Why did the Holocaust happen?
Pathway to gas chambers
From the very beginning of Jewish history, Jews were considered a eccentric group of people. The Jews were a closed society; they intermarried and were seen as "clannish". These people were monotheistic, meaning they only believed in one god. This was seen as strange by non-Jewish people because most groups and religions at this time believed and worshiped more than one god. Another reason anti-semitic people did not like Jews is because they thought that the Jewish elders handed Jesus over to the Romans, therefore, earning their title as "Christ-killers". After this, prejudice and discrimination against the Jewish faith worsened. During the Middle Ages, ghettos were established in order to contain Jews in one place. Pogroms, laws passed in order to exclude Jews from some towns, cities and countries, were invoked in order to ensure Jews had far less rights than a normal citizens. Jews were considered the lowest of the low and were treated accordingly. The Catholic Church created usury policies which forced the Jews into banking careers. This, consequently, was the only way that they were able to interact with other human beings. Because Jews were forced into this line of work, they were quickly stereotyped as money-hungry and cheap. In the Middle Ages, the Inquisition was developed in the hopes of converting Jews to Christianity. When the Jewish people refused to give up their religion, they were again considered "Black Devils". This is when the concept of the yellow star arose. Jews were forced to wear these labels identifying them as Jewish. All of this would later contribute to Hitler's plan of Identification, isolation, concentration, and annihilation of the Jews.
Dutch Olympic Swimming Team that was killed at Sobibor
During the Renaissance, Polish pogroms and ghettos were also established. As the Age of Industry approaches, Eugenics is born. Most of these scientists were German people who had strong feelings of hatred for the Jews. The way of thinking of these scientists lead to the conclusion and "realization" that Jewish people were incapable of human reasoning and thinking. Jews were considered a different race, having smaller skulls, therefore, being subordinate to that of other humans. Quickly following these statics gathered by the German Eugenics, the Elders of Zion was published. Anti-Jewish Russians created this document with the purpose of informing others of the conspiracy the Jewish people had to take over the world. People ignorantly believed this fabricated document, unfortunately, furthering the hate of the Jews. Throughout history, Jews have been considered the scapegoats in society, therefore, the Jewish people received the burden of everyone's problems and judgements.
NAZI Flag
Before World War I, in the pre-christian era, Jewish people were considered a bizarre people. During World War I, Jews were allowed to serve in the war, and they enjoyed most rights given to normal people. After World War I, Jews were hated because of the large amount of debts from the war. They were in charge of the banks which made the German people begin to gather the idea that the Jewish people were the whole reason for their economic turmoil. The Nazi's started this idea but soon introduced these ideas to thousands of people. Consequently this lead into the hatred of the Jews and ultimately World War II.
World War II began on September 1, 1939 with the German invasion of Poland. The armies of the Third Reich, a term often used to describe the Nazi regime in Germany, began marching into Poland, coordinated their missions of identification, mass detention, and forced labor. Germans began rallying around Adolf Hitler, their new leader, who launched an aggressive campaign to "unify" the German race throughout Europe, after Germany's humiliation in World War I. After the invasion of Poland, the Nazi's tried to detain other countries, consequently, bringing them into the war as well.
World War II began on September 1, 1939 with the German invasion of Poland. The armies of the Third Reich, a term often used to describe the Nazi regime in Germany, began marching into Poland, coordinated their missions of identification, mass detention, and forced labor. Germans began rallying around Adolf Hitler, their new leader, who launched an aggressive campaign to "unify" the German race throughout Europe, after Germany's humiliation in World War I. After the invasion of Poland, the Nazi's tried to detain other countries, consequently, bringing them into the war as well.
Sobibor Memorial
It was at this point that International crisis began in Europe and Asia. The United States, preoccupied with economic turmoil, tried its' best to stay away from any involvement in the many wars. Eventually the US was thrusted into the war on December 7, 1941 with the attack of the Japanese on Pearl Harbor. The Americans focused on the victory over Germany and Italy in Europe and over Japan in the Pacific. The US inevitably struggled to fight back against their enemies until the airborne attack of the Japanese armies in the Battle of Midway. In Europe, the Americans found it even more difficult to take control of Nazi Germany. It was not until D-Day on June 6, 1944 that the US came to defeat the Germans when they stormed the beaches at Normandy, France. Our ally, the Soviet Red Army, had already previously been in battle with the Germans for three years. Victory finally came in May of 1945.
Amongst the events taking place in World War II, the Holocaust was becoming a growing problem. Although it did not officially begin until 1942, multiple events, such as Operation T-4, the euthanasia program designed to exterminate the mentally and physically handicapped directed by Philip Bouhler and Dr. Karl Brandt, lead up to the Holocaust and strongly inspired killing methods later to be made popular by the Nazi's.
Because of the past history of the Jewish people and World War II, it is clearly shown that Jews were looked down upon and targeted for everyone else's problems. Sobibor is just one of the products of the hate the Germans felt for the Jews.
Amongst the events taking place in World War II, the Holocaust was becoming a growing problem. Although it did not officially begin until 1942, multiple events, such as Operation T-4, the euthanasia program designed to exterminate the mentally and physically handicapped directed by Philip Bouhler and Dr. Karl Brandt, lead up to the Holocaust and strongly inspired killing methods later to be made popular by the Nazi's.
Because of the past history of the Jewish people and World War II, it is clearly shown that Jews were looked down upon and targeted for everyone else's problems. Sobibor is just one of the products of the hate the Germans felt for the Jews.