history

The Holocaust is a topic that we learned about in class and the assigned readings. The term describes the Nazi’s murder of six million European Jews as well as several million more Slavs, Gypsies, and other non-Aryan people. The Holocaust took place during the years 1939-1945. This was also the time that many countries fought in World War Two. The Holocaust featured several death centers located in Poland such as Auschwitz and Treblinka. Although Western countries such as the United States knew about the Holocaust while it was happening, there were very few direct efforts aimed at stopping the killing. The Holocaust was one of many terrible things that happened during WW II.

I was interested in learning more about the Holocaust. In the library, I found a book by Donald Niewyk called The Holocaust. This book had various interesting chapters about the topic. One section called “There Was No Order” explained how Adolf Hitler did not write out directions for his followers. In fact, the people who put together the Holocaust came up with their own plans for killing Jews that they hoped would impress Hitler (Niewyk, 27). I learned that Hitler was not a very involved leader when it came to the daily running of the government. It surprised me to learn that he did not give specific orders, but instead made his wishes known and the rewarded people for following through. From this book, I learned that the most horrible crime in the 20th Century was committed by ordinary people trying to gain status with Hitler and his Nazi leadership.

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