How ones position in the world shapes their identity, society, and culture

            The area where I child grows up will always have a significant effect on who they are as a person and what they become.  Growing up in a secluded suburban town 40 minutes from New York City, I never witnessed any deadly natural disasters like the 2004 tsunami that hit Southeast Asia.  Before September 11, 2001, my first experience of death to close friends, I would consider myself naive because even as the incident was unfolding I still thought that it could not be happening to a place so close to us. I was brought up to think that someone may make bad decisions but overall they are inherently good people not knowing the hijacker’s sole purpose was to kill as many as possible.  Now that I am older and have been exposed to what tragedies go on throughout the world I see how one’s perception of identity, culture, and society differs from region to region.  A child growing up in China, a country known for frequently having deadly natural disasters would learn to cherish what they have more then someone living in the US.  Although there may not be as many disasters in The United States compared to China or countries in the region, the US always helps these less fortunate countries raising money for the relief effort.  We know that at any time a hurricane could kill thousands and we would want the help from others as well.  The photograph of the two smiling children holding a poster with images of the tsunami’s aftermath may anger some readers because they may believe the children should not be smiling.  This is not disrespect but just an instance where the children are still naïve to what really goes on in the world.  Until 9/11 I had no idea a deadly event like that could take place so close to me thinking that the deadly events happened only in other countries thousands of miles away from me.   

Annotated Bibliography

Ohlendorf, Otto. "The Testimony of SS General Otto Ohlendorf, Einsatzgruppe D." Interview by JOHN H. AMEN, Y. E. POKROVSKY, and Herr Babel. Famous Trials. UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI-KANSAS CITY (UMKC) SCHOOL OF LAW, 2011. Web. 16 Oct. 2011. <http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/nuremberg/Ohlentestimony.html>.

            The government in Germany during the Holocaust was built on trust and respect.  During the Nuremburg trials SS General Otto Ohlendorf was asked about how orders to mass murder civilians were carried even though it was so inhumane.  His response was because it was his duty to follow the orders of a higher-ranking officer and if disobeyed there would major consequences.  He was then asked if anyone had asked to be relieved from duty so they would not have to kill and Ohlendorf could not give an instance.  The fear Hitler bestowed on the German population gave him an infinite amount of power allowing him to kill as many as he did. 

Rossel, Seymour. Hitler's Rise to Power. Rossel Home. RCC Inc., 2011. Web. 19 Oct. 2011. <http://www.rossel.net/Holocaust01.htm>.

The loss of World War 1 and the Stock Market crash of 1929 left Germany spiritless and poor.  Hitler took advantage of this by promising to make Germany a world power like it once was and unemployment will end. His way of doing this was to rid the country of anyone who had caused the depression.  German’s needed a scapegoat to blame for all of the problems they were facing and because the Jews were a minority it was easy to blame them. The dispirited state many of the German people were in after the First World War and depression made Hitler’s promises of a better life so enticing. 

Bartoletti, Susan Campbell. Hitler Youth: Growing up in Hitler's Shadow. New York: Scholastic Nonfiction, 2005. Print.

Hitler gained many of his supporters from the Youth League of the National Socialist Workers' Party (NSDAP) also known as the Hitler Youth Program.  This group was made up of boys aged from 14-18 who wanted to join in the fight against the Jews.  Many of the boys who joined did not really know what they were fighting for but through constant propaganda they were in a way “Brain Washed” to do whatever Hitler demanded.  At first the group grew slowly but as the Nazi party grew thousands joined.  In 1932, a few weeks before Hitler came into power, the Hitler Youth was 2,300,000 members strong. 

Simkin, John. "Adolf Hitler : Biography." Spartacus Educational. Sept. 1997. Web. 19 Oct. 2011. <http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/GERhitler.htm>.

Hitler’s speeches were so persuading because of his ability to manipulate large crowds to believe anything he said.  He would come onto the stage late on purpose so audiences would be in suspense thinking that something may have happened to him.  The excitement they felt when he finally came out was so great crowds would never second-guess his ideas because they felt so honored to finally see him.  He traveled throughout Europe speaking about a better future in attempt to gain as many followers as possible knowing that if he had enough support he could become a dictator of Germany. 

Hitler, Adolf, and Ralph Manheim. Mein Kampf,. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1943.Print.

            Before Hitler came into power he published an autobiography called Mein Kumpf , which translates to My Struggle.  In this book Hitler writes about his feelings and position on many topics that end being expressed when he takes power.  He wrote about his hatred for the Jews and why they caused the country to fall out of power.  At the time when the book was published not many people read it but as he gained in power it became a guide for the Nazi party. 

Irving, Altus. "Irving Altus - June 2, 1982 - Contents." Interview by Bernie Kent. Voice/Vision Holocaust Survivor Oral History Archive. The Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, 2 June 1982. Web. 18 Oct. 2011. <http://holocaust.umd.umich.edu/interview.php?D=altus>.

In this interview Altus Irving explains the conditions at Auschwitz and how Jews were being exterminated in crematoriums.  He explains how there were many nationalities in the camp but only the Jews were being sent into the death chambers to be murdered.  Irving describes the work he did as a captive and how there was no goal aside from working them until death.    The objective of The Auschwitz Concentration camp was to kill as many Jews as possible with the ultimate goal of ridding the Jewish population from the earth. 

           

Florida Center for Instructional Technology. "Kristallnacht Map." Florida Center for Instructional Technology. College of Education, University of South Florida, 2005. Web. 19 Oct. 2011. <http://fcit.usf.edu/holocaust/timeline/KMap.htm>.

            On November 9, 1938 Josef Goebbels, the propaganda minister under Adolf Hitler, ordered nearly 200 synagogues to be burnt to the ground in attempt to rid the country of Jews.   The night is forever remembered as Kristallnacht, the night of broken glass, because of the destruction that went on in Germany.  Many Jewish shops and businesses were vandalized and over 90 Jews were killed in the Riots.  This was another attempt to rid the country of Jews by destroying anywhere they lived, practiced their religion, and worked. 

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. "Classification System in Nazi Concentration Camps." Holocaust Encyclopedia. 2010. Web. 19 Oct. 2011. http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005378

            In 1938, Hitler ordered all Jews to wear a Star of David on their shirts so they could be easily distinguished.   A year later they added smaller colored triangles onto the stars representing which concentration camp they were in and what reason they were there for.  The law was passed so Jews could be easily discerned and to make them feel inferior to the rest of the population. 

Cymerath, Simon. "Transport to Auschwitz." Interview by Sidney Bolkosky. Voice/Vision Holocaust Survivor Oral History Archive. 8 June 1982. Web. 19 Oct. 2011. <http://holocaust.umd.umich.edu/interview.php?D=cymerath>.

            In this interview Simon Cymerath explains what it was like when he was transported to the Auschwitz concentration camps.  He states that around fifteen thousand people were put into cattle cars with one hundred in each car with hardly enough room to move.  When he arrived a day and half later at the camp only half of the fifteen thousand survived the trip because of dehydration from the unbearable July heat .  The Nazis had no sympathy towards them treating prisoners more like objects than people.  

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. "Final Solution" Holocaust Encyclopedia. <http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10007328>. Web. 19 Oct. 2011.

            The extermination of anyone not considered to be in the “Aryan Race” is known as the Final Solution.  At first Jews and other minorities were sent to ghettos, which were small secluded areas, where thousands were brought so they could be easily monitored.  As the war went on and the Final Solution plan was put into action, the people living in these ghettos were shipped to concentration camps to be exterminated.  The Nazis formed these ghettos only as a temporary measure to make time for more death camps to be built. 

Bella, Camhi. "Bella Camhi - November 18, 1999 - Contents." Interview by Sidney Bolkosky. Voice/Vision Holocaust Survivor Oral History Archive. 18 Nov. 1999. Web. 19 Oct. 2011. <http://holocaust.umd.umich.edu/interview.php?D=camhi>.

            In this interview Camhi Bella speaks about her experience in Auschwitz and how five of her family members were gassed upon arrival at the camp.  Her parents were the first killed but soon after her eleven-year-old sister was sent to the crematoria as well.  She explains that all Jews were killed whether they were a man, woman, or child.  Bella recounts being beaten many times and witnessing many beat to death for reasons as simple as walking to slow.

Cigler, Eva. "Eva Cigler - March 17, 1982 - Contents." Interview by Eva Lipton. Voice/Vision Holocaust Survivor Oral History Archive. 17 Mar. 1982. Web. 19 Oct. 2011. <http://holocaust.umd.umich.edu/cigler/>.

            Eva Cigler grew up in Beregszász, Czechoslovakia in a family of seven.  In this interview she explains how after Hitler came to power she faced anti-Semitism from people she once thought were friends.  She describes how stores and supermarkets she normally shopped at would not sell to her and her family just because of her religion.  As the Nazi party became more powerful people did not want to affiliate with Jews in fear that they would be sent to a concentration camp as well.  Jews in Europe not only faced discrimination from the Nazis but from most of the population because of Hitler's ability to manipulate the population.