The Holocaust and Its Effects Today
Stephanie Teal
HIS204
American History Since 1865
Instructor: Dennis Magnuson
March 7, 2011
The question we will explore in this paper is the effects that the Holocaust had on its survivors, family members and how it still affects us today. There is still racism in our country and the Holocaust caused lasting images in the minds of the survivor of just how cruel people can be. Also, we will explore the idea that we could have another Holocaust today if the situation presents itself and how that would affect people today.
The Holocaust was a tragic point in history that many people don’t believe ever happened. The survivors thought it should never have happened. Not only did this affect the people who lived through it; it also affected everyone who was connected to those fortunate individuals who survived. The survivors may have survived but there are times when their memories and flashbacks have made them wish they were the ones who died instead of living with the horrible memories of that time.
“In 1933, the Jewish population of Europe stood at over nine million. Most European Jews lived in countries that Nazi Germany would occupy or influence during World War II. By 1945, the Germans and their collaborators killed nearly two out of every three European Jews as part of the "Final Solution," the Nazi policy to murder the Jews of Europe. Although Jews, whom the Nazis deemed a priority danger to Germany, were the primary victims of Nazi racism, other victims included some 200,000 Roma (Gypsies). At least 200,000 mentally or physically disabled patients, mainly Germans, living in institutional settings, were murdered in the so-called Euthanasia Program.
As Nazi tyranny spread across Europe, the Germans and their collaborators persecuted and murdered millions of other people. Between two and three million Soviet prisoners of war were murdered or died of starvation, disease,...