The Holocaust Research Paper
The Holocaust
Anti-Semitism in Europe did not begin with Adolf Hitler. Though use of the term itself
dates only to the 1870s, there is evidence of hostility toward Jews long before the
Holocaust--even as far back as the ancient world, when Roman authorities destroyed the
Jewish temple in Jerusalem and forced Jews to leave Palestine. The Enlightment, during
the 17th and 18th centuries, emphasized religious toleration, and in the 19th century
Napoleon and other European rulers enacted legislation that ended long-standing
restrictions on Jews. Anti-Semitic feeling endured, however, in many cases taking on a
racial character rather than a religious one.
The roots of Hitler's particularly virulent brand of anti-Semitism are unclear. Born
in Austria in 1889, he served in the German army during World War I. Like many anti-
Semites in Germany, he blamed the Jews for the country's defeat in 1918. Soon after the
war ended, Hitler joined the National German Workers' Party, which became the National
Socialist German Workers' Party (NSDAP), known to English speakers as the Nazis
(Jewish Virtual Library).
While imprisoned for treason for his role in the Beer Hall Putsch of 1923, Hitler wrote
the memoir and propaganda tract "Mein Kampf" (My Struggle), in which he predicted a
general European war that would result in "the extermination of the Jewish race in
Germany"(The History Place). Hitler was obsessed with the idea of the superiority of the
"pure" German race, which he called "Aryan," and with the need for "Lebensraum," or
living space, for that race to expand. In the decade after he was released from prison,
Hitler took advantage of the weakness of his rivals to enhance his party's status and rise
from obscurity to power. On January 20, 1933, he was named chancellor of Germany.
After President Paul von Hindenburg's death in 1934, Hitler anointed himself as "Fuhrer,"
becoming
Anti-Semitism in Europe did not begin with Adolf Hitler. Though use of the term itself
dates only to the 1870s, there is evidence of hostility toward Jews long before the
Holocaust--even as far back as the ancient world, when Roman authorities destroyed the
Jewish temple in Jerusalem and forced Jews to leave Palestine. The Enlightment, during
the 17th and 18th centuries, emphasized religious toleration, and in the 19th century
Napoleon and other European rulers enacted legislation that ended long-standing
restrictions on Jews. Anti-Semitic feeling endured, however, in many cases taking on a
racial character rather than a religious one.
The roots of Hitler's particularly virulent brand of anti-Semitism are unclear. Born
in Austria in 1889, he served in the German army during World War I. Like many anti-
Semites in Germany, he blamed the Jews for the country's defeat in 1918. Soon after the
war ended, Hitler joined the National German Workers' Party, which became the National
Socialist German Workers' Party (NSDAP), known to English speakers as the Nazis
(Jewish Virtual Library).
While imprisoned for treason for his role in the Beer Hall Putsch of 1923, Hitler wrote
the memoir and propaganda tract "Mein Kampf" (My Struggle), in which he predicted a
general European war that would result in "the extermination of the Jewish race in
Germany"(The History Place). Hitler was obsessed with the idea of the superiority of the
"pure" German race, which he called "Aryan," and with the need for "Lebensraum," or
living space, for that race to expand. In the decade after he was released from prison,
Hitler took advantage of the weakness of his rivals to enhance his party's status and rise
from obscurity to power. On January 20, 1933, he was named chancellor of Germany.
After President Paul von Hindenburg's death in 1934, Hitler anointed himself as "Fuhrer,"
becoming
Bibliography: com: http//www. Primo levi.com Holocaust Timeline.(2005). The Camps. Accessed Dec 03, 2011 from http://fcit.usf.edu/holocaust/Timeline/camps.htm Jewish virtual Library.(2010).Adolf Hitler. Accessed Dec 03, 2011 from http://www.Jewishvirtuallibrary.org The History Place. The Rise of Adolf Hitler. Accessed Dec 03, 2011 from http://www.historyplace.com