The Holocaust is known as the biggest genocide in history. The German Nazi killed about 6 million European Jews along with other persecuted groups like the gypsies and homosexuals. In schools everywhere they teach about the stories of survivors and those who vanquished in the Holocaust, but is it safe to say we have learned from Germany’s mass execution against the Jews? All around the world men and women are being victimized and discriminated by their background, their ethnicity and even by the color of their skin. The holocaust was not just a movement to mass execute the Jewish race; there were reasons behind this tragic event. Hitler, the Nazi leader, believed that Germans were “racially superior” and the Jews were “inferior”, therefore they should be eliminated. Does this not happen today? Stereotypes, racism, prejudice and discrimination keep us from evolving and living at peace with each other.
We see discrimination and racism happen everyday in our lives. Taking the United States as an example, the law should protect and give us equality. The Declaration of Independence states, “[…] that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” (1). Yet, if this is true, then why is racial discrimination high on the list of reasons why people get put in the death penalty list each year? It is impossible to dismiss the fact that throughout history the United States