Dear readers,
It was in the month of September, exactly 81 years ago, that one of the world's most devastating and catastrophic event was set ablaze, the Second World war. This war would see the inhumane persecution of over 10,000 Jehovah's Witnesses, 10,000 homosexual individuals, over 27,000 political prisoners, 50,000 gypsies and 1.1 million followers of the Jewish religion. Let us take a moment to acknowledge their lives, the lives of countless individuals that was lost to prejudice and ignorance. Condemned for their gender, religion, culture and beliefs, these human beings with hearts and souls were dehumanized, robbed of various facets of their identity until they were mere creatures of flesh and bone. Their stories remained unheard, and their voices silenced. But if anything, the losses of the lives of innocents taught us the dangers of blind prejudice and ignorance. Thus, through this article I am to convey how the blind hatred in the heart of one extreme individual, Adolf Hitler, caused the propagation of mass genocide of an entire socio-religious group, the followers of Judaism.
Note: The underlined terms have footnotes attached below.
Hostility, prejudice and discrimination against those belonging to the ethno-religious group of Jews was one of the key causes of the holocaust, and although termed antisemitism in 1879 by German agitator Wilhelm Marr, the concept of Judeophobia has its roots sowed deep into the fabric of human history.
Set ablaze during Medieval Europe, harsh injustice was meted out to the followers of the Star of David as Jews were deemed sub-human and accused of being biblical sinners such as blood libels, scapegoats for the incurable epidemics that would plague European Christians and Jews alike for years, such as the bubonic plague. Nonetheless, conflict that was once inspired by shared religious territory of Jerusalem, would soon carry itself to the 20th century, wherein Jeudeophobia was not so much based upon an individual’s personal prejudice against Jews, but, a way of life.
When in reference to antisemites, history elucidates one particular individual, who built a fortress of hatred against Jewish people on the grounds of economic, political and cultural preservation: Adolf Hitler.
"If I am ever really in power, the destruction of the Jews will be my first and most important job. As soon as I have power, I shall have gallows after gallows erected. Then the Jews will be hanged one after another, and they will stay hanging until they stink. They will stay hanging as long as hygienically possible. As soon as they are untied, then the next group will follow and that will continue until the last Jew in Munich is exterminated. Exactly the same procedure will be followed in other cities until Germany is cleansed of the last Jew!)
-Adolf Hitler
Hitler’s hatred towards the Jews was not intrinsic, rather it was the socio-cultural dynamic in Germany that shaped Hitler.
Once no more than a young German soldier, Hitler was allured by the prospects and glory of war and upon the harsh loss of Germany in WWI, found himself embittered by the massive cultural repercussions and economic inflation faced by the German fatherland post the Treaty of Versailles. Further, he believed that Aryan nations such as Austria should have merged with Germany. Hitler’s increasing bigotry caused him to develop paranoid delusions that found resonance amongst several fearful anti-semitic conservatives who accused Jews of stabbing the nation in the back during the war, when in reality, 100,000 Jews had fought for a country and 1,200 had died in service.
The Great Depression was an occurrence that allowed Hitler's ascent to power for as the tragedy emerged in 1929, American banks withdrew German loans, causing the already unstable economy to collapse. It was then that Hitler emerged a hero, manipulating the German people’s desperation by accusing the Jews of stealing the job opportunities from German people in their own native land, and being the sole cause that Germany was suffering with the reparations of the Treaty of Versailles.
As the mainstream political parties were helpless against the repercussions of the depression, the frustrated public chose to invest in the Nazis. Although Hitler lost in the 1932 elections, he was appointed chancellor causing the emergence of paramilitary groups such as Hitler’s Brown shirts, that promoted public displays of aggression against Jews to tame the public. Inspired by Benito Mussolini's fascist movement, after the death of Hindenburg, without election, Hitler was the self proclaimed Führer of the Germany.
Another factor that influenced the fuhrer's ardent hatred for the Jewish people was his journey as an artist. Once a struggling artist in Vienna, Hitler’s transformation from a nationalist to a zealot occurred post his rejection from the Academy of Fine arts in 1907 fueling his prejudices as he accused a Jewish professor for deeming his work unsatisfactory. Unemployed, homeless and poor, Hitler was lured into politics and was starkly influenced by the openly antisemitic mayor Karl Luger, soon joining the army and in the year 1933, Hitler along with Erich Ludendorff staged the Beer Hall Putsch causing his imprisonment in Landsberg prison for 5 years.
Genetic cleansing, and complete Aryanization was yet another salient aspect of Hitler's Third Reich. When Hitler gained the place of chancellor there was much speculation on his ancestry. Unfortunately for Hitler, a potential candidate as an ancestor was Leopold Frankenberg, a Jew. Thus while this claim remained unverified, Hitler, ashamed of the possibility of a tarnished Jewish ancestry and Austrian nationality, sought to eliminate the possibility of this connection by propagating the boycott of Jewish businesses through hate slogans, communal burning of foreign works of literature and replacement of Jews from civil service positions as part of Article 26.
On 9th November 1938, the Nazis led by Hitler, transcended propaganda and hate slogans, wherein they torched synagogues, vandalized Jewish homes and schools, raped women and deported 30,000 men to concentration camps of Dachau Buchenwald and Sachsenhausen. This tragedy was called 'Kristallnacht' as the streets were strewn with shards of broken glass as a result of the hateful vandalism of Jewish property. Thus, not only were minorities groups rounded up and subsequently tortured to death, but under Hitler, the program 'Kinder Euthanazie" translated to child euthanization was also implemented, wherein disabled children were euthanized to death.
By 1945, the Soviets and Americans liberated concentration camp prisoners and despite their freedom, several Jews were homeless, displaced and distraught due to loss of family. While some sought refuge in America, others stayed on in Europe to spread awareness.
Otto Frank, for instance, began the Anne Frank foundation publishing the Diary of a Young Girl: written by his deceased daughter while hiding in the annex who was later murdered in Auschwitz.
I long to ride a bike, dance, whistle, look at the world, feel young and know that I'm free, and yet I can't let it show. Just imagine what would happen if all eight of us were to feel sorry for ourselves or walk around with the discontent clearly visible on our faces. Where would that get us?
- Anne Frank
Until today, antisemitism remains a prevalent worldwide, as the Jews and Palestinians continue to battle upon the age old conflict of land, political control and resources which remains unresolved since WWII.
Hitler is dead and so are many of the holocaust survivors, but their stories transcend the boundaries of time, place and space as over 6 million Jews who were subject to Hitler’s “final solution” gave their lives to remind us of the atrocities of one extremists’s prejudices and that total war is not glory.
Footnotes:
Judeophobia: Fear of Jews
Blood Libels: An accusation that Jews use blood of Christian children for murderous rituals
Fuhrer: Used to refer to Hitler during WW2, literally meaning tyrant.
Aryan: Indo-Iranian people
Treaty of Versailles: A peace Treaty that bought WW1 to an end, and held Germany responsible for the aftermath of the war, thus imposing severe restrictions on the German economy and military.
Brown Shirts: Also known as 'Storm-troopers', maintained Hitlers power and status through public aggression and violence.
The Beer Hall Putsch: The Beer Hall Putsch was an attempt by Hitler and Ludendorff to start an insurrection in Germany against the Weimar republic.
Kristallnacht: Also known as Night Of The Broken Glass as the shops and homes’ windows were shattered and the streets were covered in shards of glass.
The Third Reich: Hitler thought of Germany as the third reich or “empire” the first one being the roman empire and the second being Germany during WW1
Citations (MLA 8) ESSAY CITATIONS:
"Why Did Adolf Hitler Hate The Jews?." Haaretz.Com, 2015, https://www.haaretz.com/jewish/holocaust-remembrance-day/why-did-adolf-hitler-hate-the-jews-1.5088390.
"Why Did Hitler Hate The Jews?." Anne Frank Website, 2018, https://www.annefrank.org/en/topics/antisemitism/why-did-hitler-hate-jews/.
History.Com, 2020, https://www.history.com/topics/holocaust/anti-semitism#section_3.
"Antisemitism." Encyclopedia.Ushmm.Org, 2020, https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content
"Statements By Hitler And Senior Nazis Concerning Jews And Judaism." Phdn.Org, 2020, https://phdn.org/archives/www.ess.uwe.a
"The Rise Of The Nazi Party." Facing History And Ourselves, 2020, https://www.facinghistory.org/resource-library/teaching-holocaust-and-human-behavior/rise-nazi-party.
"Why Did Hitler Hate Jews?." Kabbalah.Info, 2020, http://www.kabbalah.info/bb/why-did-hitler-hate-jews/.
"How Did Hitler Rise To Power? - Alex Gendler And Anthony Hazard." Youtube, 2020, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jFICRFKtAc4.
"Beer Hall Putsch." HISTORY, 2020, https://www.history.com/topics/germany/beer-hall-putsch.
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