Lassman Writing Contest: ‘The Danger of Nazism’

Every person with an education has gotten extensive lessons on the Holocaust and why it was a tragedy, right? Wrong. In America, 1 in 10 people under the age of 40 years old do not recognize the word “Holocaust,” according to a study released in April commissioned by the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany,

and even more worrying, anti-Semitism is growing. The Holocaust was the most devastating genocide in the last century, and examples of local and national Nazism is horrifying. It shows the ignorance of the people and the failure of school districts to properly educate students on this topic. The death and trauma the Nazi party caused should not be forgotten, and today’s society should have a more unified stance against any person who calls themselves a Nazi. Education on the Holocaust should be mandatory, so that the actions of current day Nazis will be inexcusable, no matter what. Every aspect of the Holocaust should be taught extensively. 

Propaganda has always been around and has always been part of any political party. Whether it is subtly insulting political parties via articles, or posters encouraging the mass genocide of Jews, propaganda has been part of political agendas for hundreds of years. Nazis used the hatred of Jews as a scapegoat to all of Germany’s problems. In doing this they created an image of their ideologies that the people trusted. Putting blame on someone other than themselves was an attractive idea. They listened when Hitler and his associates spoke and were introduced to more and more dangerous ideas. A 12-year-old boy named David Rubinowicz witnessed a village constable “putting up a caricature of the Jews,” and the headings read, “the Jew is a cheat, your only enemy,” according to Alexandra Zapruder’s “I’m Still Here Holocaust Survivor Diaries.” This hatred was widespread in 1940s Nazi Germany. There are now laws in place preventing any of Nazi hate speech happening in Germany, but that is not considered an option for the United States. Neo-Nazi organizations, such as the National Socialist Organization and the Aryan Brotherhood, are unrestricted. This risks desensitization to these groups, which is a dangerous concept to consider. Suppressing them would bring about arguments of censorship and a violation of the first amendment. This is why it is vital to learn about what the Nazis subjected the Jewish population of Europe to. If it cannot be legally stopped, it must be heavily studied in schools, enough so people realize what happened, and what needs to be prevented. First-hand accounts of the living and dead are tangible evidence of this tragedy and is a vital tool in teaching students. 

Victims of the Holocaust have told their stories in heart-wrenching detail. Hearing the voices of the young and old is an unarguable part of Holocaust education. Endless letters and journals highlight the tragedy Jewish people were subjected to. Accounts of starvation, torture, cruelty, and pre-war discrimination run heavy in every one of these articles of literature. The fear that the Jews were burdened with grips the reader with an iron fist, making one feel such fear and sick hatred that those in the past must have felt. In another testimony from “I’m Still Here,” an unknown girl in the Lodz Ghetto states that “hundreds of Jews may die for one word the Germans don’t like, our life is so tragic, so degraded.” As survivors dwindle, so does the acknowledgement of the Nazi’s responsibility. Killing centers in occupied states of Nazi Germany and the Jewish ghettos still stand today, as a reminder of the treacherous acts committed in WWII. When they were in use, concentration camps and Nazis were responsible for the death of six million Jews, and a staggering eleven million people overall. 

Today, the education systems are wronging the victims and survivors of the Holocaust. A Texas school district informed their teachers that there would need to be arguments on both sides of “controversial” topics, including the Holocaust . This heavily invalidates and damages the anti-Nazi perspective. In August of 2021, a group of neo-Nazis were arrested and prosecuted in a French court. Anti-Semitism is rising at a shocking rate, causing unrest in those who could fall victim. A 1976 court case prosecuted a neo-Nazi group after they broke windows of a Jewish man’s car while he was still in it. There were even Nazi fliers all over a church in north Spokane in 2019. These actions and groups are completely inexcusable, and the public needs to know the weight of these terrible people’s actions. 

This topic has had an enormous impact on me and my family. My great grandparents smuggled and hid Jews in the Netherlands, and they shared an amazing story with their children and grandchildren. This story has been passed down to me. My great-grandparents hid Jewish people in the occupied Netherlands. My great-grandfather was caught and arrested by the Nazis. My great-grandmother, pregnant with my great-aunt, begged for his release and he was smuggled out and continued helping to save lives. They later immigrated to Canada, and then to California. This story is close to my heart and makes me proud to be related to these people, part of the Verbrugge family. I will continue to read on the topic, ask my family for more information and follow that example, as well as to advocate for the rights of more people. I go to Martin Luther King Jr. marches every January, I speak out on social media for Black Lives Matter, LGBTQIA+ rights, and much more. I will personally read more to educate myself, do my best to educate as many people as I possibly can, and share my family’s story.

The Holocaust should be heavily studied and given perspective to the young scholars of the world. With education there can be prevention. With education there can be a joint social prosecution of anti-Semitism and neo-Nazi groups. The educators of the world need to emphasize the importance of the lesson of the Holocaust and must discuss how the forming of any groups following the ideals of the Nazi party is completely unacceptable. With atrocities committed in our local area, education on the Holocaust is more important than ever.