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Historically, the word holocaust meant a religious rite in which an offering was completely consumed by fire. In current times, however, the word holocaust has taken on a darker more tragic meaning and refers to more than a religious sacrifice. During World War II, a fire raged throughout Eastern Europe. Guns, bombs, and military groups did not ignite this fire. This fire burned fervently in the hearts of men -- sparked by centuries-old prejudice. One man, Adolf Hitler, took this flicker of hatred and fanned the flames. Hitler energized and stoked the embers, spreading them throughout Eastern Europe causing widespread destruction in the pursuit of a perfect Aryan nation. Although the Holocaust is measured over the course of twelve long years, it does not begin with the mass murder of innocent victims. Michael Berenbaum, a survivor of the Holocaust believes, "Age-old prejudice led to discrimination, discrimination to incarceration, incarceration to annihilation" (Altman 1). Thus, the progression of prejudice in the Holocaust began as a flicker of hatred in the heart of a leader and became a blazing inferno consuming the lives of the men, women, and children who crossed its incendiary path.
After World War I, the social climate in Germany was dismal. The German people were humiliated by their country's defeat and by the terms of the Treaty of Versailles. The economic depression that resulted left millions of individuals out of work. The German government was weak, and the people sought new leadership. These conditions provided an opportune setting for a new leader, Adolf Hitler, and his party, the National Socialist German Workers Party. Hitler, manic and charismatic, was able to fan the flames of an ancient hatred into a wild and out of control conflagration (Altman 12).
As with most hatred and prejudices, the animosity that fueled the Holocaust started with antilocution, verbal abuse. As soon as Hitler was named chancellor, he persuaded the cabinet to declare a state of emergency allowing him to end all personal freedom. Among the rights lost were freedom of press, freedom of speech, and freedom of assembly. He then voiced his beliefs in the supreme "Aryan" race. As his ideology spread, spoken or verbal abuse escalated. Those who were not considered to be of the perfect "Aryan" race were jeered and mocked. Fred Margulies, a survivor of the Holocaust, recalls: " When I was about ten years old there was a knock on my apartment-house door: and there was my best friend, Hans. And he spat in my face, and he said 'Manfred, you dirty�Jew' my best friend changed overnight" (Shulman 7). The Jews endured burning words tossed at them consistently. At first, they were told Jews were not desired, and finally, they were told Jews were prohibited. Jews were not the only ones attacked. Jehovah Witnesses, handicapped individuals, and foreigners...
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