Abstract This paper argues that Holocaust denial is just as morally corrupt as genocide, and for one to state that the Holocaust never occurred, is the same as to declare that genocide is morally permissible. A premise consisting of two parts is used in this paper to affirm that society should condemn those who deny the Holocaust. It shows, first, that one must establish the definition of genocide while using the method of comparison, then it can be confirmed that both contexts, ancient and contemporary, are in fact similar. Second, due to generic definition, a link between Holocaust denial and genocide can be illustrated; the paper shows that Holocaust denial perpetuates the same level of immorality as genocide. Therefore, through an analysis of the ethical issues of genocide and Holocaust denial, the controversial nature of ethics is reinforced in this paper.
From the Paper "One of the first and most well-known publications denying the Holocaust was a 32-page pseudo-academic booklet originally printed in 1974 in England; it was called "Did Six Million Really Die". The booklet states that the concentration camps were contributions to a sort of "mythology" and it discards the Diary of Anne Frank as a "hoax" and claims Jews were not exterminated but instead emigrated from Nazi Germany by a "benevolent government". (Berg, BBC news) The booklet is an example of Holocaust denial and its publication should not be morally permissible. Many may argue that this booklet is an expression of free speech and to prevent its publishing is morally wrong. However, one must realize that there is a line between free speech and hate speech."
Abstract This paper discusses the historical veracity of the 1961 movie "Judgment at Nuremberg", a fictionalized account of the post-World War II Nuremberg Trials. The film focuses on an actual trial of judges who carried out the laws promulgated by the Nazi State. The paper provides an extremely detailed outline of the movie's plot development, delving into an analysis of the characters and their actions and motivations. The paper concludes by examining how the movie parallels -- and deviates from -- history.
From the Paper "Assigned to the trial as Chief Judge is Dan Haywood (Spencer Tracy), a low profile justice, who by his own admission, was not the original or subsequent choice. The prosecutor is Col. Tad Lansing (Richard Widmark) an "army man" who vows to convict the four ex-German Judges. Defending the accused is Hans Rolfe (Maximilian Schell) who must convince the court that the defendants were acting only for the love of their country. Among the defendants are respected Judge Ernst Janning (Burt Lancaster) who has written several books on law accepted the world over. Lawson accuses the defendants of signing orders for the sterilization of innocent men and the execution of those who opposed to the Reich and the extermination of the Jews. He puts Rudolph Peterson (Montgomery Clift) on the stand as a victim of sterilization. Rolfe manages to expose the pitiful Peterson as mentally challenged. Later Irene Hoffman (Judy Garland) is put on the stand to explain her alleged affair at the age of 16 with an elderly Jew. As his coup de grace, Lawson shows a film depicting the horrors of German concentration camps.
In between the sessions, Judge Haywood strikes up a friendship with Madame Bertholt (Marlene Dietrich) the widow of a former German general, in whose former home the judge is staying. In spite of their differences they begin to grow fond of each other."
Tags: Nazi, world, war, ii, judge, historical, trial, third, reich, military, tribunal, best, picture, 1940s, 1960s
Compares the experience of a Rabbi that lived in the Kovno Ghetto during the Holocaust to that of the secretary of the Jewish Council of Kovno,who lived there during the same period.
Abstract This paper compares two different perspectives on the Holocaust, a secular and a religious one. Rabbi Ephraim Oshry and Avraham Tory's accounts of their experiences in the Kovno ghetto are compared on different levels. While Oshry describes more of the religious aspects of being Jewish and living in the Ghetto, Tory describes the day to day events as the secretary of the Jewish Council of the Kovno Ghetto.
From the Paper "Rabbi Ephraim Oshry's account of the massacre of the Jews in the Kovno ghetto as told in his writing The Annihilation of Lithuanian Jewry, can be compared to Avraham Tory's account of the Kovno ghetto from his diary Surviving the Holocaust on different levels. On one level we can see how their roles in the community of the Kovno ghetto affected their accounts of the atrocities committed in the ghetto. Rabbi Ephraim Oshry served as a spiritual leader and man of God who instilled faith in the Jews in Lithuania when all seemed hopeless, as Avraham Tory was a more secularized Jew who was a secretary for the Jewish Council of the Kovno ghetto who assisted Dr. Elkes in working to better the conditions of the Jews in the Kovno ghetto. As a result the emphases in their accounts are different. On another level we can compare the two accounts through the different style of writing of each eyewitness. Rabbi Ephraim Oshry compiled his book on Lithuanian Jews after the war, and throughout the book he tells us the way the people in the ghetto perished and survived, which gives us a broader view of the ghetto. Avraham Tory's account is that of his daily diary that he kept during the ghetto in which we have a detailed chronological description of the destruction of the Lithuanian Jews and learn the daily struggles of the people of the ghetto, and especially the responsibilities the Jewish Council faced. Despite these differences in the way the accounts are presented, each account is very detailed in describing when and what happened during each major "Action" or roundup of Jews and is completely consistent with each other."
Abstract This paper examines the effects of the "concentration camp universe" on Primo Levi's perception of time and on his writing by presenting a close reading of the first full paragraph Chapter 12, "The Events of the Summer."
From the Paper "Chapter 12, "The Events of Summer", deals with the fact that Levi has survived over five months; he is now a veteran of the camp. Levi is fully immersed in the "concentration camp universe." The outside world is all but gone meaning that all confines of the outside world are likewise gone. Levi does not have freedom; he does not have the same attachments to the things that are important outside the camps. Such things as honesty or bathing or everything else that is taken for granted by people not in the position as these men are all but forgotten. Levi no longer identifies with other people. He considers them to be living while he is dead. "
Abstract This paper discusses Hitler's "Final Solution" and how it almost exterminated the Jewish race in the period of 1933 to 1945. It focuses on the creation of dozens of labor, concentration and larger death camps in Germany, Poland and other parts of Nazi-controlled Europe.
Tags: Final solution, extermination, concentration camp, murder, mass murder, Nazi, Hitler, Himmler, Einsatzgruppen, death squads, emigration, ghetto, gas
Abstract This paper summarizes, reviews and critiques "The Beautiful Beast", Daniel Patrick Brown's book about the life and crimes of SS-Aufseherin, Irma Geese.
From the Paper "Daniel Patrick Brown's "The Beautiful Beast" is a work devoted to the life and crimes of a German woman, known as Irma Grese, who served as an SS-Aufseherin under the Nazi's in Hitler's Germany during the Holocaust. Aufseherin is roughly translated as a matron or overseer of the concentration camp prisoners - a role Grese served with honor and relish. Brown's book traces Grese's life though she only lived until..."
Abstract The paper explains how the Holocaust denial theory is unique in that it forces its proponents to denounce a veritable monolith of hard evidence that runs contrary to its central claims. The five primary pillars of Holocaust denial theory are explored and ultimately discarded amidst a convergence of evidence that the Holocaust did, tragically, take place.
From the Paper "There is a burden of proof that every historian must bear and it is in many respects one's ability to authenticate an historical event with hard data and incontrovertible fact that will validate one's analysis of the past. Old Testament accounts, for example, often at times discuss characters and events that are only to be found in the Old Testament itself. Archaeology has done little to verify claims that, for instance, men such as Solomon or Abraham ever actually existed."
Tags: Holocaust denial theory, Nazi Germany, Adolph Hitler, The Holocaust, Anti-Defamation League, Jewish Defense League
Abstract This paper deals with death and dying and the decisions that have to be made at such a time. It deals with advance directives and surrogates and substitutes who make these decisions when the patient is no longer able. It looks at the patient's rights and how the ultimate decision on treatment is theirs. The writer also discusses how important advance directives are to ensure their wishes are followed, if they are unable to speak for themselves.
From the Paper "Elizabeth Kubler-Ross is credited with introducing the subject of death and dying as a legitimate subject for discussion in medical circles and the community as a whole and her book 'On Death and Dying' is required reading in most major nursing and medical schools. Kubler-Ross, herself a physician, began her pioneering work with the terminally ill at the University of Colorado Medical Center in Denver and her interest in death and dying was sparked by a visit to a concentration camp where thousands of children ... "
Abstract This paper examines how although the term anti-Semitism is reasonably new--dating back to the latter half of the nineteenth century--prejudice and persecution of Europe's Jewish community began as long ago as the rise of Hellenistic culture in Greece. It discusses how Judaism has become the object of state-sanctioned persecution. It also looks at how from early Roman times into the twentieth century, Jews have occupied exclusive residences and communities within nations dominated by competing religions and how this, in turn, generated additional hostilities among those who believed that the Jews had been afforded some exceptional status.
From the Paper "After emancipation, by the 1860s it could have been "concluded that European Jewry was becoming completely integrated." (Katz, 14). Yet, these political advances, it would seem, masked an underlying social force: the demand to find new grounds upon which to single the Jewish people out. Ultimately, this is the only reasonable cause for the dramatic turn of events that, once again, identified Jews as a troubling sect within European society: "Writers, politicians, and scholars in the 1870s, again attacked Jews and found their onslaught so well received by the general public that an entire movement sprang up, one openly proclaiming its opposition to Jews." (Katz, 14). This, however, was a new form of anti-Jewish literature; no-longer were Jews merely hated on the basis of their role in the death of Christ, or their peculiar social station, but also upon racial and wholly secular grounds. "
Tags: europe, pogrom, christianity, holocaust, hitler
Abstract The paper examines the reasons behind the Nazi's rise to power. The writer analyzes the militant nationalism and authoritarianism that were the building blocks of German society at that time. The paper further discusses how German society blamed the victors of WWI for the future rise of the Nazi Regime, and the anti-Semitism that lead to the death camps.
From the Paper "The Injustice and Identity Frames notwithstanding, there are those revisionist historians who have sought other explanations for the collapse of Humanistic Civilization in Germany during the period of Nazi ascendancy. Taylor has already mentioned the god-like awe in which the devoted Nazi held his or her Fuhrer. Hitler was pushed down the path of carnage and destruction by the irresistible force of the Jewish menace, but in taking that path, he would end up the savior of the German race."
Abstract In the second half of the twentieth century Bruno Bettelheim came to be known as an expert in the field of child psychology. This paper examines how before his suicide in 1990 he made groundbreaking strides in the treatment and understanding of emotionally disturbed and autistic children. It looks at how in his book, "The Informed Heart", which is part memoir and part analysis, Bettelheim takes a close look at what the psychological aspects of being a holocaust survivor as well as how they factored into the lives of those imprisoned.
Abstract The following paper examines the development of war crime tribunals over time, from the Nuremberg trials to the present manifestations. The paper traces the continuity of the laws during the period in question and examines the relative strengths and weaknesses of the various tribunals that have emerged in the last six decades. The paper concludes by noting the future is fraught with difficulty - but also promise - for these tribunals.
From the Paper "In the past century, humanity has borne witness to some of the most gruesome and disturbing acts of barbarity in recorded history. It is because of these acts, and because of the troubling prospect they may occur yet again, that civilized society has seen the need for the creation of war tribunals to both punish iniquitous leaders and to educate future generations on the evils of which men and women are capable. With this in mind, the following paper will examine the history of war crimes tribunals from the present with special emphasis being placed upon the law behind the tribunals, why these tribunals were established, the problems encountered in creating them, the advantages and disadvantages inherent in them and the future that appears to belong to them."
Abstract This paper analyzes the book "Jacob the Liar" written by Becker. The paper describes the way in which Becker employs the use of serenity, irony and humor to describe the Holocaust, in the novel. The paper first analyzes the criticisms directed at Becker for his choice of style and then addresses whether those criticisms are justified or whether the Holocaust experience can to be understood in terms other than what is expected.
From the Paper "Criticisms of Jacob the Liar for its Serenity, Irony, and Humor Introduction The tone of Jacob the Liar presents a problem and has been the subject of criticism by readers who have objected to the book's perspective and tone as being inappropriate in a treatment of the Holocaust. The first question that arises is why Becker, a Jew and himself a Holocaust survivor, would choose techniques of humor, irony and serenity."
Abstract The paper discusses the novel "The Seventh Cross" by Anna Seghers. This is an account of the Holocaust where Seghers presents two extremes: the inhumanity and depraved brutality versus the courage and compassion. The two main characters in the book also represent these extremes and the paper explains this in-depth.
From the Paper "In The Seventh Cross, Seghers presents the two extremes of the Holocaust: the inhumanity and depraved brutality even to the use of crucifixion of the Nazi regime, versus the courage and compassion of common German citizens which enable them to overcome the Gestapo. Wallau and Zillich also represent those two extremes in terms of ideology, attitudes, and moral outlook. The biographies, attitudes, and perspectives if those two men logically and inevitably lead to the outcome. The paradigmatic function of these characters is centered in..."
Abstract This paper discusses the United Nations' Universal Declaration of Rights focuses on the rights of human beings in all countries regardless of their political of societal concerns. According to the paper, the fundamental principle that seems to be evident in the document is that all people in every country are entitled to be respected as human beings. The rights that are given to people through this document are rights that are basic but that have historically been ignored throughout history. The paper further discusses the history of this document, stating that it is a direct result of the holocaust. National leaders banded together to create the document as an assurance that such a horrific event would not occur again in history. The 1948 document of the United Nations, therefore, is a reminder that human beings should always be treated with dignity in every respect.
