews Ieared the
return home because oI the anti-Semitism that was still occurring. Many oI them could not return
home because oI the terrible memories and torture they
endured Ior such a long time, and others couldn`t go
home simply because they had no home and no one to go
home to. With nowhere to turn many Holocaust survivors
migrated west towards America and Britain. These
places set up organization to help the Jewish called
Displaced Persons (DP) camps, a nationwide Iunding to help Holocaust Survivors. Although
there were plenty oI places willing to help the homeless Jews some place like the outer edges oI
Europe, were closed oII to these homeless people. It wasn`t until Israel was Iormed in May oI
1948 that the Jews Iound they had a place to turn to. By 1957 the migration oI some 170,000
Jews and reIugees Iilled the streets oI Israel and began to Iorm new lives. Meanwhile in the
United States, President Harry Truman passed the Displaced Persons Act, issuing 400,000 visas
to Holocaust survivors, 68,000 oI them were Jews. (USHMM)
In conclusion, the Holocaust continues to be one oI the major turning points in history.
Although this terrible event killed thousands oI people, it will also continue to be a learning
experience Ior all who study it.
Calvisky 11

Works Cited
"At the Killing Centers." United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. USHMM. Web. 11 Nov.
2011. Web.
"Jews in Nazi Germany." History Learning Site. 5 Nov. 2011 Web.
"Kristallnacht: A Nationwide Pogrom, November 9-10, 1938." United States Holocaust
Memorial Museum. 18 Nov. 2011. Web.
"The Nuremberg Race Laws." United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. 5 Nov. 2011. Web.
"The AItermath oI the Holocaust." United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. 15 Nov. 2011.
Web.
Vogelsang, Peter, and Brian B.M. Larsen. "The Extermination Camps / From Arriving to.."
The Danish Center Ior Holocaust and Genocide Studies. Holocaust Education, 2002. 15
Nov. 2011. Web.
Vogelsang, Peter, and Brian B.M. Larsen. "The Extermination Camps / Killing Methods." The
Danish Center Ior Holocaust and Genocide Studies. Holocaust Education, 2002. 11 Nov.
2011. Web.
"Wannsee ConIerence." The Holocaust History Project Homepage. 8 Nov. 2011. Web.
"Warsaw Ghetto , Warsaw LiIe." Warsaw LiIe , Warsaw Travel Guide , Restaurants Shops Pubs
and Apartments Warsaw Hotels , Poland. Warsaw Poland Travel Guide, 2003. 7 Nov.
2011. Web.
Wyman, David S. "History oI the Holocaust - An Introduction." Jewish Virtual Library -
Homepage. Holocaust Memorial Center. 15 Nov. 2011. Web.
YadVashem. "Warsaw Ghetto - Yad Vashem." YadVashem.Org. 8 Nov. 2011. Web.

Calvisky 12

Well done, TiIIani! You seem to have really grasped the whole idea oI the
Holocaust. You have done a marvelous job oI synthesizing your research. I
still see some areas where you could improve, but I see such a huge
improvement Irom what I read oI yours at the beginning oI the semester. I
really see the eIIort you put into your scholl work, at least in our class
anyway.
The one thing I want you to work on when you write your next Iormal academic
paper is this iI you signal a source and then write huge chunks oI text
using that source, remember to use signal words and phrases that let the
reader know you are continuing to use that source. Talk to me iI you need
clariIication on this. Your score is below.

Calvisky 13




olnLs Avallable
Score
40
Content paper demonsLraLes undersLandlng and
confldence abouL Loplc
33
20
Sources uses only prlmary and secondary sources
20
40
In1ext C|tat|ons lnLegraLes sources wlLhln LexL wlLh
effecLlve use of slgnal words and phrases
33
33
Iormatt|ng properly uses MLA formaLLlng
33
23
Works C|ted works clLed page has Lhe requlred number
of sources and ls properly formaLLed
23
13
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capLlons and source lnformaLlon
13
23
Wr|t|ng Mechan|cs aper ls free from errors ln spelllng
puncLuaLlon eLc
20
1oLal 200
1ota| Score