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Historically, the Holocaust was the period between January 1933 and May 1945
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Holocaust
Historically, the Holocaust was the period between January 1933 and May 1945. Adolf Hitler was the chancellor of Germany at the time till the war in Europe finally ended. Significantly, the holocaust is the most famous act of genocide in modern history. The Nazi Germany committed many atrocities during the World War II destroying the lives of millions of Jews in the process. It completely changed the face of Europe forever. The Jews in Europe were persecuted thus ultimately leading to the murder of six million Jews destroying the lives of over five thousand Jewish communities. About a quarter of the Jews who lost their lives were children. The only crime they committed was being Jews. They were victimized by the Germany’s deliberate and systematic attempt to flash out the entire Jewish population of Europe. Hitler called the plan the Final Solution.’ The holocaust did not only target the Jewish population but also other groups which were considered to be inferior. Other groups included the disabled and people who were of the Slavic origin.
Origin of the Holocaust
There was no singular cause of the holocaust in the history. Several reasons prompted the German people and their helpers during the World War II to gang up and round up the murder of over six million people and their neighbors. However, the leading cause of the holocaust revolved around the issue of anti-Semitism which was the ancient hatred of Jews in addition to the spread of Judaism. Anti-Semitism dates back to 1870 where the hostility towards Jews was evident, However, it can date v=back to the ancient world when the Jewish temple was destroyed thus forcing the Jews to leave Palestine. In the 17th and 18th century during the enlightenment period, religious toleration was emphasized by Napoleon and other European rulers by enacting legislation that ended the restrictions on Jews. The nature of the limitations took a racial rather than a religious outlook.
Hitler exaggerated the anti-Semitic ideologies by blaming the Jews for the defeat of Germany during the First World War. Hitler joined the National German Workers Party which was locally known as the Nazis. When he was imprisoned, he wrote a memoir where he predicted an all-out war would erupt throughout Europe that would eventually lead to the death of many Jews. He had an obsession that exemplified the idea that the German race was superior to the rest. After being released from prison, he took advantage of the weakness of his rivals to rise from obscurity to power. Hitler had two primary goals in his life. Racial purity and spatial expansion were the two main driving forces behind his policies.
Initially, the Nazis persecuted their political rivals such as the Communists and the Social Democrats. As a result, the first official concentration camp was opened at Dachau in March 1933 to counter the influence of their political rivals. They metamorphosed into killing grounds for the holocaust. By the end of that year, over twenty-seven thousand people were in protective custody where the individuals were forced into torture. Additionally, the books of the Jews were burned thus driving the message of party strength home. The Jewish population as at 1933 was over half a million which was about one percent of the entire population. Over the next six years, various activities were geared towards reducing the strengths of the Jews population. Their businesses were liquidated in addition to stripping the Jewish lawyers of their certificates and sacking all the doctors.
Designations began taking root when the Jews were grouped by their origin. Those with more than three Jewish grandparents were considered full Jews while those with two Jewish grandparents considered being half-breeds. The laws which were instituted in Nuremberg in 1935 ensured continued stigmatization and persecution took root in the lives of people. By the end of 1934, Hitler had consolidated his power by taking his campaign against the Jews into full swing. One of their ideologies was that the Jews were responsible for the culture of influence on the people. By portraying the Jews as evil and cowardly which was quite in contrast to the Germans who were considered hardworking and courageous in addition to being honest in their dealings. This contrast was key in driving social change in people and shifting their perspectives. Economically, the Nazis claimed that the Jews were responsible for weakening the finance, press and literature aspects of the German society (Freyhofer).
November 1938 formed very significant year in the history of the holocaust. As the stigmatization was growing unprecedentedly, to the ‘night of broken glass.’ The German synagogues were burned, and windows smashed. In addition to the destruction of property, many more than one hundred Jews lost their lives. Thousands more were arrested. Due to the hard state of affairs, some Jews succeeded in escaping the country before the atrocities worsened. They ran away to countries such as Belgium, England, France Czechoslovakia and Holland. However, it was very difficult to get out of Europe due to the sanctions placed on them. Immigration quotas placed on Jews ensured they remained in Germany despite obtaining the necessary documents. Those who remained lived in a constant state of uncertainty coupled with fear.
Confinement of Jews to Ghettos
In September 1939, German invaded Poland and occupied the western half of the country. Tens of thousands of Polish Jews were forced out of their homes and into the ghettos. They reaped them off their property by confiscating their properties and handing it over to ethnic Germans. These were Germans who resided out of Germany but were not Jews. The Jewish were in dilapidated conditions. For instance, they were surrounded by high walls and barbed wires. Poverty and hunger was the order of the day. The Germans were quite selective in their persecution. They did not spare Germans with mental conditions and disabilities. They were selected to be killed using the toxic gas using a program referred to as the Euthanasia program. Halting the program was necessary since many German prominent religious leaders protested to the idea.
The summer and spring of 1940 formed a monumental year for the Nazi invasion. Hitler expanded his empire throughout Europe by conquering some countries in the process. Netherland, Belgium, Luxembourg, and France were some of the countries that faced the ruthless hands of Hitler. The Polish Ghettos were the final destination for the Jews from all over Europe as well as thousands of European Gypsies. To add insult to injury, they invaded the Soviet Union in 1941. The situation was worsened when over half a million soviet Jews were killed mainly by shooting. A memorandum sent by Herman Goering inferred to the need for a solution to the killing of Jews. The ‘Jewish Solution’ concluded that all Jews were to be marked by a star on their skins. This would make them open targets making the killing easier than before. The Polish Ghettoes and the German-occupied territories in the USSR were the final destinations for the identified Jews. The ghettoes were initially open during the daytime, but with time, they were closed. They were not allowed to leave the ghetto under any circumstance. As a result, they were like prisoners with the only difference being that they were not in the normal prisons. The biggest ghetto was located in the city of Warsaw. Overpopulation was a big problem for the people since the number of people per square kilometer was large enough to breed harmful diseases and infections (Garwood).
Concentration and Extermination Camps
Deportations from the ghettoes were conducted by the Nazis on a daily basis. People were sent by rail to concentration camps after being lied that they would provide labor to other plantations. Many other camps were associated with the Nazis. They include transit camps, prisoner-of-war camps and labor camps. Political prisoners were held in concentration camps from 1933 to 1938. Prisoners sent to these camps were referred to as asocial since they were disabled, homeless or mentally handicapped. Life in the concentration camps was horrible. Everything about the concentration camps was a form of continued destruction of the quality of life that people dream about.
Extermination camps were built at Treblinka, Sobibor, and Belzec in Poland. By the final solution, the extermination camps were the instruments and tools of succeeding their plans. The victims traveled by rail or cattle cars to areas where they would be killed quickly. These camps were slaughterhouses where anybody who entered had no chance of getting out alive. Minimal physical harm was done on the prisoners as the killing process was done smoothly. Mobile gas vans were the first to kill the tens of thousands of Germans at Chelmno. In other areas, permanent gas chambers were built to ensure the killing process was conducted slowly and over a period in an uninterrupted manner. Carbon monoxide gas was the gas of choice for the killings.
In Auschwitz for instance, doctors were chosen to select the people who were to be killed first. Pregnant women, children, the elderly and the handicapped were chosen first to be killed by their tormentors. In addition to that, forced labor was in constant supply despite them being deprived of an essential basic amenities like food, shelter, clothing and medical care. All this was aimed at working the prisoners to death without actually killing them. Those who failed to work were forced into gas chambers. The concentration camps had different roles. In some, the role of the inmates was to provide labor to the plantations. In others, the concentration camps served as death camps where killing was the main agenda. For Instance, more than 250000 were killed at Sobibor alone. The used the language of ‘resettlement in the East’ to ensure their motive was hidden behind the rhetoric. The camps were closed once their mission was completed (Feig).
The impact of the holocaust was experienced differently in all the countries. For instance, in Hungary, the holocaust was more intense and inhumane. Despite the duration of the holocaust being short, its impact left with many people dead than the number of people who died in Germany over a whole year. Denmark was one of the countries where the Jews had an easy time. They rescued the Jews by sending them by sea to Sweden. One of the factors that contributed to this was the small number of Germans who were in the country in addition to the fact that the Jews had been integrated into the culture of the Denmark. Police forces in France collaborated by providing essential support to the Germans in the form of manpower. Italy, on the other hand, did not participate in the Holocaust until the overthrowing of Benito Mussolini.
Some people extended an olive branch to the suffering Jews by providing a haven for their escape from the hands of the bloodthirsty Germans. For Instance, Raoul Wallenberg decided to save the Jewish community in 1944. He instituted efforts to save the remaining Jewish community in Hungary. He collaborated with neutral diplomats in a bid to save the people from the persecution that was to follow. He prevented the deportation of the last remaining crop of the Jewish population. There were places in Poland where they aided in providing secure places. Additionally, they provided financial support and forged documents for identity with food. Although the Nazis tried to keep the operations a secret, the scale and magnitude of the killings made it very difficult. In other instances, the Jews revolted in the death camps of Sobibor, Treblinka, and Sobibor. However, they were largely unsuccessful at the hands of Germans who were so determined to flash out the population. Ghetto uprisings also took place in Holland (Wyman).
The End of the Holocaust
Spring of 1945 marked an important year for many Europeans. Camps were liberated as the allies advanced on the army. The soviets, for instance, liberated Auschwitz while those in Dachau were liberated by the Americans. German leadership was facing internal wrangles which were the foundation for internal dissent. Goering and Himmler were aiming for power. Hitler blamed the war on international people who were not supportive. In his last piece of writing, he urged people to ensure they were not poisoned by other races which were considered not pure at large. Hitler committed suicide on the day that followed. Essentially, Germany surrendered in World War II just a week after (Stone).
The Holocaust left a permanent mark on the victims. Those who survived the atrocities feared going back home due to the fear of the unknown in addition to the fact that they had been disowned by their neighbors. Having lost their families, they were in a state of trauma and confusion. Germans, on the other hand, faced the wrath of many countries since the Holocaust left a bitter legacy. Families that had lost their wealth during the process were compensated. The government paid the Jews for the destruction that had befallen them. They acknowledged the responsibility of committing the crimes. To this day, the Holocaust is viewed as the manifestation of evil towards fellow human beings. There are survivors to this day who continue to witness the impact of the Holocaust (Bergmann and Milton). The final plea of those who were dying was, “Remember! Do not let the world forget.”
Works Cited
Bergmann, Martin S., and Milton E. Jucovy. Generations of the Holocaust. Columbia University Press, 1982.Feig, Konnilyn G. Hitler’s Death Camps: The Sanity of Madness. Holmes & Meier Publishers,1981.
Freyhofer, Horst H. The Nuremberg medical trial: The Holocaust and the origin of the Nuremberg medical code. Vol. 53. Peter Lang, 2004.
Garwood, Alfred. “The Holocaust and the power of powerlessness: Survivor guilt an unhealed wound.” British Journal of Psychotherapy 13.2 (1996): 243-258.
Stone, Dan. The liberation of the camps: The End of the Holocaust and Its Aftermath. Yale University Press, 2015.
Wyman, David S., and Charles H. Rosenzveig. The world reacts to the Holocaust. JHU Press, 1996.
Stronger, Faster, Better, we have the adaptability
Stronger, Faster, Better, we have the adaptability
Moments before its life is abruptly ended, a particularly sneaky and cleaver mosquito pushes its needle into the back of a man who lives in Africa. Unfortunately for our African friend, the mosquito carried with it the disease known as malaria. More unfortunately was the fact that the malaria had already been in contact the African’s blood, which normally would most likely result in a nasty case of malaria. However, all his life this African carried with him a genetic disorder known as Sickle Cell Anemia. While this disorder can be life threatening when ill treated, it makes our African friend immune to malaria. After years and years of malaria outbreaks, many people in Africa have adapted to their environment. This is human adaptation at its best, the human observes a problem in its life and slowly it changes itself to live in harmony. The Human body is an amazing organism that is capable of adapting to nearly any environment or situation. It is this ability to change with the times that have lead us down the evolutionary path to dominance. Humans are at the top of the food chain, they have overcome against all odds and evolved from single celled organisms into the complex being that we are today.
Chevalier de Lamarck was a famous scientist throughout the eighteenth and seventeenth centuries. He was a professor of zoology at the museum of Natural History of Paris. While working at the museum he developed his own theory of evolution that made him one of the pioneers of evolutionary theory. “He conceived of evolution as the result of the adaptation of
organisms to the environment and that this adaptation was transmitted from parent to offspring” (Comas, 55). Lamarck believes that something changes in the environment and individually organisms change to best fit their needs. After a series of similar adaptations the species will change and possess these new traits. Also included in his evolutionary theory are four important principles: Life tends to increase the size of an organism, not just its overall size, but every part. Each organ is there for a specific need or want that was once in the environment. Organs are like muscles, the more they are used and worked out the stronger and more developed they become; conversely, the less they are needed the smaller and weaker they become. Finally, all of an organism’s traits are acquired by its parents through heredity. “Habit constitutes a second nature and produces two types of modifications, one by means of progression or development and the other by means of regression or degeneration” (Comas, 57). Lamarck’s model for evolution can be shown to apply for humans very easily. For example, a tree dwelling ancestor of the modern human would have opposable thumbs on both his hands and his feet, for climbing. After several generations of just using feet for walking, the opposable thumb on the feet would not be used and slowly shrink until it becomes just another digit. Lamarck has a very logical theory that is simple and easy to follow. Nature presents a challenge and then individuals try and adapt to overcome and live the rest of their lives. The best thing about Lamarck’s theory is how it makes adaptation and evolution into a deliberate process. Its not dumb luck doing the evolving, it is the organism making a conscious effort to survive. Lamarck gives more credit to the organism than to Mother Nature, instead of nature selecting who will survive and who will not, the organism must learn to fight for its right to live. It must become stronger and more capable in all situations. This theory is much more inspiring and makes the organism out to be a hero.
Another pioneer in modern evolutionary theory is Charles Darwin. Darwin’s major contribution to the subject is the theory of natural selection. As the environment changes, the
organisms it affects either change with it in the form of mutations, or they die. The ones that mutate in the best way possible are the ones that survive to pass on their genes. This way these life saving genes are present in all offspring. “All living beings struggle for existence. When the food supply is insufficient the individuals of a certain species who, through chance, have acquired specific advantageous traits, are better equipped for this vital struggle for existence “(Comas, 66). Mutations in nature due to environmental changes are not always for the best, they only solve the problem at hand. For example, if food quantities slowly diminish over time, then most likely the size of the organism will decrease. However if this organism is much smaller then it could be more vulnerable to predators. Darwin is one of the most credited of the evolutionary theorists. His theory of natural selection gives the majority of the credit to accidental mutations that just happen to work out. Darwin’s evolutionary theory is like putting a completely disassembled Tissot wristwatch into a bag, and then one shakes the bag until the watch is reassembled.
Adaptation is “the ability of an organism to adjust to a changing environment such that survival and reproduction are enhanced” (Boaz, 122). The human body simply changes its chemical or physical composition so that it is most benefited in its current situation. Adaptation is the basis for evolution; they are very similar and intertwined. Adaptation occurs when the human body undergoes stress. Stress is any change in the environment that makes it difficult for the human body to strive. “Stress involves some environmental stimulus that produces a reaction in a living organism that may be either favorable or unfavorable to the organism” (Boaz, 126). There are many stresses that can occur, something as simple as the distance to the nearest water supply, or something as complex as the change in acidity in that same water supply. Either way, the human body changes or mutates so that it can still survive.
When dealing with human adaptation there is an important hierarchy of permanence. The first step an organism goes through is Acclimatization. This is the change occurring in an organism to reduce the strain of a certain factor, all during the organism’s lifetime. This stage is also referred to as developmental adaptation. The next step is acclimation, which is the biological change an organism and its offspring go through during one experimentally induced stress. Finally is habituation, which is a gradual adaptation to some environmental or ecological threat. It is a permanent change that first shows up in the offspring of any creature, and deals with that one stress so that the organism can live its life in peace (Frisancho, 4)
Heat stress is among the most common types of stresses, humans experience heat stress typically in the summer time or in the temperate zones of the world. The first human response to heat is increased blood flow, a loss of insulation and Vasodilation. The increased blood flow in the human body acts like a radiator of a car. The volume of blood circulating increases greatly, allowing the blood to release some heat at the same time. People turn red in heat because the blood is trying to get as close to the surface as possible so that it can cool off (Frisancho, 25). The next step when things heat up is the evaporation of sweat on the body. When we first start to sweat, it cools us off, but not nearly as much as when it evaporates. When the liquid evaporates then the heat energy is released and it cools us down. After generations and generations of being exposed to extreme heat, the human body will stretch itself out. Having longer limbs makes the blood travel farther to cool off, so in the heat, it’s best to be tall. (Frisancho, 31).
Adapting to cold is a much more complex and difficult function than adapting to heat. The first biological response to cold is shivering. When it is cold outside and one just needs that one last boost of warmth, and then shivering will warm someone up just enough to survive a little bit longer (Frisancho, 53). Vasoconstriction is also a primary response to cold. The blood
vessels slow down greatly in an attempt to conserve heat. As a result the skin temperature decreases greatly, and eventually frostbite will set in. Frostbite occurs when the blood flow to a particular area of the skin depletes greatly. The blood is too cold and too slow to keep the skin warm, and so feeling is lost and the skin turns white. The longer that the human body is in the cold, the more risky it is. After some time, the body starts to cut off blood flow to the limbs, in an effort to conserve heat. The body slowly shuts down system after system starting with the least important to survive. After even more time the body dies and freezes wherever it is at the time. People who survive a long time in a very cold environment are often much smaller than people in a tropical or temperate climate. They have shorter and thicker limbs so that they can have a much smaller blood flow, and they often have more fat to be used as insulation (Frisancho, 81).
When a person spends much of their time at a high altitude, they are greatly affected. Many athletes go to places like Denver, Colorado or any other place at a high elevation to train. Up at a high altitude the percent of oxygen is much smaller, which means with each breath we take in there is less oxygen then we are used to. To counteract this affect the body increases lung volume, and engages in respiratory alkalosis. Respiratory alkalosis is when the blood becomes alkaline because of the increased amount of carbon dioxide taken in. This extra carbon dioxide is taken in because of increased ventilation; people take more breaths to get more oxygen. Also, the volume of the blood increases very much. Specifically, the production of hemoglobin and plasma increase greatly (Frisancho, 110). Being at a high altitude causes a temporary disorder called hypoxia. Hypoxia is simply the increase in breathing and hemoglobin to make up for the lack of oxygen in the atmosphere. Some people are nearly immune to the affects of changing from one altitude to another; it depends primarily on age and physical fitness.
The human body is an amazing thing that has come a long way from its beginning. All the topics discussed so far are very relevant because it is just now that the human race is beginning to see its true potential. The human body hasn’t changed drastically in a long time and who knows what road or path we are headed on. With the increased use of technology in the world, adaptability is becoming less of a necessity. Why suffer through the cold winter when you can just turn up the heat? The human race is a spectacular smorgasbord of different people and ideas that have always found a way to be on top. Hopefully we will stay that way and spread our knowledge to all corners of the universe.
Bibliography:
Baker, Paul T and Weiner, J.S. The Biology of Human Adaptability. Oxford, England: Clarendon Press, 1966
Boaz, Noel T, and Wolfe, Linda D. Biological Anthropologt: The state of the science. Bend, Oregon: International Institute for Human evolutionary Research, 1995
Comas, Juan. Manual of Physical Anthropology. Springfield, Illinois: Charles C Thomas, 1960
Frisancho, Roberto A. Human Adaptation: a functional Interpretation. Rexdale, Canada: C. V. Mosby Company, 1981
Hettema, P.J. Personality and Environment: Assessment of human adaptation. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1989
Philosophy of Physical Activity and how it Connects My Future Career
Philosophy of Physical Activity and how it Connects My Future Career
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Philosophy of Physical Activity and how it Connects My Future Career
Considering our previous discussions, my philosophy of physical activity entails reflecting on things that are both tangible and intangible in ways that reveal something about the nature and the worth of these phenomena (Kretchmar & Torres, 2018). Several things tie me to physical activity and movement; first, my urges to better understand the world around us and our lives in it. Secondly, my urge to comprehend and gain awareness of physical activity’s value, nature, and benefits, especially in sports, exercise, play, games, and dance. The other thing that ties me to physical activity and movement is my desire to comprehend who a person is and the part that movement and physical activity play in how people come to learn about themselves and the world around them.
I engage in various physical activities and movements, such as running, walking, swimming, dancing, yoga, gardening, and sports. Most of the time, I like engaging in sports compared to other activities. Sports is something I must do, considering what it does for me. I like sports because it teaches us civil values, foster national pride, and helps improve our health (Kretchmar et al., 2018). In addition, participating in sports may assist you in achieving your fitness objectives and helping you to keep a healthy weight. Nevertheless, sports participation promotes making good decisions, such as avoiding unhealthy vices like smoking and drinking. Also, sports participation may have unseen positive effects on one’s health, such as a reduced risk of developing breast cancer or osteoporosis later in life. Lastly, I engage in physical activity and movement because of their benefits for the body, including; improved bone health, cardiovascular fitness, reduced risk of obesity, enhanced sleep, and better coordination and balance.
My involvement in physical activity and movement has positively influenced my life. For example, endorphins are released, and I experience reduced stress due to my participation in physical exercise and movement. Besides, my involvement in physical activity and movement helps me take a break from daily responsibilities and challenges and facilitates the release of pent-up feelings. Lastly, participating in physical activities has helped improve my brain health, help manage weight, decrease the risk of disease, and advance my ability to do daily activities.
Moreover, my physical activity and movement philosophy has positively influenced how I view my future profession. By participating in sports, in my future profession, I will be able to work with my colleagues since I have learned that working with others and appreciating how different abilities contribute to one goal, success, and victory. Besides, physical activity and sports participation have helped me learn how to manage my time by managing everyday training schedules with other demands such as projects and lectures. My involvement in physical activities, especially sports, has helped me learn how to handle pressure, which is vital in my future profession (Sen, 2019). Furthermore, my philosophy of physical activity has helped me better understand how I will work with others in my future profession. Participation in physical activities and sports has helped me improve my confidence, empathy, leadership skills, and peer acceptance, which is vital while working with others. Besides, engaging in physical activities has helped me know how to build trust in others, which will be very useful in my future profession as I work with others.
References
KRETCHMAR, R. S., & Torres, C. R. (2018). Philosophy and physical activity. Introduction to kinesiology: studying physical activity, pp. 99–101.
Kretchmar, R. S., Dyreson, M., Liewellyn, M., & Gleaves, J. (2018). History and philosophy of sport and physical activity. Human Kinetics.Sen, S. (2019, July 30). The role of sports in building a successful career. Student. Retrieved November 17, 2022, from https://www.stoodnt.com/blog/role-of-sports-in-building-successful-career/