Essay, Research Paper: The Holocaust 4

The word Holocaust comes from two Greek words, holos, meaning "whole" and Kaustos meaning "burned." It was used in early times it described the sacrifice that was burnt entirely on an altar. Many people who were "sacrificed" during World War II were also burnt in crematories and furnaces, hence, naming this mass murder of humans The Holocaust. The Holocaust, to many, is better known as Adolf Hitler's, the German chancellor of German during the mid 1930's into early 1940's, attempt to annihilate culture and invalids of his choice, mainly people of Jewish background. His party was called the Nazis and during their reigning period (1933-1945), tyranny spread deep into Europe. Many innocent people were persecuted and murdered. Of the people whom were murdered, the Jewish led the death toll. Nazis slayed six million Jews. Among others were Soviets, Poles, Slavs, gypsies, the mentally or physically challenged, homosexuals, and other religious dissidents, such as communists, socialists, trade unionists, and Jehovah's Witnesses. The number of deaths has been estimated in the vicinity of fourteen to eighteen million people. By 1945, the end of World War II, two out of every three European Jews had been murdered. The concentration camp is the most closely related with the Holocaust. It will always be an enduring symbol of the Nazi regime. The first camps were open immediately following the start of Nazi rule in January of 1933. They continued as an everyday part of the Nazi dominion until May 8, 1945, when the war and the party's rule, ended.
Among other things, the concentration camps played a significant role in the lives of Jewish people during this period of time. Camps were implemented with crematories and gas chambers. Most of the well-known camps were established on the soil of Poland. The arrival points in Poland were Kulmhof, Belzec, Solbibor, Majdanek, and Auschwitz-Birkenau, which was the largest death camp. Unlike other camps, Auschwitz used quick working gas chambers and crematories. Victims were pulled out of their homes and placed into ghettos. From there, they were deported to these camps. Most deportations took place in the summer and fall of 1942. The first bunch of people deported were usually filled with women, children, or older men who could not work. The second being of men, who worked in stores or that were capable of labor. Unfortunately, the majority of these people did not survive.
Of the few that survived, a few stories were to be told about the disasters and horror of the Holocaust. One of the most common stories told is Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl. Anne Frank was born on June 12, 1929 in Frankfurt, Germany. She was the second child of Otto and Edith Frank, both from respected German-Jewish families. In 1933 she and her family left Nazi Germany and settled in Amsterdam. She started her diary when she turned thirteen. It was a gift from her parents. In July 1942 they and another family, the Van Daans, went into hiding in the sealed-off back rooms of an Amsterdam office building in order to avoid arrest by German forces. In August 1944 their hiding place was revealed, and they were taken into custody. Anne died in a German concentration camp at Belsen, two months before the war was over. Less than one year later, her Dutch diary, describing her two sorrowful years in seclusion, was found in the hiding place. Published in 1947 as Het Achterhuis (The House Behind), it was titled in the United States as Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl. Because the book was completely based on her own diary, her thoughts and emotions were made more evident, making the story a lot more moving than if it were to be told second hand.
Another very touching story told from the Holocaust is the novel that won that won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986 called Night, by Elie Wiesel (1928-). Elie was born in Sighet, Romania. Although he lived an ordinary life, Elie was very intrigued by his Jewish religion. In 1944, German Nazis deported him and his family to Auschwitz. There, he was separated from his mother and sister, whom he never saw again, and watched his father die a slow painful death. After surviving the Holocaust, Elie became a well-known man. He studied at the University of Paris and became a new correspondent. In the early 1980's, he was the chairman of the United States Presidents Commission on the Holocaust.
The United States Holocaust Museum is dedicated to present the history of the persecution of six million Jews and other victims of Nazi anarchy. The building was designed by a man by the name of James Freed, who escaped the Holocaust with his family by fleeing to the United States. The museum depicts the elements of what the concentration camps were like. This museum is mainly a description of what the camps and conditions were like. There are many exhibitions to be seen. Daniel's Story: Remember the Children, is a story of an eight-year-old boy who loses his family in the Holocaust. The most heart wrenching of all is The Hall of Remembrance. Imagine a huge white, marble room with candles strewn all over. And eternal flame burns directly in front of the entrance and there are passages and quotes engraved in the marble on the sides. Along with all of this comes the eerie silence; the silence of the people that were lost in such an evil and harrowing scenario.
The Holocaust was a time of loss and great suffering for everyone throughout Europe. Many people still suffer from the memories of yesterday and can only hope that evil of that kind could never come about in this world today. Many lives were taken and a few, after so many years, are still remembered. That is why the history of the Holocaust will never die.