Remembering the Holocaust essays

Remembering the Holocaust essays Six million Jews and millions of others, including Gypsies, Slavs, homosexuals, the mentally ill and the infirm were murdered by the Nazis between 1933 and 1945. The magnitude of brutality, the remorseless cruelty, and the mass murder during the Holocaust are unique. However the root causes of the Holocaust continue. Racial hatred, economic crises, human psychological and moral flaws are still ominously common. Saying this, we must have the courage to remember the Holocaust, no matter how disturbing the memories may be. For only informed, understanding, and morally committed people can prevent such persecution from happening again. There will never be enough remembrance of the Holocaust. To forget about the holocaust is to ignore the tragedies many millions suffered, to bring about a possibility it could be repeated, and to agree with Adolf Hitlers philosophy. "Never think there is an easy way to make an end to such bitter memories...Never think there is a way to forgive the hate in the human heart...or an easy way to believe that the worst has occurred and is past. Only know that hope lives when people remember." (Simon Wiesenthal) The persecution of people is always and everywhere intolerable and to act against it is a beginning for hope. Jewish communities existed continuously in Europe for over 2,000 years. Many of these communities were older than the countries in which they existed. Nevertheless, as the countries of Europe developed, Jews were rarely given complete citizenship status. At best they were tolerated as guests. Their social and religious distinctiveness made them persistent targets for persecution; and such persecution, in turn, intensified the cohesiveness of Jewish communities. Jews were starved, beaten, experimented on, tortured, and killed. They were forced to face an almost certain death. The Jewish people were persecuted for their religion. Although the Jewish p ...