Essay, Research Paper: The Holocaust And How It Did Or Didn't Live Up To

In current usage, holocaust refers to any widespread human disaster, but when written Holocaust, its special meaning is the almost complete destruction of the Jews in Europe by Nazi Germany. During the 20th century, European Jews were being killed, and even though that in most European countries, Jews achieved some equality of status with non-Jews at times Jews were harassed by anti-Semitic groups. Some anti-Semites believed that Jews were an alien race and did not belong in European culture and wanted to get rid of them. In order to accomplish this the Nazi party did not meet all of the expectations that a legal system must meet. In order for a government to properly it must meet seven expectations. They are to: 1.Protect basic human rights. 2.Promote fairness. 3.Help resolve conflicts. 4.Protect the environment. 5.Promote order and stability. 6.Represent the will of the majority. 7.Protect the rights of minorities. The Nazi party did not protect basic human rights such as freedom of speech. If any Jew said or did something that a Nazi did not like they would be shot in an instant even if they were right. In Schindler s List a Jewish woman told the Nazi s that they would have to construct a building over and she was shot. Even though shortly after the Nazi s took her advice. Another basic human right taken away was the protection of all persons from being subjected to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. The was taken away from the Jews because they were experimented on, raped, murdered, and in some cases tortured for pleasure. An example of this was in the movie Schindler s List when one of the Nazis started shooting Jews from his balcony for no reason. The second expectation, which is to promote fairness, was not met either because the Jews were treated far from fairly. The Nazis could pretty much do what ever they wanted to the Jews and would not be punished. Some Jews were also stripped of their identity and were numbered. They were put to live and work in dreadful, unsanitary conditions. The Nazis did however meet the third expectation, to help resolve conflicts. In order to avoid problems the Nazis set up a Jewish council to take the complaints of all the Jews. But the truth is that none of the complaints were filed or looked into by the government. The council just created the impression that the government cared so that the Jews wouldn t think that government really wanted them killed off.
The expectation to promote order and stability was met as well. In order to keep things running as smoothly as possible the Nazis would lie and trick the Jews. For example in order to get the Jews into the gas chamber to be killed the Nazis would tell them that they were going to take a shower. They would even give all of the Jews soap to make the lie more believable. Another example is that in order to get the Jews on the trains without their luggage, the Nazis would tell them to write their names on their luggage and that they would get it back at the end of the ride. When in actuality the Nazis would keep their luggage and steal or sell their belongings. The Nazis didn t meet the expectation of protecting the environment. Their ghettos were dirty, polluted, infested, disease and so forth. The Nazis also incinerated a countless number of Jews, dead and alive, which created a lot smoke and ashes. In the 1940 s there was a mass incineration which caused so much debris that people could see for miles around. The Nazis represented the will of the majority because the majority of the population wasn t Jewish. Most people blamed the Jews for their problems. The government represented them by treating the Jews unfairly and then destroying them. The Nazis didn t protect the rights of minorities or in this case the Jews. During Europe in the 1930 s-1940 s the Nazi party led by Adolph Hitler killed many Jews. The dead numbered more than 5 million: about 3 million in killing centers and other camps, 1.4 million in shooting operations, and more than 600,000 in ghettos. Pressure was placed on the Allied powers to establish a permanent haven in Palestine for Jewish survivors. The establishment of Israel three years after Germany's defeat was an aftereffect of the Holocaust. The Holocaust was a terrible tragedy caused by ignorance and I m appalled when I turn on the T.V or open a newspaper to learn that it is still happening in this day in age.