The Holocaust Essay

The Holocaust was one of the most tragic events in the history of the mankind because it took many lives of civilians, who were slaughtered because of their ethnic background. In fact, the Holocaust became one of the most notorious cases of genocide in the 20th century. At any rate, the Holocaust has drawn the attention of many researchers, who studied this phenomenon, its causes, effects, and other issues. Traditionally the Holocaust is recognized as the crime of the Nazi regime in Europe that involved the extermination of Jews in concentration camps and in areas occupied by Nazi Germany and its allies. However, the view on the Holocaust is not one-sided. Many researchers explore and analyze the Holocaust to find out new facts which can shed the light on the tragedy of Jewish people. In this regard, some issues discovered by researchers and some of their findings may be quite controversial and evoke quite controversial response from the part of the public as well as from the part of the scientific world. At this point, it is possible to refer to the studies that conclude that Jews have failed to resist to the Holocaust and such response of Jews was quite strange, especially in regard to other nations, which united their efforts in the organized struggle and resistance to the Nazi regime. However, such findings have multiple implications to the extent that it is possible to suggest that researchers simply relay a part of the guilt and responsibility for the Holocaust on Jews, but such a view is apparently wrong and studies dedicated to the resistance of Jews become particularly significant to show the full responsibility of the Nazi and to explain the position of Jews in the time of the Holocaust and possible lack of resistance, if there was any.

The idea of the lack of resistance from the part of Jews to the Holocaust raised many questions concerning the lack of any resistance from the part of Jews and its causes. In fact, researchers (Ainsztein 91) reveal the lack of the organized struggle of Jews against the Nazi in face of the threat of the physical extermination, which is quite unusual because traditionally people resist, when they face the real threat to their life and health. In fact, such findings rather raised questions than gave answers to the question concerning the resistance of Jews to the Holocaust. Such studies led to the development of the alternative view on the Holocaust as the result of the aggressive policy conducted by the Nazi and inert response from the part of the Jews, which made them easy targets for the Nazi propaganda and practical implementation of the physical extermination of some ethnic groups within the framework of the Nazi ideology.

Also, assumptions of researchers that the Jewish resistance did  not exist, in spite of mass murders of Jews, ignores the fact that mass murders were not publicized and many Jews were either unaware of exorbitant death tolls or just refused to believe the information about death camps. Nevertheless, to justify their conclusions and position, researchers often refer to facts that show that there was no mass struggle of Jews against the Nazi. For example, there was no large scale network of the resistance and there were no large scale guerrilla war conducted by Jews in response to their physical extermination by the Nazi. Such response contrasted to the response of other nations that resisted to the Nazi occupation and attempts of their physical extermination. At this point, it is possible to refer to the case of the resistance in France, where French had managed to unite their efforts and led the large scale resistance movement to free their country, while the threat to the life of French people was much lower compared to Jews. Also the population of the USSR launched the large scale guerrilla war on the Nazi Germany and its allies. Similarly, it is possible to refer to the guerrilla war in Yugoslavia against the Nazi occupation (Tec 131). Therefore, such resistance was common for many European peoples, whereas researchers found little evidence of such large scale resistance from the part of the Jews, although they were in a much worse position compared to some other nations, for example, French.

At the same time, studies that revealed the lack of resistance from the part of Jews triggered other studies that intended to prove that Jews were not as passive as some studies attempted to present them. In fact, some of such studies have revealed and proved that Jews did resist to the Nazi. They revealed cases of the Jews’ resistance to the Nazi. In this respect, it is possible to refer to several instances of such resistance.

First, in spring 1943, Jews launched the armed rebellion in the Warsaw ghetto. The revolt began after rumours that Jews would be sent to a concentration camp spread throughout the ghetto. In response to such a threat, Jews launched the armed revolt and attacked SS officers and soldiers along with police units. However, the military supremacy of German troops allowed suppressing the revolt in the matter of a few days. However, some of Jews continued their individual struggle even longer. The revolt in Warsaw revealed that Jews could and did conduct the organized struggle because the revolt was carried out the Jewish Fighting Organisation. In such a way, the Warsaw ghetto revolt revealed the fact that Jewish people were capable to conduct the organised struggle and resist to the Nazi, but their forces and number were insufficient to conduct a large scale and long term resistance. Instead, they just managed to launch local revolts and insurgencies, which though were easily suppressed. In this regard, some researchers (Glass 114) point out that there were about one hundred insurgency cases in Jewish ghettos throughout Europe. Other cased of the organised Jewish revolt occurred in Vilna (Vilnius), Bialystok and some other ghettos.

At this point, the aforementioned cases prove that cases of resistance did exist in the course of World War II and Jewish people were ready to fight but they apparently lacked resources and recruits to maintain the large and long lasting struggle against the Nazi. In fact, they had no chances to succeed because they did not receive any external assistance. In this regard, the Jewish resistance, which did exist, was different from the resistance in France, the USSR, Yugoslavia and some other European countries. The Jewish resistance could not count on the support of the government from the unoccupied territories until the liberating army comes, as was the case of the guerrilla war in the USSR. There was no extensive international support to Jews from the part of allies, while in case of the French resistance, for example, French received extensive support from, the UK and the US, who supported and nourished the resistance movement in France.

However, while studying the problem of the Holocaust and the problem of resistance, it is important to remember of the fact that Jews did not have their statehood and their national unity was grounded on their religion mainly. This is why it was hardly possible to expect from Jews dispersed throughout Europe and localized in ghettos a well-organized resistance as was the case of the resistance movement in France occupied by Germany. Being disorganized and secluded, Jews could not organize the effective and large scale resistance even within areas of their residence. Jewish attempts to organise the resistance were easily dispersed and suppressed by German troops and the police.

In addition, the local population had strong anti-Semitic attitudes that facilitated the suppression of any attempts of Jews to resist. In fact, this was probably the major problem for Jews because they could not rely on outsiders, whereas opportunities of Jewish community enclosed in ghettos were extremely limited and they could not afford developing and maintaining a large scale resistance movement (Krakowski 147). Their attempts to resist led to a number of small revolts, which brought little positive effects and did not prevent many Jews from the death in concentration camps run by the Nazi throughout Europe.

Furthermore, Jews were historically suppressed and probably they did not launch a large scale resistance because they were accustomed to cases of their discrimination and isolation from the mainstream society. Moreover, Jews experienced numerous attacks from the part of the mainstream social groups, ethnic majorities throughout Europe. In such a way, they could probably interpreted the Nazi policy as another attempt to suppress Jews. They probably believed that the policy of the Nazi would not differ much from the traditionally discriminatory policies conducted by other nations in relation to Jews in Europe before World War II and in a distant past.

At this point, some researchers (Grubsztein 129) explain the lack of the effective and large scale resistance of Jewish people by their historical memory, since their attempts to resist to the dominant ethnic group often brought the further deterioration of the position of Jews, the use of violence against them, confiscation of their property and other devastating effects. The historical memory of Jewish people contained frequent cases of violence against Jews. As a result, Jews could take the Holocaust for granted in a way because they believed that was just another violent policy that aims at their relocation or appropriation of their property but not at their physical survival. Numerous cases from their history made them more resistant to the impact of external factors and they would not launch a large scale military struggle against the aggressor, as was the case of the Nazi Germany.

However, whatever factors influenced the Jewish resistance or the lack of it to the Holocaust, this debate evoked more important questions concerning the position of Jews in Europe before the Nazi occupation of territories, where Jews lived. More important, studies dedicated to the problem of the Jewish resistance the extreme isolation of Jews, which was not driven by the Nazi, who sent Jews to ghettos and concentration camps, but also the isolation of Jews from local communities (Rudavsky 168). They remained the isolated ethnic group often rejected by local communities. Such exclusion revealed the extremely difficult position of Jews in Europe in World War II. In such a way, studies dedicated to the problem of the Jewish resistance evoke important questions concerning the ideological background and mentality of Jews that could have probably influenced their way of actions and their strategy of resistance.

In addition, Jews did not have the country that would represent their interests at the international level. They were just a minority group which was traditionally discriminated and suppressed. In such a situation, they apparently lacked the ideological ground for their struggle as long s they had an opportunity to exercise their traditions and maintain their traditional lifestyle. In fact, Jews did not have the country to fight for. They did not have the clear vision of their nation since it was mainly the religion that was their uniting power in that time. Being disoriented, lacking support and focus on the key goals to achieve, Jews could not organize the large scale, well-organised struggle, unless they received the extensive support from the outside. Moreover, they did not have any allies, while the local population was rather hostile than supportive in relation to Jews.

Finally, it is important to remember about the historical background and dominant beliefs of Jewish people, who were accustomed to be pursued and removed from ancient times, but they always believed to return to their home land, as was the case of Jews led by Moses, and so could be the case of Jews in Europe under the Nazi control. The ideology of Jews was grounded on their religion. They believed that they were a sort of blessed people, which received the word of God. However, they have lost their statehood and they could not regain it. Instead, they preserved their national and cultural identity in their religion and exclusion from other ethnic groups. In such a situation, they grew accustomed to suppression, violence, and discrimination, which they have experienced for centuries before the outbreak of World War II and the beginning of the Holocaust.  The severe position of Jews and the policy conducted by the Nazi did not evoke any strong resistance in Jews also because they were excluded from the mainstream society and could not unite their efforts at the national level, as was the case of France or Yugoslavia, for example (Gutman 88). This is why their resistance was fragmentary and increased the belief of people that Jews were inferior just like the Nazi ideology positioned them. Such attitude just enhanced anti-Semitic policies in the Nazi Germany in relation to Jews

At the same time, the debate over the resistance gives implications to the reconsidering the guilt and responsibility for the Holocaust. In fact, attempts to present Jewish people as unwilling to resist may imply that authors of such studies attempt to relay a part of the responsibility for the Holocaust from the Nazi regime on Jews themselves. At this point, it is possible to the concept and perception of rape in traditional society, when the offensive action in regard to a woman does not involve the sheer condemnation of offenders, but, instead, a part of the guilt and responsibility for the crime the traditionalist society relay on the victim. The similar trend may be found in studies conducted by researchers, who attempt to show that Jews did not resist to the Holocaust that implies that the lack of such resistance from the part of Jews made them easy target for the Nazi propaganda and killing machine. Such interpretation of the Holocaust is obviously an attempt to relay a part of the guilt and responsibility from the Nazi on Jews that is definitely wrong not only from the ethical perspective but also from the scientific one because the lack of resistance cannot be viewed as a provocative behaviour from the part of victims, i.e. Jews, as being a female cannot be viewed as a provocative behaviour in case of a rape.

Thus, studies of the resistance of Jews to the Holocaust have evoked heat debates and disputes between scientists, but they revealed that the Holocaust may be interpreted from different angles to the extent that the guilt and responsibility for the Holocaust may be partially relayed on Jews, although such a view is scientifically invalid. At any rate, existing studies show that there was the resistance from the part of Jews to the Nazi, although it was not so well-organized and successful as was the resistance in France, for example. However, there were objective factors that suppressed the resistance of Jews fast and relatively easy. Nevertheless, the suppression of the Jewish resistance does not have any implications to justify the Holocaust or to relay the responsibility for the Holocaust from the Nazi on Jews. Nevertheless, such studies questioning the resistance of Jews to Holocaust do not simply reveal negative implications but they also encourage to study the problem of the Holocaust from different perspectives and to study the history of Jewish people in the historical context in a long-run perspective that helps to understand better how the Holocaust actually occurred. Such detailed studies also help to understand better the behaviour of Jewish people during the Holocaust.

Works Cited:

Ainsztein, Reuben. Jewish Resistance in Nazi-occupied Eastern Europe: With a Historial Survey of the Jew as Fighter and Soldier in the Diaspora. New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 1974.

Glass, James M. Jewish Resistance during the Holocaust: Moral Uses of Violence and Will. Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan, 2004.

Grubsztein, Meir, editor. Jewish Resistance during the Holocaust: Proceedings of the Conference on Manifestations of Jewish Resistance, Jerusalem, April 7-11, 1968. Jerusalem: Yad Vashem, 1971.

Gutman, Israel. The Jews of Warsaw, 1939-1943: Ghetto, Underground, Revolt. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1982.

Krakowski, Shmuel. The War of the Doomed: Jewish Armed Resistance in Poland, 1942-1944. New York: Holmes and Meier, 1984.

Rudavsky, Joseph. To Live With Hope, To Die With Dignity: Spiritual Resistance in the Ghettos and Camps. Northvale, NJ: Jason Aronson, 1997.

Tec, Nechama. Defiance: The Bielski Partisans. New York: Oxford University Press, 1993.

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"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 29, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 29, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 29, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

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