From Fire to Foundation
Emily Gravley
Mrs. Terry Westling
DC English Composition 1
19 March 2018
Outline
Thesis Statement: Due to Hitler’s dictatorship in Germany, the atrocities of concentration camps, and the anti-Semitism in various countries, the Holocaust created long-lasting effects and hardships for Jews that are still being faced today.
Hitler’s Dictatorship
Rise to Power
“The Final Solution”
Concentration Camps
Life Conditions
Gas Chambers
Anti-Semitism
Anti-Semitism Defined
Where It Exists
Conclusion
From Fire to Foundation
The word “holocaust” originates from the Greek word “holokauston”, which means “sacrifice by fire.” …show more content…
“The term concentration camp refers to a camp in which people are detained or confined, usually under harsh conditions and without regard to legal norms of arrest and imprisonment that are acceptable in a constitutional democracy” (“Concentration Camps”). Life conditions were poor in concentration camps. The severity of the starvation caused prisoners’ ribs to protrude from their bodies. One bathroom was provided for over four hundred people, and thousands of people were crowded into barracks that were only meant for hundreds. Also, the Jews were shot for “target practice,” and the bodies left to lie on the ground. Some prisoners would throw themselves into the electric fence and end their life because of the severity of the camps. Even without the suicide attempts, mortality rates were still high due to the conditions the prisoners faced. However, many of the deaths were not caused by the poor conditions, but resulted from the gas chambers. Hitler used his gas attack experience in World War I to torture and kill a majority of the Jews. Before being taken to the gas chambers, the prisoners’ hair was shaved, and they were stripped naked. They were told that they were being taken to “showers,” and they were given bars of soap to make it believable. As many Jews as possible were packed into the “showers.” “The tighter the gas chambers were packed, the faster the victims …show more content…
This belief was the basis for the Holocaust and continued to grow rapidly in other countries such as the United States, European countries, and Middle Eastern countries like Iran even after the end of the Holocaust. “The former president of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, repeatedly declared the Holocaust a ‘myth’ and that Israel should be ‘wiped off the map’” (“Antisemitism: The Longest”). The Jewish racism is not just in Middle Eastern countries though. In Poland, for example, local citizens in the city of Kielce killed 42 Jewish survivors in 1946. Today, on various college campuses in the United States, Jewish students are treated with hostility and anti-Semitism. These verbal, and sometimes physical, attacks exist not only on United States campuses, but also on campuses around the world. Last year, there were 361 incidents recorded around the world, compared to the 410 in 2014. The anti-Semitism in these campuses exists in multiple forms. At some colleges, acts of vandalism and graffiti take place. According to a report given by Tel Aviv University, “In addition to acts of vandalism, some groups, as well as anonymous individuals, have posted racist fliers on campuses across the country promoting white identity and heritage” (qtd. in Miller). According to research done by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), an organization dedicated to ending Jewish racism and promoting justice and fair treatment for
Emily Gravley
Mrs. Terry Westling
DC English Composition 1
19 March 2018
Outline
Thesis Statement: Due to Hitler’s dictatorship in Germany, the atrocities of concentration camps, and the anti-Semitism in various countries, the Holocaust created long-lasting effects and hardships for Jews that are still being faced today.
Hitler’s Dictatorship
Rise to Power
“The Final Solution”
Concentration Camps
Life Conditions
Gas Chambers
Anti-Semitism
Anti-Semitism Defined
Where It Exists
Conclusion
From Fire to Foundation
The word “holocaust” originates from the Greek word “holokauston”, which means “sacrifice by fire.” …show more content…
“The term concentration camp refers to a camp in which people are detained or confined, usually under harsh conditions and without regard to legal norms of arrest and imprisonment that are acceptable in a constitutional democracy” (“Concentration Camps”). Life conditions were poor in concentration camps. The severity of the starvation caused prisoners’ ribs to protrude from their bodies. One bathroom was provided for over four hundred people, and thousands of people were crowded into barracks that were only meant for hundreds. Also, the Jews were shot for “target practice,” and the bodies left to lie on the ground. Some prisoners would throw themselves into the electric fence and end their life because of the severity of the camps. Even without the suicide attempts, mortality rates were still high due to the conditions the prisoners faced. However, many of the deaths were not caused by the poor conditions, but resulted from the gas chambers. Hitler used his gas attack experience in World War I to torture and kill a majority of the Jews. Before being taken to the gas chambers, the prisoners’ hair was shaved, and they were stripped naked. They were told that they were being taken to “showers,” and they were given bars of soap to make it believable. As many Jews as possible were packed into the “showers.” “The tighter the gas chambers were packed, the faster the victims …show more content…
This belief was the basis for the Holocaust and continued to grow rapidly in other countries such as the United States, European countries, and Middle Eastern countries like Iran even after the end of the Holocaust. “The former president of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, repeatedly declared the Holocaust a ‘myth’ and that Israel should be ‘wiped off the map’” (“Antisemitism: The Longest”). The Jewish racism is not just in Middle Eastern countries though. In Poland, for example, local citizens in the city of Kielce killed 42 Jewish survivors in 1946. Today, on various college campuses in the United States, Jewish students are treated with hostility and anti-Semitism. These verbal, and sometimes physical, attacks exist not only on United States campuses, but also on campuses around the world. Last year, there were 361 incidents recorded around the world, compared to the 410 in 2014. The anti-Semitism in these campuses exists in multiple forms. At some colleges, acts of vandalism and graffiti take place. According to a report given by Tel Aviv University, “In addition to acts of vandalism, some groups, as well as anonymous individuals, have posted racist fliers on campuses across the country promoting white identity and heritage” (qtd. in Miller). According to research done by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), an organization dedicated to ending Jewish racism and promoting justice and fair treatment for