Holocaust Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Holocaust - Essay Example On the other hand, there were organized rebellions and resistance, bolstered by internal support as well as a reaction to external reasons. One thing that may have hindered Jewish resistance during this time was that there was the problem that Jews who did fight back or escape often faced an ambivalent setting in other nations. After the early twentieth century, and arguably long before this as well, the climate in Europe was changing towards a status quo which was turbulent, to say the least, towards those of the Jewish faith: â€Å"at the end of World War I†¦ groups blamed the Jews for the social disruption, political instability, and economic crises that ensued† (Leventhal 2008) At this time, around 1934, the Nazis also began to persecute Jews. Laws were passed banning Jews from respected professions, and the boycotting of Jewish stores was encouraged. In the same sort of blurred reasoning that made the Nazis see the Reichstag building as an enemy, the Nazis considered Judaism to be an ethnic rather than a religious distinction. Therefore, even citizens who had converted to Christianity were considered to be Jewish if they had Jewish ancestry. This is at the very least ironic, since according to many sources, Hitler himself came from Jewish roots. During this period, the Nazis â€Å"encouraged boycotts of Jewish-owned shops and businesses and began book burnings of writings by Jews and by others not approved by the Reich† (Leventhal, 2008). This was a backdrop against which organized rebellion was very difficult. It was also hard for Jews to fight back against the Nazis because the Nazis were in charge of an enormous propaganda machine that influenced the German people. Propaganda was also important to the expansion of Nazi power. One instance of In Spigelman’s recent story about the Holocaust â€Å"Maus,† the narrator Artie confronts questions of why the Jews did not