Almost 85 years ago, in 1933, one of the most atrocious and brutal events of history was in full speed. Around 9,000,000 innocent souls were taken because of the hatred of someone else. What was this event you might ask? The Holocaust.

When young, charismatic, Nazi (National Socialist German Workers’ Party) leader Adolf Hitler became chancellor of Germany, there was no limit on the horrors and anguish he could create. Adolf Hitler believed that Germany, and in the near future the whole world should look and pray a certain way. He thought that the fair skinned, blond haired, and blue eyed Germans, or Aryans, were the supreme and only race of the world. Hitler targeted his views on Jews, homosexuals, the disabled, gypsies, and any other race that was “inferior” to the Aryans (Nazi Racial Ideology). The solution, concentration camps and imminent death. In 1933, the first concentration camp, Dachau, was opened. Adolf Hitler and the Nazis transported Jews to ghettos (gated living space in city) and concentration camps in order to inflict pain and abuse on them. The conditions were inhumane and torturous. When concentration camps weren’t cruel enough, the Nazis installed killing centers in the largest camps. The burned them and gassed them until finally, the allies (America, England, Soviet Union, and France) raided the camps in 1945 (The Allies). Once all the casualties were counted, 6,000,000 Jewish men, women, and children were murdered by Nazi Germany.
The torture they faced is so cruel and so unimaginable that today’s generation has no concept of truly how atrocious it was. For many, this subject is touchy because it has to do with religion, extreme death, complicated idealism’s, and unfathomable brutality. Many parents, teachers, survivors, and students are wondering if this subject is appropriate for school. I wholeheartedly believe, even though I am Jewish, that the Holocaust should be taught in schools. There are ways lessons can be conducted that aren’t insensitive and offensive to victims and survivors. Teaching the Holocaust at a young age allows children to learn the roots of prejudice and anti-semitism (United States Holocaust Memorial Musuem). It is so important to introduce children to these issues so that they grow up knowing the difference between right and wrong and good and evil. I know this topic is pretty dark, but it’s important to share this message so the future generation can prevent history from repeating itself.

~Ellie