What is the Holocaust?
The Holocaust is a state sponsored persecution and separation of the Jews which started in 1933 and ended in 1945.
Resistance of the Holocaust
Resistance during the Holocaust was very common and an estimated 20,000-30,000 Jews retaliated during World War II. They would operate with secret groups hidden in the forest and fight with whatever weapons they could manage to scrap together. Although many Jews put up a good fight they were no match for the skilled German Nazis. The German soldiers had proper weapons with much more ammunition that the rebels. The Nazis would also punish entire families for the rebellions even if that family was not involved. In places such as Yogoslavia, the Nazis would execute fifty to a hundred Jews for every one Nazi that was killed. Because the Jews were isolated they could not provide themselves with weapons to defend themselves and their families. The Nazis were also very quick at deporting rebels and Jews to concentration camps.
Soldiers who fought during the Holocaust.
A burning building from Warsaw, the greatest uprising during the Holocaust.
(unable to download the audio from the website so there is a link)
Scenes from the movie "Uprising". The movie is about the uprising in Warsaw in 1943.
Some of the resistance leaders being captured by the guards.
Flaming alcoholic beverages such as this were used by the rebels against the Nazis.
Some family members who were shipped off to a concentration camp for rebelling.
Song chosen for this website is called: When I'm Gone by Simple Plan.
This song fits the theme of this website because it has a motivating upbeat music that would fit the rebels rather well and because the lyrics talk about how you need to get up and make it happen. You can't just sit around waiting to be saved and you must leave of your own accord.
This song fits the theme of this website because it has a motivating upbeat music that would fit the rebels rather well and because the lyrics talk about how you need to get up and make it happen. You can't just sit around waiting to be saved and you must leave of your own accord.
Some Jews were hanged and burned alive to be prosecuted for rebelling.
Some women with their packed bags searching for a way out of Warsaw.
Literature.
Some related literature to the rebelling of the Holocaust is The Diary of Anne Frank, which is a non-fictional piece of writing, and Meeting at the Milestone, which is a fictional creation. The Diary of Anne Frank describes hows Jews rebelled by refusing to leave their home country and surviving on their own means. Meeting at the Milestone, written by Sigurd Hoel, is about a leader of the resistance and how his life was and how life was after the war was over.
Another Period of Genocide.
In 1975 a leader in Cambodia required everyone to work in the fields to benefit the whole country and he banned leaving the country and foreign languages.
Reflective Essay
This topic was chosen because you do not often hear about the rebellion of the Holocaust and it was believed to be a rather interesting topic. Rebellious actions have always been fascinating to the author and the author desired to see how the Jews defended themselves during the Holocaust and if it was effective at all in helping them achieve their freedom. Some surprising facts about the rebellions was how few Jews decided to participate in the rebellions. Out of the millions of Jews who were killed and the many others who survived only a few thousand of Jews actually rebelled. A fraction of the Jews involved tried to stop the Nazis. This information brings about the realization of just how powerful Adolf Hitler really was. His power and numbers was so massive that the opposing forces had no hope of standing up to him. The Holocaust was extremely evil and unfair due to the overwhelming way the Jews were out numbered. Rebelling would do the Jews no good so many of them simply decided to omit from resisting. Insight with this information makes one aware of how the Jews could not help themselves. With this knowledge one knows that they didn't simply submit to Adolf Hitler and the Nazis but that they did not have power to stand up to them.
http://www.ushmm.org/education/foreducators/resource/pdf/resistance.pdf