Holocaust Blog #1

How can something like the holocaust happen?

-There was the destruction/manipulation of innocence and innocent people

Artifact #1: (Hitler Youth) “Blood and Honor” Knife

- Organized by Hitler and the Nazi Party, the Hitler Youth specifically targeted German kids. Generally speaking, these kids joined the Hitler Youth at age 10. This in itself, is very disturbing. At the age of ten, most kids have either not yet reached puberty, or have just begun it. When I think of 10 year old, I think of a playful little 5th grader exploring the depths of the playground during recess. What makes this most disturbing, is that many of the kids in the Hitler Youth  trained happily as they were convinced (through school, the Hitler Youth, and the Nazi German society) that they were doing the right thing. This Hitler Youth utility knife shows exactly this, bearing the engraving “blood and honor” on its blade. Looking at this knife, I think of the boy and girl scouts of our present-day community holding their little utility knives. In reality however, Hitler was taking advantage of such innocence to achieve an ugly goal.

Artifact #2: (Survivors) Eva Galler interview transcript

- As is widely regarded, many people were killed during the Holocaust. Most, if not all, of these people were as innocent as you and me. This document, displays the terror shared by the people who found themselves to be victims of the Holocaust. Reading it, one can come to the understanding that as a prisoner, you had no freedom or control. Everything you did was monitored and at any second, you could be killed. The people on this cattle train were aware of this and as a result, many jumped out of the train fully aware of their probable death. It is even more depressing to think that as a child prisoner, your chances of survival was significantly less. Eventually, death was so common that the prisoners became numb to the violent murderings of their people. Ultimately, all innocence was destroyed as innocent people were killed and the innocence of the survivors was long gone.

Artifact #3: (Art) “Normal Life” drawing by Ferdinand Van Horen

- As a victim of the Holocaust himself, Ferdinand Van Horen was very aware of the terror and violence around him. Being the artist he was, Van Horen often drew depictions of his life in the death camps. In this particular drawing, it is clear that people were beaten and killed quite regularly. As a matter of fact, they were so common, that most people in the camps were used to seeing this and didn’t care about the death of anyone but themselves. This is depicted by the man sitting down who appears as if he is turning his back to the victim or trying to move away. In addition, both men seem to be older showing that, as a victim of the Holocaust, your age (or wealth/history) didn’t matter regarding who was or wasn’t beaten/targeted. To make matters even worse, the title of the piece is “Normal Life” meaning that such violence was so common it was a daily routine. In other words, the experience basically caused them to forget what it was like to live like a normal human being and have rights. Before the Holocaust, Ferdinand Van Horen was just your basic everyday person. He had a job, interests, and dreams. His innocent life however, was to be forever changed when he became a prisoner of the Holocaust.