If jewish is not a race or nationality but a religion then does that mean anybody can be a jew, even Hitler? In that case, why didn't people who got executed during the holocaust identify themselves and non-jews to save themselves?
2007-02-25 15:07:36 · 13 answers · asked by Acacia 2 in Politics & Government ➔ Politics
jew
2007-02-28 02:21:08 · answer #1 · answered by ocean 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Being Jewish can be both a religion and nationality. The people who were executed during the Holocaust could have said that they were not Jewish, the problem is that they did not know what was in store for them. It started off with all Jews having to wear Star of David patches on their clothing, they were then later rounded up and sent to the Concentration Camps. I am sure that there were some people who denied their religion to save themselves, but the vast majority did not. When you are facing death the last thing you want to do is deny your God. If they lied about being Jewish and were later found out by an informant (who were paid by the Nazi's) they would be killed anyway.
2007-02-25 23:22:06 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Listen to Dylan and ric from nj. Hitler was a Jew! At least with some digging into his geneology, you could make a case for it. Many Jews denied their religion, changed their names, lied, bribed officials, anything to get out of Germany and the countries under Hitler's control.
You could make a case for none of the Jews executed by the Nazis having been Jews in the first place. Most European Jews trace their ancestry back to a tribe centered in the Caucasus Mountains that adopted Jewdaism as their religion even though they had no genetic link to the Jews of Palestine.
2007-02-26 00:03:53 · answer #3 · answered by WESS LB 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
true, judaism is a religion. however, many people now often call it a race. this is because the jewish communities around the world are very close knit. and traditionally they were forced to live in communities together, which is why we continue to be close knit.
in the holocaust, many people tried to do that. however, hitler and his nazis (at the very beginning) got lists of names of jews from synagogues and other jewish organizations. they then forced those jewish to register as jews and wear a yellow star, visible at all times, to show that they were jews. if the jews did not comply or did not register as jews, they were often killed or sent to brutal concentration camps. so pretty much, it was hard to prove you were not jewish if you were. and if you tried to lie, you were brutally punished.
many parents however hid their jewish children in christian orphanages or with non jewish friends. the nuns in the orphanages knew that the children were jewish, however they wanted to save them (and were thus called "righteous gentiles" [gentiles meaning non jews]). the parents did this because it was easier to hid the children than themselves because they were younger and therefore there was less documentation on them.
and no, not anybody can be a jew. people have to WANT to be jewish in order to convert. it is a very long process to officially convert. it takes a lot of dedication and studying.
hope this helps!
2007-02-26 20:23:28 · answer #4 · answered by why hello there 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well, you are learning. Judaism is a religious choice, not a nationality. Anyone can convert to Judaism...there are black Jews, Indian Jews, Native American Jews. Most people confuse "Jewish" with "Israeli"....
Many in WWII did try to pass as non-Jewish. Trouble was, Hitler decided what a Jew "looked" like and those who fit his madness were taken away. Plus, back in those dark days, many people of the Jewish faith were forced to live in certain areas of the city, country. They could only have businesses in those areas. Hitler wasn't the first person to segregate them....but he was the first one to kill them by the millions.!!
Just FYI - a couple of people you may be familiar with that are Jewish; Elizabeth Taylor and Sammy Davis, Jr.....
2007-02-26 00:36:21 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Jewish is a religion. I have many friends who converted to Judaism. Hitler claimed that Jew was a race & that anyone with even 1 Jewish grandparent was to be murdered.
2007-02-25 23:33:28 · answer #6 · answered by yupchagee 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Ya know it might surprise all the Jewish apologists here and everywhere that 60 million people died in WWII .The deaths of the 54 million non-Jews don't matter to you, huh?
Then what abut the 7 million non-Jews killed in the holocaust? Don't they matter either? One, a French Catholic resistance fighter was my late mother’s sister-in-law.
What about the 1.5 million gypsies killed in the holocaust. Don’t they matter? The gypsies suffered the worse of any group but no one cares about them.
Learn the truth about the holocaust. It wasn't just for Jews. Hitler was an equal opportunity monster. He killed folks from every group.
2007-02-25 23:25:23 · answer #7 · answered by ric from nj 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Jew is a race. Jewish is a religion...and it's kinda hard not to not be a Jew. you can be a Christian Jew or a Jewish Mexican...
2007-02-25 23:11:37 · answer #8 · answered by DeceptiConservative 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Judaism is the religion that Jews,a race of people,practice.Yes,gentiles can convert to Judaism,but they can't be Jews.
The Nazis were killing a race,and by extension,their religion.One can't repudiate one's race.
2007-02-25 23:13:38 · answer #9 · answered by Zapatta McFrench 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Apparently, none of the murdered Jews were as brilliant as you.
2007-02-25 23:11:34 · answer #10 · answered by bettysdad 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋