The Holocaust: Non-Jew victims, why not recognized?

The Holocaust; a term that defines the cruelty, mass destruction, the epitome way of racism that one man can accomplish with absolute power. Truly, the holocaust was a living nightmare for the Jews due to Hitler’s convincing ways in which Jews were a problem for Germany and must be taken care of.  But is it true that it was only Jews who were the victims of the holocaust? The answer is no. Over 5-million non-Jewish victims were killed. Why isn’t the enormous quantity of non-Jews not even recognized? I believe that we were taught by the media that seems to focus on the 6 million to understand the other 5 million is important today.

A child of survivors’ talks about his parents’ stories of how their house was burned and his uncle shot in the head by a Nazi soldier because his own uncle’s family was hiding a Jewish woman. What shocked him the most, he said, “I realized that many people were not aware that millions of victims of the Holocaust were NOT Jewish. Outside the Polish community, I heard very little mention about the five million non-Jewish victims -- usually referred to as ‘the others’.” The Holocaust victims consisted in these groups: 3-million Polish Jews: 3-million Polish Christians, Catholics; and most of the remaining were from other countries such as Czechoslovakia, Russia, Holland, France, and Germany. Here are some statics that happened in Poland during the period of the Holocaust.                                                                

Non- Jew Victims in Poland
Non-Jew Victims:	Percentage of Killings:
Doctors	45%
Attorneys	57%
Professors	40%
Technicians	30%
Clergy	18%

            These doctors, Journalists, and so forth weren’t even Jews, they were only innocent people. Why did Hitler do this to people? Poland was the first target, a very weak and agricultural country. Hitler promised to the German populace that success and military action will put Germany in a position of power in Europe. As a result, Hitler thought the Germans as the Master Race that would control Europe. What about around Europe or even Germany? Well, there were some groups, religious groups, who refused to cooperate or didn’t believe in this Nazi ideas and practices. One group in particular, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Hitler felt particularly threatened, because they refused to recognize any God other than Jehovah. They refused to sign documents of Nazi ideology and thousands were imprisoned as traitors. Other general groups such as the Roman Gypsies were chosen for annihilation just because for their race. Men and women of courage from all nations against the Nazis, Priests and Pastors died for their beliefs. Homosexuals from all over Europe were persecuted, tortured and executed. Nazis believed it was a waste of time and money to support the disabled.                                                                                                                              In the end, it comes to face our real fears though what if this happens again? In our modern times, our country is dealing with an economic crisis; what if it gets worse that it opens a door for a leader who promises relieve for power? Hitler sure proved with all these deaths that dictators maybe focused as Hitler, but go after anyone who challenges them. I truly believe that people don’t recognize that Holocaust wasn’t just Jews, rather than the vast number of religious, political, social groups persecuted by the Nazis and a warning to us all.                                                                                                  

Stalin's Five Year Plan: Was it necessary or not?

Stalin, the man of steel as his last name references to but what he did wasn’t at all heroic and especially his idea of a five-year plan. Did this five-year plan was truly necessary or was it just an uncalled for? The Stalin’s Five Year Plan were to change the underway for food production, Stalin turned his attention to industrialization of the USSR. Stalin felt that a threat of Western nation, and the inability to produce weapons necessary to defend the nation. This where his series of five-year plan comes to play, its simple goal is to provide the economic base for ideal society. This idea wasn’t created by Stalin himself but by a State Planning Commission, named Gosplan. They were an agency who drew up the first real plan but nothing was mentioned about as it continued that Stalin as he was proven worthy for the plan. “On the Directives for the Establishment of a Five-Year Plan for the economy” (Resolutions and Decisions of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, 5 vols), the establishment of a pit of work just to die for. The people were required or better yet forced to work in these new industries and jobs that would need education and training. All this also forced peasants to move off their farms and into the factories as so called collective farms. These had to force up grain from farmers to the government and nothing was hidden from the government. Though a resistance of was formed that were known the kulaks, who were a wealthy class of farmers. These farmers would rebel of the idea of Stalin’s ideas of the collective farms. Stalin decided that this collectivization was necessary about embracing seven or eight million families in 1930 alone. Stalin announced the drive to ‘liquate the kulaks as a class’. However, indeed it was a good plan succeeding to make a more industrialized Russia. Also, it contributed to major establishment of industries, agriculture, energy, railway, construction and the education of peasants. Here are some numbers on the output of heavy industry: Before Five-Year Plan; oil 11.7%, steel 4%, coal 35.4% and after Five-Year Plan; oil 21.4%, steel 5.9%, coal 64.3%. In the end to what cost of the Plan? Here’s an article called Hindsight that talks about this of how the five-year plan was a failure. “Stalin blamed for the failures of the first Five Year Plan. They were accused of sabotage and there was a series of trials in 1930-31. The purging escalated rapidly: 1.) In 1932 more than 800,000 members of the party were expelled, but the real purges began with the murder of Sergei Kirov in 1934. He was the Communist Party leader in Leningrad and he was probably murdered on Stalin's orders because he was a rival. 2.) The Purges lasted from 1934 to 1938; at least 7 million people disappeared. Bolshevik leaders, poets, writers, artists, kulaks and musicians were all targeted for holding to ideas which Stalin did not like. 3.) Millions of ordinary Soviet citizens were also purged, often not even knowing what they had done to anger Stalin.” In my evaluation, Stalin a truculent dictator in which implied all use of his power to make to kill many as to prove himself as a god, the one that can do as he pleases. Many might say his childhood could’ve been the problem but what I say is a piece of garbage. Reason why? Parents educate kids as they want to but the choice is up to the kid as in Stalin’s case his choice was to become a totalitarian dictator.

References>>>

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,742787,00.html

http://www.saskschools.ca/curr_content/history20/unit2/sec.1_05.html