Survival In The Holocaust

It’s Worth the Fight

The word Survival is a noun in the English dictionary meaning “the state or fact of continuing to live or exist, typically in spite of an accident, ordeal, or difficult circumstances” (Dictionary.com). Survival is exactly what happened and what the “undesirables” did during the time of the Holocaust. From the years 1933 and 1945, the horrible event of the Holocaust took place (History.com). It was a time where people of the Jewish religion, and others, were targeted by Nazis and were discriminated because of their religion and beliefs. At a later time, Jews that were living in cities of Germany, Poland, and other parts of Europe were separated and placed into areas called “ghettos” where they were caged in a small area

An example is having uprisings and revolts in many of the camps. “Under the most adverse conditions, Jewish prisoners succeeded in initiating resistance and uprisings in some Nazi camps. The surviving Jewish workers launched uprisings even in extermination camps… Jews seized what weapons they could find… and sent fire to the camp. About 200 managed to escape” (“Jewish Uprisings”). Despite being in camps, prisoners still fought for what they believed in and did not let anything or anyone stop them. Knowing that their fighting might not have been able to set them free, withstanding against Nazis gave Jews the piece of mind that they tried and did everything they could to help save their culture. Jewish people did not only resist with violence, they also took a more peaceful way of resisting with spiritual

For some, spiritual resistance made them get through the nightmare they were living and made them feel as if they were normal human beings again even with Nazis trying to belittle them in every way. “... spiritual resistance may refer to the refusal to have one’s spirit broken in the midst of the most horrible degradation… schools and classes were organized inside the ghettos… Jews also engaged in a variety of cultural activities… Jews prayed and held ceremonies in secret” (“Spiritual”). Nazis prohibited ghetto residents to do anything that consisted of them being who they are. Through all the hardships and abuse, Jews were able to keep a little piece of themselves in secret to help them through the horror. Overall, the “undesirables” never gave up and stood for their survival as individuals and as a whole. Whether it was armed or unarmed resistance they had hope and faith through their time of suffering.

During the depressing time of the Holocaust, Jews and “undesirables” did many things in their power to contain their humanity. Citizens of ghettos did all they could in their capability to fight against abuse from the Nazis. When things were getting worse and worse, Jews still resisted no matter where they were or what their situation was. Spiritual resistance was an effective, non-violent way to resist what Nazis tried to take away from the Jewish community.