Holocaust
Mobile Killing Squads
By: Dawson Meek
What are Mobile Killing Squads?
Imagine being in the shoes of the Arabs, Christians, and Jewish people in the late 1930s to mid 1940s. The Mobile Killing Squads of the Holocaust affected millions of people not by just killing Jews, but other minority groups such as Christians and Arabs. Religion was not the only thing people were killed for, but also if people were severely injured or had a mental illness. Two people who survived are Rochelle Blackman Silvka and Steven Springfield. People who survived can tell their story about what they went through. Rochelle Blackman Silvka lived in Vilna, a Polish city invaded by mobile killing squads. Steven Springfield also grew up in a Polish city and made it through Stutthof, one of the worst work camps in the system. People who survived the killing squads will never forget what happened to them, and many others.
What Were The Nazi's Thinking?
Most people think of killers when they hear the word Nazi. Jews were captured, put into mobile gas chambers and shot against walls and even made others witness the killings. The people who were put into these camps were not just Jews. Christians, Gypsies, Partisans and the Arabs were just a few more groups who were put in these camps other than Jews. After the Holocaust was over, an estimated eleven million people were killed during the Holocaust. Small S.S. units and police with some three thousand others were put into secret missions to kill Jews. All these secret missions were not just used for Jews but also for Christians and Arabs.
Rochelle Blackman's Story
Rochelle Blackman Silvka was a very strong women who survived the mobile killing squads by hiding from them in friends and neighbors farms.Rochelle Blackman Silvka lived in Vilna, Poland a city eventually invaded by mobile killing squads. They started hiding the night they heard the mobile killing squads were taking people and shooting them not far from the city. They heard this and ran to the nearest farm to hide for the rest of the night. Eventually her family was found and taken to a concentration camp called Auschwitz the worst concentration camp where 1.1 million Jews were killed. She survived, but her brother and mom and dad died from being shot.
Steven Springfield's Story
Steven Springfield was another survivor of the Holocaust and he grew up in a Polish city and had to go to Stutthof, one of the worst concentration camps in the system. Once they arrived to the camp they were asked if they wanted to work and if they said no they would be killed Their time in the camp was very bad they saw people die every day and wanted to leave because they were not being fed. So he his dad and brother all said they wanted to work and were about to be taken to work and their dad got sent back because he had a limp from being hurt. This would mean he would be shot and killed because he would be useless. That would be the last time they would see their dad.
End of Mobile Killing Squads
Over all mobile killing squads affected many people during the Holocaust. To think that the Nazi’s were trying to eliminate the entire Jewish race is mind blowing. Imagine eleven million people died and six million were Jews there were only 9.5 million Jews in Europe so they easily killed way more than half of the Jewish population in Europe. This was the worst time in history for the people that lived in Europe, not just for the people who died, but the people who saw the people die were scared for life. This will always be remembered in time as the worst war in the World’s history.