The Holocaust refers to the systematic state-sponsored extermination of 6 million Jews by Nazi Germany in occupied Europe. The Holocaust took place in stages, starting with vile acts of verbal and physical abuse, followed by stepped up legal discrimination, including stripping Jews of their civil rights, restricting their travel options, destroying their property, culminating in organized mass murder. Holocaust is a word of Greek origin meaning “sacrifice by fire. ” The Holocaust began with Hitler and Nazi Germany coming into power.
Soon, Jews were stripped of their rights like the right to work and own businesses, and this was all done under the guise of making life better for the German people; however, it only got worse from there. It wasn’t long before laws were passed that prevented Jews from attending public schools or owning their own businesses, forcing them to do jobs such as street cleaning and menial labor (tasks not given to non-Jews). This led many Jewish families to emigrate out of Germany in an attempt to escape persecution, but even this would not be enough…
Aside from prohibiting its citizens from practicing the Jewish faith, Nazi Germany took its persecution of Jews even further. One example is Kristallnacht, or “The Night of Broken Glass”; this was when Nazi soldiers marched into towns where Jews lived and smashed their homes and businesses with rocks. Holocaust survivors recall that many Holocaust victims were severely beaten during this time. Eventually, concentration camps like Auschwitz were built in order to detain more Holocaust victims.
Life in a concentration camp was no easy task for Holocaust victims. In fact, it oftentimes meant death at the hands of Nazi soldiers simply because they weren’t viewed as human beings due to their Jewish heritage. Some Holocaust victims died from starvation while others perished from disease brought on by poor sanitary conditions or a lack of medical attention. Holocaust victims also perished when Nazi soldiers made a sport out of forcing them to stand in front of open graves and shoot them without warning.
Other Holocaust victims died when forced into gas chambers, where they were gassed to death with carbon monoxide or metallic Zyklon B pellets. When you look at the Holocaust from a historical perspective, it’s easy to see why this dark time in history is often referred to as “The Holocaust” since death was inflicted on people by way of a sacrificial offering. The Holocaust took place over a period that lasted more than twelve years from 1933-1945 and resulted in the deaths of 6 million Jews who were viewed as inferior beings rather than human beings with every right to practice their chosen religion.
One Holocaust survivor said of the Holocaust that it was “an act of murder carried out by the Nazis during World War II, throughout occupied Europe between 1933 and 1945. A Holocaust is generally considered to consist of three major phases: (1) The Nazi persecution of political opponents and undesirables; (2) The organized mass murder of groups identified as ‘racially inferior’ or ‘non-Aryan’; (3) The complete destruction of the European Jews. While this definition may vary somewhat depending on who you talk to, it still gives you an idea about what Holocaust victims faced once they arrived at a concentration camp. For example, those deemed “inferior” were not only mistreated but oftentimes used to serve Nazi soldiers in a variety of ways. Holocaust victims were often given jobs making weapons or building roads, for example, while others were forced into hard labor to build these roads. Holocaust victims were also put to work manning heavy equipment at concentration camps due to the fact that there weren’t enough guards available for these tasks.
In terms of living conditions, Holocaust victims lived in barracks that weren’t built with comfort in mind and only contained the bare minimum when it came to amenities such as cots and blankets. Holocaust victims had little food and water since this was meant to be used sparingly when Nazi soldiers ‘snacked’ on their rations (the Holocaust survivor quoted earlier said “food consisted of minimal bread and soup rations, supplemented by the occasional piece of sausage or cheese”).
Holocaust victims also became ill due to lice infestations, for example, which led to their clothes being stripped of them. Holocaust survivors recall Nazi soldiers burning these clothes in an effort to stop the spread of disease since they were viewed as more valuable than Holocaust victims themselves (a Holocaust survivor quotes a Nazi soldier saying “Who knows when you will die? Still, your uniform can be reused after you are dead”).
In terms of resistance from Holocaust victims, this was indeed possible when it came to concentration camps because guards weren’t always on hand. For example, Holocaust survivors have reported instances where prisoners banded together and overpowered Nazi soldiers in order to steal weapons so that they could then form their own army and fight back. Holocaust survivors have also reported instances where Holocaust victims fought Nazi soldiers with their bare hands in an effort to survive.
While there were a number of concentration camps scattered throughout Germany and Nazi-occupied Europe, the Holocaust Museum provides a useful list that has been divided up according to geographic region: East Europe, Einsatzgruppen, General Government, Germany & Austria, Greece, Hungary & Romania, Italy & France, The Low Countries (Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg), Norway & Denmark.