The Holocaust was an event that took place during the course of the second world war. The state sponsored killing of the European Jews which started in 1941 lasted till 1945 claiming the lives of over 6 million Jews, which was about two third of the entire European Jewish population. This event was planned and executed by Nazi Germany together with Its allies in an attempt to “Cleanse“ their land.
Just like any other events in history, it is believed that the Holocaust did not just break out, it was as a result of various tensions that has been building up over the years before the events of 1941 which began the execution of the Final solution plan.
It is important to talk about Antisemitism while talking about the Holocaust.
Antisemitism is prejudice against or hatred of Jews. It can take many forms, including verbal harassment, physical violence, and discrimination. Antisemitism has a long history, dating back centuries. The Holocaust was seen as the direct result of centuries of antisemitism, which provided the ideological foundation for the Nazis' plan to exterminate the Jewish people. Antisemitism fueled the hatred and prejudice that led to the persecution, violence, and ultimately, the genocide of Jews during the Holocaust.
The Nazis were the members of the National Socialist German Workers' Party (NSDAP), a far-right political party that ruled Germany from 1933 to 1945 and was led by Adolf Hitler. Their regime in Germany was characterised by extreme nationalism, racism, and militarism. The Nazi Party was responsible for the Holocaust, the genocide of approximately six million Jews, as well as the deaths of millions of other people, including political opponents, Roma people e.t.c.
The year 1933 marked a turning point for Jews in Germany. The Nazis, having consolidated their power, began enacting a series of discriminatory laws aimed at marginalizing and dehumanizing the Jewish population. One of the first events came with the Law for the Restoration of the Professional Civil Service which dismissed Jewish civil servants from their positions, stripping them of their livelihoods and social standing in the society.
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Closely following this was the Law Against Overcrowding in Schools and Universities similarly enacted in the same year. This law set strict quotas on the number of Jewish students allowed in educational institutions. Jewish students were systematically excluded, their dreams of a brighter future shattered.
The final blow of this trifecta came with the Boycott of Jewish Businesses. On April 1st, 1933, a nationwide boycott targeted Jewish-owned businesses. Stores were vandalized, windows smashed, and owners subjected to harassment and intimidation. The message was clear: Jews were not welcome in the German economy
A turning point came in 1938 with Kristallnacht, also known as the "Night of Broken Glass." A wave of violence swept across Germany and Austria, targeting Jewish homes, businesses, and synagogues. The streets filled with the sound of shattered glass and the screams of terrorized Jews.
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In 1941, the "Final Solution" was put into action. This is the Nazi plan to exterminate the Jewish people in Europe. This plan included mass shootings, concentration camps, and ultimately, the construction of extermination camps equipped with gas chambers.From the ghettos, Jews were transported by train to concentration and extermination camps. These camps were designed for one purpose: mass murder. Millions of Jews were systematically gassed, shot, or worked to death. The Nazis employed propaganda and systematic dehumanization of Jews to justify their actions and incite hatred against them.
The Holocaust ended with the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II. As Allied forces advanced into Germany, they liberated concentration and extermination camps, revealing the horrors of the genocide to the world. The end of the Holocaust led to several new developments that shaped the whole world as we have it today, some of these included: the creation of the state of Israel in 1948 as a national home for the Jewish people as well as the universal declaration of human right adopted in 1948 and which outlines the fundamental human rights and freedoms that everyone is entitled to, regardless of nationality, race, gender, religion, language, or any other status.
Sources
> Britannica
> The Holocaust encyclopedia
> The National WWII Museum
> Imperial war Museum