Essay On The November Pogroms

Unit 8E - Explanatory Essay

Over 6 million Jews died during the Holocaust. From 1933-1943 Nazis ruled Germany, Hitler being their leader. During this time, Jews and other races were put through pure misery just because they weren’t German. Strategies the Nazis used to oppress, isolate, and control the population were strong government, fear, and dehumanization.

A strategy the Nazis used to oppress, isolate, and control the population is strong government. In “The November Pogroms”, by Alfons Heck, Kristallnacht is a government sanctioned event to damage Jewish businesses, synagogues, and property. The author writes, “I watched open-mouthed as small troops of SA and SS men jumped off trucks on the market place, fanned out in several directions,

This brainwashed them because the government usually only sets laws to protect the people and for the betterment of society, so the Aryans thought it would be okay to do what they did because the government said so. This event also oppressed the Jews because when their businesses and ways of earning money are destroyed, they cannot provide for their family and are automatically put lower than the people who have money. In Maus, by Art Spieglman, government workers come to warn Mr. Zylberberg and his wife that if they do not send their grandparents, they will be taken to the concentration camps, and later they did. Art Spieglman “And a month after, they again came to father-in-law. Mr. Zylberberg, you and your wife must come with us. If the Karmios don't turn up in 3 days, you two will be sent in their place!”(7). This quote explains how the Nazis used strong government

During Maus, by Art Spieglman, Jewish men are hanged for dealing on the black market. The author says, “The Germans intend to make an example of them! The next day I walked to Modrzejowska street and I saw them… They hung there one full week”(7). This piece of evidence demonstrates how the Nazis used fear to oppress the population because the Jews were either forced to use the black market to survive, or die of starvation while following the law. But if you did deal on the black market, you would be put to death for breaking the law, making it a lose, lose situation. In Night by Elie Wiesel, Elie Wiesel and his father are being led straight to a pit of fire, when they are suddenly ordered to start walking the other way, “No. Two steps from the pit, we were ordered to turn left and herded into barracks”(8). This shows how the Nazis used fear to control the population because they were showing the Jews what they could do. They used this tactic of bringing them close to the pit of fire to show what the Nazis are capable of if the Jews do not listen to them. This also oppresses people because they don’t have a choice but to listen to the Nazis or else they will be killed. The last main strategy the Nazis used to oppress, isolate, and control people is