The Holocaust

A Timeline for the Holocaust:

1933- Hitler is sworn in as Chancellor of Germany

1937- Laws are passed banning Jews from holding professional jobs.

1938- The Kristallnacht (Night of Broken Glass), where homes of Jews were wrecked and burned, Jewish stores torn apart and damaged significantly, and many Jews being injured or killed.

1939- Issues are ordered to special action squads in Poland for the creation of ghettos near railroads in preparation for the “final goal”. Jews are to wear yellow stars so that they may be identified by German authorities. Nazis invade Poland in the Blitzkrieg. Great Britain and France declare war on Germany.

1940- The most infamous death camp, Auschwitz, is ordered to be built in Poland.

1941- An official decree is ordered for German Jews, where they are to be forced into labor. Hitler orders the beginning of the “final solution”: The mass extermination of Jews and many other belief systems in concentration camps. U.S. enters into World War I.

 1942- Mass migration of Jews from France, Germany, and other countries into Auschwitz begins.

1943- Gas chambers are now built and fully operational in many concentration camps

1944- The Russians liberate the first concentration camp, Majdanek. Auschwitz is ordered to have its gas chambers and crematoriums destroyed.

1945- Death marches are ordered for Jews to escape Russian forces who have begun to liberate many concentration camps, including Auschwitz, Budapest, and Warsaw.

Terms:

Anti-Semitism- The hatred of a person or thing based on their affiliation to Jewish tradition and heritage.

Concentration Camp- A compound used to detain people because of their race, beliefs, and/or political affiliation.

Deportation- Theforced removal of a person or people from a specific country or area.

Genocide- The deliberate murder or destruction of people based on their race, religion, ethnicity, or nationality.

Ghetto- A part of a city occupied by a particular group of people because of social, economic, or political issues.

Holocaust- The killing of more than 6 million Jews and many other minorities during World War II by Nazi Germany as a way to preserve the Aryan or "Master" race.

Kristallnaht- Also know as "The Night of Broken Glass", an event in Germany where mobs of Germans destroyed Jewish homes and stores, synagogues, and schools, as well as injuring and killing many Jews themselves.

                Through the mass extermination of the Jews and other peoples of many different beliefs, there were flagrant violations of the 10 Commandments. Of them, the most apparent violation is “You shall not kill”, with the Auschwitz concentration camp killing 2,000,000 people altogether, including 1,500,000 Jews. The flagrant violations of human dignity was experienced not only in death camps, but in the ghettos that people were forced to live in, where food was scarce, disease was common, and the sick and weak were blatantly killed by Nazi soldiers. Along with the persistent violence experienced by the Jews since the rise of Hitler to power, the concentration camps and the ghettos violated the most basic of human rights entrusted to us by God: the right to live

                The Commandment of “You shall not steal” was also blatantly violated. In ghettos and in concentration camps, Nazi soldiers would often search homes for any valuables and jewelry that people would bring, melting them down and creating profits. No sympathy for anyone’s possessions was given by the soldiers, leading to many people hiding their jewelry and valuables in unconventional places, which included some swallowing them whole. Not to mention how Jewish homes were raided after the people living there were evacuated, stealing money and anything of value. All of these actions were done for greed and to humiliate the people they were attacking, taking away things of not just monetary value, but sentimental value as well.

                With all of the widespread death and stealing, there was also widespread breaking of the 10^th Commandment “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor”. Using the Jews as scapegoats, the Nazis blamed many of Germany’s problems in the past and present on the Jews, including the loss of World War I, starvation, and the financial crisis Germany was experiencing. Propaganda was printed daily about the "Jewish problem", with frequent statements talking of the complete eradication of the Jews. All of this culminated into the intense hatred that was quickly adopted by many Germans, who soon began to use them as a means to blame all of the ailments of society on. It became state accepted hate, all fueled through the persistently false depiction of the Jews as the ultimate enemy of the Germans, who had to destroy them.

Follow up to Treyvon Martin Murder

Police Chief Billy Lee

The Treyvon Martin murder is now widely talked about here in the U.S.  The tragic occurrence on February 26, where Martin, was fatally shot by George Zimmerman, who was able to get away with it on the belief that he felt threatened, is now dealing with outrage from the country.  New developments have arisen out of the case, with questionable police conduct being discovered by news sources, including,” the “correction” of an eyewitness account”. Other discoveries of the case include the fact no drug test, nor background check were conducted as part of the investigation by local authorities, which is standard policy for investigations. As a response to this conduct, local City Commissioners conducted a vote of “no confidence” with how Police Chief Billy Lee handled the investigation, with a vote of 3 out of 5 against Chief Lee.

Martin in his hoodie

                Since the fatal shooting, and the recent investigation of the local police department, support has been pouring out for the Martin family, with over 2 million signatures, as of March 26^th, on an online petition asking the Florida Attorney General to arrest Zimmerman.  There has also been the spread of demonstrations all over the country, with “Million Hoodie Marches” taking place with people with hoods on their heads to represent how Trayvon was dressed on the night of the murder. Support has even come from the sports world, with the Miami Heat showing their support for Martin by wearing their sport hoodies with their hoods down. These demonstrations have also spurred demonstrations about other complaints, such as dissatisfaction with the brutality of the Denver Police Department, who have paid over $1.34 million dollars to settle brutality cases.

Geraldo Rivera

                One incredibly surprising response from the murder has received widespread criticism: Geraldo Rivera’s remarks on the shooting on, not surprisingly, Fox News. His remarks centered around Martin’s hoodie, and that if he had not been wearing it, he would still be alive. This statement is absolutely ridiculous, and is based on false stereotypes about the connection between hoodies and crime. A statement I saw pretty much makes it clear that Rivera’s reasoning is flawed: “If I were to be a clown, does that give me the right to throw a pie in your face?”

                It seems that Zimmerman isn’t going to get off too easily from prosecution, whether from the federal authorities, or the public at large. But it is important that we don’t stop, and continue to put pressure on authorities for the arrest of Zimmerman, and one small way to help is to sign the petition for Zimmerman’s arrest. It will take less than a minute and, I believe, will make a difference: http://www.change.org/petitions/prosecute-the-killer-of-our-son-17-year-old-trayvon-martin .

               

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2012/03/trayvon-martin-case-timeline-of-events/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/26/trayvon-martin-hoodie-mar_n_1379086.html