Holocaust And World War Ii

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The Holocaust began in 1933 when Adolf Hitler
rose to power in Germany.

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At this challenging time, Franklin D. Roosevelt was the respected President of the United States.

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During the Holocaust, Nazi Germany enacted the Nuremberg Laws, which restricted Jewish citizens from public life. These antisemitic laws were issued on September 15, 1935 and they stole citizenship from Jews, and prohibited marriages and sexual relations between Jews and Germans.

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Nazis forced Jews from their homes and into slum areas of the cities, known ghettos or Jewish quarters.

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European Jews were discriminated against, scapegoated, and tortured for being of the Jewish faith.

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Jewish people were placed in Nazi camps, often referred to as concentration camps, as well as extermination camps. Concentration camps were meant to starve and work prisoners to death, while extermination camps were built to rid of large groups more rapidly.

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Nazi Germany demanded that all Jews wear the yellow Star of David on their clothing so that they could be easily recognized.

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Antisemitism grew rampant around the world, as Nazis used propaganda to gain support for their cause.

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The Holocaust ended in 1945 when the Nazis were defeated by the Allied Powers. It is estimated that 11 million people were brutally killed, and 6 million of these were Jews. After the Holocaust, towards the end of World War II, the United States Army liberated concentration camps throughout Europe.

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Mackenzie's great-grandfather, Morris Charles Beldon, went into Dachau, a concentration camp used by Nazi Germany during the Holocaust, and assisted in liberating the Jews on April 29, 1945 as a part of General George S. Patton's Third Army. Michael Beldon, who is the son of my great-grandfather, reflects on his father's time served during World War II and his involvement with the Holocaust.

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Mackenzie's family is of Jewish decent and the Holocaust has had a long-lasting impact on their life. My great-grandfather, Morris Charles Beldon was a soldier during World War II, and he aided in the liberation of thousands of Jews from concentration camps. The family was unaware of my great-grandfather's involvement in the liberation until his death, when we discovered a small wooden box of hundreds of leftover photographs, which we donated to the Holocaust Museum. Morris Charles Beldon was not one to speak of his good deeds and accept the praise he deserved, but instead he did everything in his power to save the Jewish people in a time of loss.

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Not only was my great-grandfather an important member of the Holocaust, but many of my other relatives were involved. Between 1941 and 1944, the Bielski partisans, a group led by three brothers, escaped the Holocaust. In 2008, a movie titled "Defiance" was released telling the story about these escapees hiding from the Nazi forces in Eastern Europe. The leaders of this group, the Bielski brothers, are my ancestors. Even though my immediate family was safe in the United States during World War II, the cousins of my great-grandparents remained in Poland. My cousins led hundreds of fleeing Jews through forests, hiding from Nazis and forming refugee shelters. I am so proud to say that I come from a Jewish family that did everything they could to help their friends during a time of desperation and I am grateful they did this, not only to ensure my future, but the future of many other Jewish people.

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During this time, World War II began in Europe on September 1, 1939 when Germany invaded Poland.

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The U.S. was forced into the war as a result of the Japanese air attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii which occurred on December 7, 1941. It was "a date which will live in infamy" according to President Franklin D. Roosevelt due to the catastrophically fatal event.

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The U.S. began mobilizing for war. Over ten million men were recruited through the Selective Service System. Also, Roosevelt and Winston Churchill, who was Britain's Prime Minister at the time, joined forces and worked together to create war plans to defeat the Axis powers.

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During World War II, the Axis powers included Germany, Italy, Japan, Hungary, Romania, and Bulgaria The Allies included U.S., Britain, France, USSR, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Denmark, Greece, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, South Africa, and Yugoslavia.

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In the spring of 1942, the United States and Japan were involved in a series of naval battles, climaxing in the Battle of Midway on June 3–6, 1942, in which Japan suffered a catastrophic defeat.

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Fighting continued throughout the Pacific in 1944 and early 1945. By the spring of 1945, most of Japan’s conquests had been liberated, and Allied forces were closing in on the Japanese home islands. In August of 1945, the United States dropped two atomic bombs on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Stunned by the unexpected devastation, Japan surrendered a few days later.

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Senior Master Sergeant James Miller on his time serving in the United States Military during World War II.

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Senior Master Sergeant James Miller is Hannah’s grandpa. He moved to San Antonio following his service during the war, and lived on Lackland Air Force Base. His time during World War II proved to him that he wanted to dedicate his life to serving and protecting the country. He met his wife, Hannah’s grandmother, in 1986 and influenced Craig Arnold, Hannah’s father, into becoming a part of the Air Force. Mr. Arnold is currently a Senior Master Sergeant at Lackland Air Force Base in the Red Horse Division, and was deployed to Iraq in 2007. Having a military background keeps Hannah aware of the fact that freedom is not free, and there is a price for everything.