Israel Sushi Blog / Ben & Sarai Kerido
(3-4 Minute Read)
In 1933, Adolf Hitler rose to power in the German government through complex political maneuvering. Hitler was an infamously skilled public speaker and orator who specialized in uniting his audiences through slandering specific groups of people as scapegoats. As such, the Jewish population of Germany and Europe were one of his favorite targets. His antisemitic rhetoric was feverishly devoured by the German masses who were desperate to find someone to blame for their economic and military misfortunes up to that point.
In the next few years, the tyrannical oppression of Adolf Hitler and the reigning Nazi party grew. Forced sterilizations of hundreds of thousands of people, namely those who were mentally and physically disabled, abounded. Actions taken against Jews and others, including trade unionists and Communists, also abounded. By 1938, destruction of Jewish property and danger to human life abounded, especially in such incidents as the extremely violent riot-like pogrom of Kristallnacht.
In 1939, Hitler and the Nazis brought Europe and ultimately the entire world into the Second World War after annexing and/or invading Austria, Czechoslovakia, and Poland. The German war machine conquered most of mainland Europe, and was not fully defeated until 1945.
During those years, Hitler and the Nazis pursued what they called “The Final Solution to the Jewish Question.” In summary, the Nazis first forced the Jews of Europe to live in confined settlements called ghettos, inducing widespread disease and starvation. Eventually, the Nazis increased the fervor of their destruction of European Jewry. The most notable method was the notorious concentration camps and death camps, such as Auschwitz, Buchenwald, Dacheau, and others. Countless Jews and some others were transported to the camps in overcrowded cattle train cars. They were then gassed and cremated en masse upon arrival.
How many people died in the Holocaust? Estimates have varied, but the general consensus by reputable historical experts is up to (or exceeding) six million Jews, and millions of others who were not Jewish (including prisoners of war, Communists, Roma, Jehovah’s Witnesses, homosexuals, etc.)
Despite a general condemnation of Hitler and Nazi Germany by all, antisemitism is still a potent force and danger to the Jewish people. The definition of antisemitism is hostility, prejudice, and/or hatred towards Jewish persons. The term “antisemitism” comes from a term meaning to oppose Semitic peoples, a category of which Jewish persons are a major part. However, for this reason the spelling “antisemitic” is sometimes preferred since “anti-Semitic” has been construed by some to refer to other Semitic groups, including the Arabian peoples. Granted, this interpretation is a “semantic stretch” and a deviation from the generally accepted meaning of “anti-Semitism.” Regardless, “antisemitism” indisputably refers only to the hatred of Jewish people uniquely and not any other group.
The Holocaust is remembered and commemorated today in a variety of ways. Holocaust museums are an integral part of documenting and educating present and future generations regarding the seemingly unbelievable realities of Nazi atrocities, with Yad Vashem in Jerusalem, Israel, being presumably the most famous Holocaust museum in the world. Additionally, International Holocaust Remembrance Day is observed as well as Holocaust Remembrance Day in Israel. The date of commemoration for International Holocaust Remembrance Day is January 27, and Holocaust Remembrance Day in Israel is Nissan 27 (which usually falls in mid-to-late April or early-to-mid May).
Learn more about Jewish history from this hyper-accurate historical novel also by Ben & Sarai Kerido.
Click below!
