Passive Resistance During The Holocaust

During the Holocaust, the Jewish people resisted Nazi oppression using either passive or active resistance. Passive Resistance was non-violent and was shown through music, maintaining daily life, and helping hide Jews. On the other hand, people who partook in active resistance utilized violence to directly counter the Nazis for what they believed. “Violins of Hope”, “Resistance During the Holocaust”, and “The Diary of Anne Frank” show how people used passive resistance to defy Nazi rule. Passive resistance was the most effective type of resistance during the war because it preserved Jewish culture, carried on hope, and provided a better chance of survival for them and their families.

One way passive resistance was more effective was that it

In “Resistance During the Holocaust,” Jewish people in ghettos carried on hope by participating in everyday things. They scheduled literary events, put on concerts, maintained religion, and even had schools: “...they included literary events...concerts...creating schools...maintaining religious customs…”(1). The Jews tried to make their lives normal, despite everything going on. Although it does not seem like it is a form of resistance, you must remember that Adolf Hitler wanted to crush all remaining hope the Jews had. Making their lives feel normal allowed them to “temporarily forget the worries of ghetto life and were a source of encouragement”(2). Their normalness also strengthened their morale and kept alive the hope that one day they would be set free. Proponents of active resistance may argue that it was inappropriate for these types of events to take place where people were dying everyday. But, if these events had never occured, there would have been no hope in the camps and ghettos, and the Jews would have no courage to resist in any way. Just like these events, the Civil Rights Movement, a movement where African-Americans marched and protested for equal rights, carried on hope for them that one day in the future, life would be better. It is the same with the Jewish people, and the events they held gave them hope of a better

Amnon Weinstein preserved Jewish culture by repairing violins that once belonged to Jewish prisoners. Prisoners in the ghettos held events to carry on the hope that they would be freed. People that hid Jews from Nazis gave them a more likely chance at survival. Passive resistance accomplishes its goals without the risk active resistance has, making it a more ideal form of resistance during