The Final Solution Essay Sample

Wielding prejudice in one hand and power in the other, Hitler created an empire of hatred and assasination. In order to understand why these events took place, it is essential to instead ponder the question of “how?” How do groups of hateful people accomplish this? How is it possible to place millions of independent minds into one label? Adolf Hitler had a plan, and he was determined to play the deemed problem populations like puppets destined for death. The Final Solution envelopes the Nazi party’s call to horrific, dehumanizing action and the effect it had in the lives of Jewish citizens around the world before, during, and after World War II. 

Starting at the very beginning, it is essential to understand how Hitler gained the ability to toy with the rights and daily lives of the Jewish populations in Germany. After being appointed Chancellor of Germany in 1933, Hitler’s ultimate goal did not begin on bases of genocide. His long existing anti-semitic beliefs drove him toward the motive of genetically “cleansing” German society, leaving only his desired people, typically white, able-bodied and Christian. Although mass deportation was originally the plan, it was later decided to turn to unsurpassable violence and threatening control that resulted in the creation of the idea of the “Final Solution”. Through the use of propaganda, Hitler forcefully molded a society that accepted his wishes through fear. Nazi propaganda largely included, “Glorifying Adolf Hitler by using his image on postcards, posters, and in the press; Spreading negative images and ideas about Jews in magazines, films, cartoons, and other media; Making radios more affordable so that more Germans could listen to Nazi ideas and news; Broadcasting Nazi speeches on the radio and public loudspeakers” (Holocaust Encyclopedia, par. 8). The media has and will always have a major impact on social and societal trends, ranging from popular fashion to dehumanization. By surrounding his people so thoroughly and frequently with pro-Nazi propaganda, Hitler gained support for his cause (and hate for the Jewish people) rapidly. The effect of Nazi propaganda is the first evidence of a national attempt to make antisemitism the new norm, proving the explanation on the importance of the role that propaganda played in the Final Solution. Secondly, Hitler executes a plan of action involving the alteration of German laws that would, in essence, deprive the Jewish people of their freedom, identity, and humanity. Simply speaking against Nazi idealologies or mocking Hitler could have one dead or on trial for persecution. The Nazis took control of the Jewish population with the establishment of ghettos. Ghettos were described as “separate areas of cities where German occupiers forced Jews to live in overcrowded and unsanitary conditions. These areas were often enclosed by a wall or other barriers. Many ghetto residents died as a result of disease, starvation, and brutal maltreatment.” (Holocaust Encyclopedia, par. 9) In addition to the brutality faced in the everyday lives of those imprisoned within, many were deported to other countries or immediately sent away to concentration camps, which will be discussed further. The ghettos were essentially a place for the Nazis to monitor Jewish living and organize areas in which to target. Those who were Jewish were forced to wear yellow stars on their clothing to identify and separate them from the other populations. Many ghettos also exercised a curfew for the Jewish people, in which they were required to be inside of their homes before 6pm every night, and were not permitted outside before dawn work hours began. If they were to dare challenge the curfew, it was likely that they would be shot on sight by a Nazi soldier monitoring the ghetto. The ghettos are a crucial piece in understanding the integration of Hitler’s policies into the everyday lives of the Jewish people, and dehumanizing the population to easily guide them to their fate, making it simple for the Nazi party to view Jewish people in numbers rather than individuals. Without the option for resistance and through the emotions of fear, Hitler’s plan seemed to be working out seamlessly, but not at the fast pace he had hoped. At this point of realization, the Nazis turned to even further horrid methods of the Final Solution.  

The most infamous of the Nazi Final Solution during World War 2 following the beginnings of ghettos and controlled daily lives of the Jewish and “undesired” people were the brutal and dehumanizing concentration camps. These camps were designed using Nazi thinking to utilize the labor of the Jewish people and execute them quickly in mass numbers. In these camps, there were two options, none of which were chosen by the prisoners arriving. They would either work their hands down to the bone, or they would be murdered by the thousands upon arrival or soon thereafter. Working until the point of exhaustion was horribly favored by those who arrived. Most of the teenage and young adult people in good health would be sent to work for up to 20 hours every day with little to no nutrition. Others that arrived at the camp would not be deemed so lucky. Many elderly, disabled, young, and people inexperienced in the working class were sent immediately by mass to a gas chamber. Elie Wiesel [a victim of the holocaust and survivor of the most major concentration camp] shares his chilling autobiography that encapsulates the draining reality of what Auchwitz was. He recalls that, “Never (will he) forget that smoke. Never (will he) forget the small faces of the children whose bodies I saw transformed into smoke under a silent sky. Never (will he) forget those flames that consumed my faith forever. Never (will he)  forget the nocturnal silence that deprived me for all eternity of the desire to live. Never (will he) forget those moments that murdered my God and my soul and turned my dreams to ashes. Never (will he) forget those things, even (if he was)  condemned to live as long as God Himself” (Night pg. 34). This excerpt shines a light onto how the individual was effected as a Jewish person in Nazi Germany during World War 2, and how the practices were utilized to commit mass genocide in response to unjustified prejudice.  Hitler used his power to execute a plan in which would dehumanize and dispose of the Jewish people that he did not see as people. Those incarcerated in the camps lost faith in God, humanity, and most of all themselves. The flames described throughout the quote represent the death and annihilation that Hitler placed onto the Jewish population during World War II. The surprising way in which he was able to get away with this for three haunting years should be duly noted. The effects of Hitler’s Final Solution is evident among the faces and among the stories of those the Holocaust impacted. These stories are kept close to heart and mind by many, and represent the importance of remembering the holocaust and the effects on the Jewish individual and Germany during World War II. 

The Holocaust provided a major impact on a local, national, and global scale. As reflected upon earlier, hundreds of thousands of individuals were left healing scars from a time when they saw themselves as nothing more than flesh and bone. During and after the holocaust, there was fear to return to their homes, fear to travel, and fear to build back their lives. During and post holocaust, although many were opposed, the United States opened their borders to 41,000 immigrants as a result of the war. 28,000 of those immigrants were Jewish. At the beginning of the Holocaust, Henry Ford republished an illegitimate newspaper known as The Dearborn Independent. He published this paper in an attempt to implement mistrust of the Jewish people among the American population by spreading the theory that Jewish people were behind all evils of war and turmoil. Soon thereafter,  it was found in the newspaper that he published a quote in which he stated, “International financiers are behind all war. They are what is called the international Jew: German-Jews, French-Jews, English-Jews, American-Jews... a Jew is a threat” (The Dearborn Independent par 4). This quote from Ford so terribly summarizes the influence that worldwide antisemitism had during the holocaust. The Jewish people were seen as damaged numbers, burdens, and prisoners of war who were recognized as so from countries around the world, and much of this can be credited to Nazi actions that further complicated the outlook on Jewish lives internationally. Although antisemitism did exist prior to Nazi actions, it is evident that this thinking worsened as the Jewish people sought asylum in overseas nations during the Holocaust. With the brutal mistreatment of the Jewish people, the Nazi party evidently succeeded momentarily in creating a further intensified prejudice against the Jewish populations worldwide. Nazi actions have continued to contribute to the continuing years of prejuice against the Jewish people. 

When Hitler had concluded how he planned to rob millions of life, dignity and freedom, the outcome was perilous for many, but remembered by all. The Final Solution is the prime representation of ruthless Nazi action that effected millions during the second World War. It is undoubtedly necessary that the Holocaust and the Final Solution serve as examples of how critical the message of tolerance is today, tomorrow, and forever after. With the continuing research upon the questions “why?” and “how?” it can be concluded that no human has ever been and will never be a problem with a solution.