The Holocaust was arguably the worst atrocity ever committed by humans and for good reason. Over 11 million people were killed-- mostly between 1941 and 1945-- in four years. While Jews made up the majority of those killed, many other groups such as Gypsies, Jehovah 's Witnesses, …show more content…
People from all around Nazi occupied territories were forced into guarded and walled sections of towns known as ghettos. These places were infamous for their lack of proper sanitation and supplies. Eventually most of these ghettos were emptied out. Almost all of the people who lived there were sent to concentration camps and death camps-- were many died from starvation, exhaustion and bas-chambers. Those who were luckily enough to make it out alive were permanently scarred for life, both literally and figuratively.
Milkweed by Jerry Spinelli tells the story of how an orphaned boy with seemingly no past survived the Holocaust. Misha was a young boy who was found on the streets on Warsaw with only the clothes on his back and a stone necklace. He was taken under the wing of an older Jewish orphan named Uri, who gave him a name and a backstory: that he was a gypsy who was kidnapped from his family. Uri and Misha lived a relatively easy life, they lived in an abandoned shop and stole whatever they needed. In fact, life was so good that they even stole goods and gave them to an orphanage, in Robin-hood like manner. Misha also stole items and gave them to