the holocaust?

Question

Im reading the book "The Hiding Place" for school. Its about a Dutch woman, Corrie ten Boom, & her family who are arrested and placed in concentration camps for hiding jews in their home.

I had heard about the holocaust, but I never actually studied it until now.

It really scares me. Do you think something like that could ever happen in the US?

I feel so sad when i read it. I can't even explain it. I feel so bad for those poor innocent people. I mean, how could people be so heartless?

Anyways, I just wanted to see what everyone else's views were.

Answer 1

Ever hear the saying, "Those who don't remember the past are doomed to repeat it?" As long as people like you learn about the horrors of the past, are affected by them, then we have hope.
Sadly, yeah, I think it will happen again... maybe not here, but look at Darfur. Look at what happened in Bosnia. Genocide on a mass scale is happening as we type.
It is scary. I commend you on your sensitivity.

Answer 2

Can it happen here? You bet! Look at how many people in this country hate one another. Blacks and hispanics and whites. Conservatives and liberals. Christians and Atheists and Muslims and Jews. Americans and Mexican immigrants. The Holocaust is the direct result of racism, hatred, and intolerance. All three of those things are alive and well in the United States.

That is where YOU come in! YOU have the power to make sure that these things do not happen. Be tolerant, respectful, and understanding of all people. Treat people well, no matter how different they are from you. When you get out of school, get a job that helps people. Vote for candidates that help people. Be enthusiastic, tolerant, and good, and your tolerance and goodness will spread to those around you. Fight hatred with love, and love will always win in the end.

Good luck!

Answer 3

We had Japanese internment camps in the U.S. back during Pearl Harbor in the 40's... With Hitler and Germany it was the most sinister time. I hope that young people today see that these types of human rights violations did exist and still exist today. It's madness... I hope everyone will learn and evolve from what has happened instead of repeating our past mistakes. Honor diversity! We're all in this together... It profoundly saddens me... You and I can teach and be an example. We cannot let these injustices continue! Keep an open mind, think for yourself and teach the world that we will not tolerate anything like what has happened again! Get involved!...

Answer 4

As long as there is ignorance and prejudice, genocide is possible. It's important to study the Holocaust and shocking to me how little is taught about it in school. The Holocaust came out of ignorance, fear and mistrust and the need for a scapegoat. There are groups in this country that believe in the NAZI philosophy. It's important to speak out against hatred in all forms.

Answer 5

The lessons of history teach us one thing: Anything is possible anywhere. There are some places where things like the Holocaust are unlikely, but not impossible. This is why we all need to be alert, informed, and partake in public life.

Answer 6

The following is an introduction to the events that occurred in the late 19th c. before the Holocaust. In order to understand why it happened we need to understand the belief system that led up to it. I realize it is long, but I believe worth it.

Haskalah (Hebrew: השכלה; "enlightenment," "education" from sekhel "intellect", "mind" ), the Jewish Enlightenment, was a movement among European Jews in the late 18th century that advocated adopting enlightenment values, pressing for better integration into European society, and increasing education in secular studies, Hebrew, and Jewish history. Haskalah in this sense marked the beginning of the wider engagement of European Jews with the secular world, resulting, ultimately, in the first Jewish political movements and the struggle for Jewish emancipation. The division of Ashkenazi Jewry into religious movements or denominations, especially in North America and anglophone countries, began historically as a reaction to Haskalah.

As long as the Jews lived in segregated communities, and as long as all avenues of social intercourse with their gentile neighbors were closed to them, the rabbi was the most influential member of the Jewish community. In addition to being a religious scholar and "clergy", a rabbi also acted as a civil judge in all cases in which both parties were Jews. Rabbis sometimes had other important administrative powers, together with the community elders. The rabbinate was the highest aim of many Jewish boys, and the study of the Talmud was the means of obtaining that coveted position, or one of many other important communal distinctions. Haskalah followers advocated "coming out of ghetto," not just physically but also mentally and spiritually in order to assimilate among gentile nations. The result initially was the granting of citizenship to the Jewish people in several European countries, including Germany.

However, this began to change due to the influence of Wilhem Marr, a German editor and reporter who claimed that Jews were sub-human because they were of the Semitic race. Changing the concept of Judaism from a religion to that of a race provided the excuse for Hitler to launch a campaign to eliminate them.

An earlier attempt to eliminate the Jews was in the late 1400's in Spain, the Inquisition. However, the Catholic rulers Ferdinand and Isabella and the church leaders did allow Jews to convert to Catholicsm.Still Jews were viewed with suspicion and were referred to as marranos (Spanish for pig because of Jewish dietary laws that banned eating pork). I hope this will help.

Religions can be changed however, race can't.Jews were then categorized as being a sub-species, like an insect or a pest. As in my professor of Jewish history, "What do you do when faced with a pest? You call in the Orkin man." Hitler was the Orkin man. This was the attitude of Hitler towards the Jews. In addition to reading "Tramp For The Lord" try to read "Night" by Elie Wiesel. It is a first hand account of he and his father's imprisonment at Auschwitz. One other book is titled "Sorbibor" an account of a revolt at this concentration camp. I can't remember the author's name. Jews have for centuries the target of almost every civilization in the world. As far as ten Boom's book read the chapter "Thank God for the Fleas".

This is one of the most horrific events in human history and yet there are those called "revisionist historians" that deny the the Holocaust. Will it happen here? No one actually knows but there is always a possibility. Ther is a saying "Those who don't understand history are bound to repeat it." This is the reason the study of history is so important. If you have any other questions feel to email me at [e-mail]

gatita_63109

Answer 7

yes it was horrible, the way the treated people was horrible, they barely fed them, they made them sleep on barbed wire, it truly was awful. but no, i dont belive something like that could happen to americans, america and its allies are to powerful. although in all seriosness it could very well happen to the jews again. the (radical) musilms in the middle east have unbelivable hate for the jews, and many leaders have been warning the jews about another holocost, but again i dont think its possible, but then on the other hand you never kow, cuz iran may have nuclear weapans and such, we are in a very volotile situation right now.

Answer 8

It is hard not to see the parallels between the early years of the holocaust, when they targetted the mentally retarded, crippled, and insane for extermination and our own history of abusing the same groups. Forced sterilization and the mind set that goes with it seems to be on that road.

Answer 9

sounds like your interests, your seeking lost or tainted love outside yourself, in history, etc., one of the worst times in our history; lot, lots more than love lost. Could something similar happen? We elect officials that all we really know of is what they can afford. Also, truthfully it has happened; often. The reality is is that ww2 was a terribly huge and sensationalistic example; of loss. Losses as severe can happen in a place as big as a country or as small as a household. But keep aware, sweetheart and thanx. Sincerely Dimmer Sky.

Answer 10

i'm studying this right now and i'm scared too on how everyone died! just pray it doesnt happen to us!