Remembering the Holocaust
Why should we study it?
Importance of Remembering the Holocaust
It is very important to remember the Holocaust. Many people deny that the Holocaust never happened and that it was all fake. Well that is wrong. By studying the Holocaust, students learn that prejudice is very wrong and many people suffered because of what religion they followed or what they looked like. It teaches kids today that a person should never judge another person for something they cannot control and they should except someone for who they are.
Lessons learned from the Holocaust
The Holocaust has many lessons you can learn from. One of those is that the first step in a hatred begins with words and the words you say about a person or people can stem more than what you wanted to happen. Hitler used his words to show the other people of Germany that the Jews were an inferior race and were not part of the true Aryan nation.
Evidence of the Holocaust
Identification Numbers
Every prisoner in any of the concentration camps had to get tattooed with an identification number and that was the number or the name they had for either the rest of their life or the rest of their time in the camp.
Roll Call
This is a picture that shows just a small number of men and women that were in only one of the concentration camps. The realization sets in that there were so many people that were in those camps and many of them died while working or were killed in the death camps.
Celebration of Liberation
This is the picture of the very few people that made it out of the Holocaust and were set free. Many of them were very very happy that they were finally free but due to the harsh conditions of the camps, not many people survived after. Many of them died of malnutrition because while they were in the camps they were starved and their bodies didn't know how handle the food that they now had.
Relations to 21st Century
Genocide in Darfur
The things that are going on in Darfur, Sudan closely relate to the things Hitler was doing to the Jewish race. Brig. Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagolo, the leader of the Rapid Support Forces, carried out massive ground attacks in North and South Darfur. They targeted where they accused the population of sympathizing with the rebels. When they were there, they burned homes and shops, looted livestock, killed and robbed civilians, and forced tens of thousands of residents to flee to towns and camps for displaced people. This relates to the third and fourth stages of Genocide. The Darfur people were dehumanized by having their homes and shops vandalized and they were being forced to live in other areas. Hitler dehumanized the Jews by violating their property and taking away their rights and forcing them out of their homes. The Darfur people were forced in to camps for displaced people, which fits into the preparation stage of Genocide. Hitler did the same thing with the Jews when he sent them to the concentration camps knowing that they were eventually going to die. You can read more about the Genocide in Darfur at this website: https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2015/country-chapters/sudan
Genocide in Rwanda
In 1994, Rwanda's population was split into three different ethnic groups. The Hutu, with approximately 85% of the population, the Tutsi, with approximately 14% of the population and the Twa with the remaining 1% of the population. The Hutu extremists blamed the entire Tutsi population for the country's increasing social, economic, and political pressures. They were also accused of supporting a Tutsi-dominated rebel group, the Rwandan Patriotic Front. By the end of 1992, with the use of propaganda and constant political maneuvering, the division between the Hutu and Tutsi greatly increased. This is considered to be in stage three of the genocide because of the use of propaganda and trying to use it to make everyone else hate the Tutsi. Hitler did the same thing with the Jewish people and used propaganda to make them look like rotten animals to the rest of Germany. You can read more about the genocide in Rwanda at this website: http://www.unitedhumanrights.org/genocide/genocide_in_rwanda.htm
8 Stages of Genocide
Classification
Hitler's first step of Genocide was his classification of Jews. He used Anti-Semitism which became the official policy of the Hitler's Nazi Germany. This excluded Jews from all aspects of life. It took away their rights and citizenship, outlawed mixed marriages and forced them to surrender their businesses to the "true" Aryans. He also used the Nuremburg Race Laws which stripped their citizenship from them. Hitler also had Hitler Youth but into place. This was a school for young boys that taught them about how bad anyone that wasn't a true Aryan, but mostly the Jews, were. This relates to the 21st century today because people today still classify people in different groups and judge them. Many people judge black people just because of the color of their skin. Donald Trump is classifying the Mexicans and trying to put up a wall around the Mexican American border so that no more Mexicans can come into the country.
Symbolization
Hitler forced the Jews to wear Stars of David to show to the public that they were Jewish. He also made homosexuals wear pink triangles and had handicapped people were other shapes and colors. People today still symbolize gay people and treat them differently. The world uses rainbow colors to show that someone is gay. People all around the world judge them for who they love and I don't see any change coming soon.
Dehumanization
Hitler used propaganda to show the citizens of Germany that the Jews were rotten animals. He made them out to look like rats and rodents. He also violated their property and took away their businesses. The Jews couldn't choose for themselves and they were forced to live in certain areas under watch of the Nazis. There were children's books that were made to teach kids how cruel the Jews really were. This relates to the 21st century in Rwanda. The Hutu extremists made propaganda posters to make the divide between the Hutu and Tutsi grow stronger. The people of Darfur were forced out of their homes and forced to live in other areas under watch.
Movie Poster
This was a cover of a movie that was made during Nazi Germany to show the "truth" about the Jews and the "Cruelty" of them.
Children's book
This was a children's book written during Nazi Germany call the Poisoned Mushroom. It's a book written about the Jewish people.
Propaganda Poster
This is a poster showing how the Jewish people were kept under lock and key and stripped of their rights.
Organization
This is the stage where Hitler started forming the concentration camps and the ghettos. He also had a police force made that were only used to find who was Jewish and who was not. This relates to the 21st century in Darfur too because they were taken to concentration camps so the Janjaweed, which were the people who were doing the killing, had to have created the camps beforehand.
Polarization
Polarization was when Hitler forbid mixed marriages and the Nuremberg Race Laws. Today in the U.S. there are still states that forbid the marriage of the same sex whether it be two guys or two girls. We fit into this stage because we're taking away their right of who to love and not allowing them to get married.
Preparation
This is the stage where Hitler sent all the Jews to concentration camps. This is also where the Wannsee Conference fits in. This relates to the 21st century today because in Sudan there has been over 2.8 million people displaced as of today.
Extermination
This was where Hitler used the extermination camps and the gas chambers and ultimately where the Jews were sent to die. In Sudan today there is 480,000 that were killed due to extermination camps.
Denial
This is the last stage of Genocide. This is when the Nuremberg Trials took place and when Hitler killed himself. The Nuremberg Trials were held for the Nazis that were still alive and where they were persecuted. This is happening in the world today because the people in Darfur are still committing genocide and don't think that they are doing anything wrong.