People During The Holocaust

“We had forgotten everything- death, fatigue, our natural needs. Stronger than cold or hunger, stronger than the shots and the desire to die… We were the only men on Earth.” These powerful words of Elie Wiesel were used to describe the suffering of a Jewish person during the Holocaust and similar accounts to this abound throughout its story. Arguably the most widely known genocide in history, the Holocaust was the mass murder of over 6 million European Jews (and also gypsies, and other people deemed “undesirable”) in concentration camps by the German Nazis from 1941-1945. It is a narrative of a human injustice at the hands of a government, but it is also one of resilience and the refusal to be silenced. Historians have pieced together the

To illustrate, the Dutch government, under the influence of “(the Nazis,) forced (Jews) out of business. (They) had to wear yellow stars(,) turn in their bike(s, and) couldn’t go to… Dutch school(s) anymore. (They) couldn’t go to the movies or ride in a streetcar and a million other things.” Nazi policies had inflicted a social segregation against Jews because they were not seen as equals in society. This was a complete injustice against them but at the time, society was so oblivious to the suffering they endured. Today, their accounts have shaped our perspectives of the event so much because we have seen their point of view and our society thinks very differently than society did then. In addition to social segregation, the Nazis denied Jews basic dignities such as humane deaths. They placed these people in concentration camps “to writhe in pain not just for a moment as by a firing squad but for months and years…” Their objective was to inflict as much pain and suffering against Jews as possible- they were treated like animals. And although they were stripped of their rights and treated like second class citizens, Jews in the Holocaust demonstrated the utmost resilience and it is ultimately their perspective that shaped the story of the

Often times, young children had to leave their families and that left them feeling helpless having to be alone. To illustrate, “The departure from my parents was very short and difficult. I had no idea when I would see them again… When I sit here all alone, I often think of my family and then only sad thoughts come to mind.” It was truly an injustice for these families to be separated at the hands of the Nazis. Other times, they were caught and taken to concentration camps and had to watch their families die. To demonstrate, one victim accounts in her diary, “Forgive us, my sister. Forgive me that I didn’t cheer your short life, that I was nasty and intolerant. Forgive us that we couldn’t help you. We did our best.” Watching their family members be slaughtered is perhaps the greatest injustice of the Holocaust. Ultimately, the Holocaust is the story of a race that refused to be wiped out at the hands of another, no matter how much suffering they were put through. They were denied basic human dignities, forced to abandon all that they previously knew to go into hiding, and felt helpless as the circumstances tore their families apart. Yet through it all, they refused to be broken and in the end, the story of the Holocaust is mainly written from a their perspective because their resilience is what they will be remembered for in