Cox 1

Brandon Cox
Professor Wertz-Orbaugh
UWRT 1103-007
13 January 2016
Weekly Writing I
The education I have received about the Holocaust is above average. By reading books,
watching documentaries, and taking classes on the Holocaust I am understanding the process of
extermination the Jews, Gypsies, and others went through because of the Nazis hatred towards
them. I am a double major in History and International Studies with a European focus so
knowing what the Holocaust was and how it impacted the world is crucial for me to know in
order to achieve success. Because of my position regarding education and my love of history
itself, I would say my knowledge of the Holocaust is well off.
Understanding Adolf Hitlers approach to slowly force the German people into
discriminating the Jews was both horrific and brilliant at the same time. Many of the subliminal
messages he passed to Germany through his use of propaganda can still be seen in todays world.
He hired Joseph Goebbels to personally oversee the running of the propaganda machine in
Germany at the time. At first the German people were not aboard with Hitlers ideas towards the
Jewish problem. Through use of propaganda and the removal of intellectuals from society Hitler
was able to successfully discriminate the Jews from German society.
Being sent East was a term used to describe the Jews, Gypsies, and others being
forcibly moved East towards Poland and the Soviet Union to be sent to death camps. Much of
this occurred before the Final Solution was implemented. After the implementation of the Final
Solution, it was an all out industrialized extermination of the Jews and other races deemed

unworthy. The Holocaust was the first major instance of genocide and industrialization mixing to
form one of the worst tragedies in history.
One common mistake people make is the difference between Concentration Camps and
Death Camps. Concentration Camps were establishments meant strictly for labor. Even though
killing occurred in these places, it wasnt anywhere near as bad as the Nazi Death Camps. Death
Camps were designed for one purpose in mind. Many Death Camps werent built until later in
the Holocaust. Concentration Camps were built since the very start of the Holocaust and
continued to exist until the end of World War II in the European Theatre.
In all, about eleven million people were murdered because of the Holocaust with six
million of those people being Jews. The Holocaust has taught not only a few countries or
organizations but all of society the awareness needed to prevent genocide. Genocide is not only a
problem for a few groups of people, it is a problem the whole world needs to deal with. Even
though many genocides have occurred since the ending of the Holocaust it is still the
responsibility of everyone to stop it. By teaching the modern generation about the horrific facts
about genocide it can be slowed down or even prevented in a modern complex world. In my own
opinion I dont think the Holocaust or genocide in general is taught enough in the education
systems today. Students find it hard to get a grasp on how bad the event actually was and the
impact it played in shaping the modern world. Even though the Holocaust wasnt the worst
genocide to occur in the twentieth century it was the best example of how dark humanity can go.