The Genocide Of The Holocaust

The Holocaust Research Project The Holocaust was the world’s largest known genocide with over 11 million victims. (Bachrach 10) The first kidnapping spree of Jews started in Germany on January 30, 1933, which later spread to Austria, Poland, and eventually Czechoslovakia. (Altman 5) People in Germany were not very aware of what was happening until November 9, 1938, when over 30,000 Jews were killed and 190 synagogues were burned to the ground. (USHMM “Holocaust Overview”) Kristallnacht, or the night of broken glass, was an eye opener for how extreme the Nazi armies were. Many Jews were captured, Germans were beaten, and glass from hundreds of shops and buildings littered the ground. (Shuman 27) Jews, however, were not the only people

Jews were stripped of their clothes and hair. They were left there to starve. They were given one meal a day or were often left hungry. (Bachrach 40) People would try to sneak out to get food to bring back to their friends and family. Smuggling became a sort of game the people won. (Bachrach 19) Children would make toys in the ghettos to pass their time. They made dolls out of scraps of clothing, cards out of cigarette boxes, or even wooden toys they would carve from pieces of wood with sharp rocks. (Bachrach 16) There was no bathroom or beds provided in the ghettos. It was very cramped and there was little to no room to lay down in the bunker. Human waste littered all over the ground causing a disease to spread throughout the camp, killing hundreds of residents. The most common virus was Euthanasia. This sickness caused diarrhea and dehydration which was far from ideal in the cramped areas. (Bachrach 40) They often froze or starved to death. One of the worst parts was the train rides. The ride from the towns to the ghettos often took days with no stops. People were packed into cattle cars and it was impossible to sit down. There wasn’t a bathroom or a place to rest. If someone died on the train then you had to try your best to lay the body somewhere. There was no food or water given during these long rides. (Bachrach 19) Once in the ghettos, the Nazi armies didn’t really pay attention to the residents.

First, they lost their family. Woman and children were gassed in chambers and killed. (USHMM “Gassing Operation”) Men and able woman were split up and sent to the bunks. Then they lost their identity. Their heads were shaved, They got a tattooed number instead of a name, and they had to wear the same pair of clothing to sleep and work. (Bachrach 57) Once this was complete, they were sent to work for the majority of the day. You were lucky to get one meal a day or a place to sleep. There were bunks but not enough for everyone to have somewhere to sleep. All of the men were shoved in one room together where they had to sleep. (Bachrach 55) The same happened with the woman. A disease spread because of this, wiping out hundreds. With little sleep, low amounts of food and water, and forced labor all day, the people at these camps often died of exhaustion. (Bachrach 54) People were beaten if they stopped working. Once dead, bodies were sent to the crematorium to be turned to ashes so they could get rid of them more easily. The Nazi soldiers were ruthless and they didn’t show mercy to anyone. (Bachrach 56) The jews stayed in these camps until 1994 when they were finally saved. (Bachrach