Post by Sheila on Apr 27, 2024 9:41:40 GMT -5
Because of events happening in the world today, it's important to remember what happened in the past. As George Santayana wrote in his book Life of Reason (1905), "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it". However, there are many people who don't simply forget what happened, they deny that certain events really happened. The Holocaust is well-documented not only by the Jews who lived through it, but also by non-Jews who were witnesses and the men and women who entered Germany to help the Jews at that time as well as those, such as the allied military forces, who recorded what they witnessed and discovered after entering Germany during and after the war. No matter how much some people proclaim it never happened, the facts show that it did.
1933 - The first concentration camp (Dachau) opened. At first, these camps were used as a way to imprison anyone thought to be a danger to Germany. Later, the prisoners who were unable to work were exterminated. Note: not all of the concentration camps that were operation are listed in this thread. There were several more that operated during the Holocaust. Jewish shops and businesses were boycotted and Jews were barred from holding civil service, university, and state positions. All of these were used to remove the Jews from influential positions and to impoverish the people. People without jobs and money have no power to make changes for the betterment of their people.
1935 - Jews are stripped of their German citizenship. Without being recognized as citizens, the Jews no longer had any say in state matters. They were also barred from serving in the German armed forces, although it's doubtful many of them would've done so anyway. They would've been forced to impoverish and kill their own people.
1936 - Jewish doctors are banned from practicing in German institutions. This effectively kept them from treating many people except with the meager supplies and medicines they could find outside of the hospitals and clinics. Sachsenhausen concentration camp opens.
1937 -Buchenwald concentration camp opens.
1938 - Austria and Italy enact the same anti-Jewish laws and policies as the Germans. Jews are banned from immigrating to Switzerland. In fact, when at all possible, Jews were prevented from leaving German-occupied territories. The Germans didn't want them around, yet they kept them in their control because they couldn't eliminate them if they weren't around. All Jewish owned businesses were put into the ownership of non-Jews. All Jewish students were banned from attending German schools. Kristallnact, or the Night of Broken Glass, occurred throughout Austria, Germany, and the Sudetenland which resulted in the the destruction of 200 synagogues, the looting of 75000 Jewish shops, and 30000 Jews being sent to concentration camps.
1939 - The first of the Jewish ghettos was established in Poland. These were later established in other countries. The purpose of these ghettos was to segregate the Jews from the rest of the population. There was little food and medicine and the housing was inadequate for such large numbers of people crammed into very small areas. Auschwitz concentration camp opens.
1941 - Hundreds of Jews are killed during anti-Jewish riots in Romania and many more are massacred Bibi Yar outside of Kiev. The German's "Final Solution to the Jewish Problem" is put into action. This solution was the deliberate and systematic mass murder of the Jewish people. Birkenau concentration camp opens. The extermination centers at Chelno, Belzac, and Sibobor are opened. Unlike the concentration camps where able-bodied people were allowed to work, everyone sent to the extermination camps were killed upon arrival.
1943 - The beginning of the liquidation of the Jewish ghettos. Jews were no longer allowed to live they best they could outside of the concentration camps. They were all rounded up and sent to one of the camps.
1944 - The death marches begin. As the allied troops got closer to or entered German-occupied territories, the Jews at concentration and extermination camps closest to the front lines were marched to other camps. This was done to keep the Jews from being rescued by the allies. This wasn't only a precaution taken to prevent the allies from finding out how the Jewish and other prisoners were being mistreated and killed, it was also done because the Germans wanted to kill all Jews and they were determined to carry out that plan. Freed Jews couldn't be exterminated.
1945 - The death marches continue until the final camps are liberated in May.
The exact number of Jews killed during the Holocaust will never be known. Some of the numbers can be established by the tallies kept by the people doing the killing and the remains found in mass graves both within and outside of the concentration and extermination camps. It must be remembered the numbers aren't just the count of those who were killed in the camps. The number of deaths during the Holocaust include the Jews massacred in riots; those killed while trying to escape the ghettos; and all of those who died of starvation, sickness, etc because they were prevented from receiving proper housing, nutrition, and medical care by the non-Jews. In most people's opinions, all of these deaths are considered murder. Here are some of the numbers:
- 2.7 million killed at the killing centers
- 2 million killed in mass shootings
- 800 thousand to 1 million killed in concentration camps
- 25 thousand killed in other acts of violence
Always remember these facts and figures. These were people who were persecuted and murdered for no other reason than the were Jewish. Although not in as alarming of numbers, the same is happening today. The Holocaust was allowed to happen because no one spoke up or did anything to stop it. Will we remain silent today if the same thing began to happen in our country? If we don't, the rhetoric will become action. Once the actions begin, it may be too late to stop the killing. People get it set in their minds the actions are justified, convince other people of the same, and the number of supporters becomes so large and the number of people against it so small, the majority will become the same and commit the same atrocities as the Germans during the Holocaust that they'll be almost impossible to stop without outside help. With the rise of antisemitism around the world, it appears there may never be any outside help.
1933 - The first concentration camp (Dachau) opened. At first, these camps were used as a way to imprison anyone thought to be a danger to Germany. Later, the prisoners who were unable to work were exterminated. Note: not all of the concentration camps that were operation are listed in this thread. There were several more that operated during the Holocaust. Jewish shops and businesses were boycotted and Jews were barred from holding civil service, university, and state positions. All of these were used to remove the Jews from influential positions and to impoverish the people. People without jobs and money have no power to make changes for the betterment of their people.
1935 - Jews are stripped of their German citizenship. Without being recognized as citizens, the Jews no longer had any say in state matters. They were also barred from serving in the German armed forces, although it's doubtful many of them would've done so anyway. They would've been forced to impoverish and kill their own people.
1936 - Jewish doctors are banned from practicing in German institutions. This effectively kept them from treating many people except with the meager supplies and medicines they could find outside of the hospitals and clinics. Sachsenhausen concentration camp opens.
1937 -Buchenwald concentration camp opens.
1938 - Austria and Italy enact the same anti-Jewish laws and policies as the Germans. Jews are banned from immigrating to Switzerland. In fact, when at all possible, Jews were prevented from leaving German-occupied territories. The Germans didn't want them around, yet they kept them in their control because they couldn't eliminate them if they weren't around. All Jewish owned businesses were put into the ownership of non-Jews. All Jewish students were banned from attending German schools. Kristallnact, or the Night of Broken Glass, occurred throughout Austria, Germany, and the Sudetenland which resulted in the the destruction of 200 synagogues, the looting of 75000 Jewish shops, and 30000 Jews being sent to concentration camps.
1939 - The first of the Jewish ghettos was established in Poland. These were later established in other countries. The purpose of these ghettos was to segregate the Jews from the rest of the population. There was little food and medicine and the housing was inadequate for such large numbers of people crammed into very small areas. Auschwitz concentration camp opens.
1941 - Hundreds of Jews are killed during anti-Jewish riots in Romania and many more are massacred Bibi Yar outside of Kiev. The German's "Final Solution to the Jewish Problem" is put into action. This solution was the deliberate and systematic mass murder of the Jewish people. Birkenau concentration camp opens. The extermination centers at Chelno, Belzac, and Sibobor are opened. Unlike the concentration camps where able-bodied people were allowed to work, everyone sent to the extermination camps were killed upon arrival.
1943 - The beginning of the liquidation of the Jewish ghettos. Jews were no longer allowed to live they best they could outside of the concentration camps. They were all rounded up and sent to one of the camps.
1944 - The death marches begin. As the allied troops got closer to or entered German-occupied territories, the Jews at concentration and extermination camps closest to the front lines were marched to other camps. This was done to keep the Jews from being rescued by the allies. This wasn't only a precaution taken to prevent the allies from finding out how the Jewish and other prisoners were being mistreated and killed, it was also done because the Germans wanted to kill all Jews and they were determined to carry out that plan. Freed Jews couldn't be exterminated.
1945 - The death marches continue until the final camps are liberated in May.
The exact number of Jews killed during the Holocaust will never be known. Some of the numbers can be established by the tallies kept by the people doing the killing and the remains found in mass graves both within and outside of the concentration and extermination camps. It must be remembered the numbers aren't just the count of those who were killed in the camps. The number of deaths during the Holocaust include the Jews massacred in riots; those killed while trying to escape the ghettos; and all of those who died of starvation, sickness, etc because they were prevented from receiving proper housing, nutrition, and medical care by the non-Jews. In most people's opinions, all of these deaths are considered murder. Here are some of the numbers:
- 2.7 million killed at the killing centers
- 2 million killed in mass shootings
- 800 thousand to 1 million killed in concentration camps
- 25 thousand killed in other acts of violence
Always remember these facts and figures. These were people who were persecuted and murdered for no other reason than the were Jewish. Although not in as alarming of numbers, the same is happening today. The Holocaust was allowed to happen because no one spoke up or did anything to stop it. Will we remain silent today if the same thing began to happen in our country? If we don't, the rhetoric will become action. Once the actions begin, it may be too late to stop the killing. People get it set in their minds the actions are justified, convince other people of the same, and the number of supporters becomes so large and the number of people against it so small, the majority will become the same and commit the same atrocities as the Germans during the Holocaust that they'll be almost impossible to stop without outside help. With the rise of antisemitism around the world, it appears there may never be any outside help.
Copyright © 2024 by Sheila Rae Myers