Argumentative Essay: The Holocaust

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The Holocaust “By warding off the Jews, I am fighting for the Lords work” (Harran 50). This quote is the exact words of the worlds most accomplished mass murderer in history, Adolf Hitler. His goal was to exterminate the complete Jewish race, to make room for the “Aryan” race. “Jews have been discriminated against, hated, and killed because prejudiced non-Jews believed they belonged to the wrong religion, lacked citizenship qualifications, practiced business improperly, behaved inappropriately, or possessed inferior racial characteristics” (Harran 41). Due to the hatred that was formed against the Jewish people, over the years of 1933 to 1945, about six million innocent people lost their lives. Were the German people oblivious to the…show more content…
The Jewish people were no longer trying to keep jobs or provide for their families but rather fighting for their lives. Many families resulted to hiding throughout Europe. Although a huge majority of German citizens were brainwashed by Hitler’s hatred for the Jews, some of them resisted and risked their lives to help them. “They hid in attics, basements, and cupboards so small they could barely crouch” (Harran 486). One incident of this was when a Jewish man named Yankel lived in a whole in the floor of a barn for a year when German soldiers occupied the farm itself (Harran 486). Some German citizens took a stand against the cruelty and hatred formed against the Jews. Although a huge majority of them were brainwashed by Hitler’s hatred for the Jews, some of them resisted and risked their lives to help them. There are many famous stories of those brave Germans who have in some way or another supported the Jewish people. One example is of a woman named Irene Gut Oppyke, who hid 12 Jews in the house of a German officer for whom she worked as a housekeeper (Harran 486). These people showed a huge amount of courage because the consequences they received for getting caught aiding the Jews meant imprisonment for life, or death. Although life in hiding seemed frightening for the Jews, the life that awaited them after being arrested was beyond…show more content…
The only legitimate reasoning behind Hitler’s actions was to create efficient room for the perfect race. The perfect race known as the Aryan race as mentioned before, was what was considered pure German blood and the Nazis stopped at nothing while trying to achieve the adequate living space. The determination of Hitler and his followers was what resulted in millions of innocent people’s death. To this day Hitler is considered and remembered as a ruthless, heartless, inhumane individual, who caused one of the world’s most gruesome events in history. “Anti-Semitism was the means by which he smashed the legal system, established his dictatorship, and implicated the German people in his crimes” (Schoenberner 1). From the beginning, Hitler very smoothly manipulated the minds of his people. He convinced them to follow his leadership and eventually play out his evil plan. The German people were victims of one of the worst cases of propaganda the world has ever known. They were used in Hitler’s effort to end the Jewish

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