Research
Paper on Holocaust
A hate crime is defined as illegal
activity that is motivated by perceptions of discrimination in
race, religion, ethnicity, or sexual orientation (McDevitt &
Levin 1993; “Hate Crime Statistics Act” 1992). This
prejudice-motivated activity can be organized against persons,
families, groups or organizations. In this connection, the
Holocaust was the systematic, bureaucratic elimination of six
million Jews by the Nazi government and their associates as a
main act of state during World War II. In 1933 circa nine
million Jews lived in the 21 countries of Europe that would be
occupied by Germany during the war. Two out of every three
European Jews had been killed by 1945. In spite of the fact that
Jews were the primary victims, innumerable Roma (Gypsies) and at
least 250,000 mentally or physically disabled persons were also
victims of Nazi genocide. While Nazi oppression spread across
Europe from 1933 to 1945, millions of other virtuous people were
vexed and murdered. More than 3 million Soviet prisoners of war
were murdered for their nationality. Poles and Slavs were fated
for slave labor, and thus, almost two million died. Homosexuals
and others assumed "anti-social" were also vexed and oft
murdered. Furthermore, thousands of political and religious
dissidents such as communists, socialists, trade unionists, and
Jehovah's Witnesses were persecuted for their dogmas and many
died as a result of mistreatment.
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The bigotry and hate were such that the concentration camp was
all but intimately analogous to the Holocaust and remains a
surviving emblem of the Nazi regime . In the wake of such
events, the core of the story of Schindler's List is that one
individual can change things, against all odds. In the story,
the things that motivated Schindler to take increasingly bold
steps to protect and save his Jewish workers is anything that
not even those who cherish him almost can figure out. The story
narrates that within weeks of the 1939 German invasion of Poland
that launched World War II, the signs of German occupation were
clear in Krakow. A flow of directives and decrees made Jewish
life increasingly uncertain. Armband lei with the Star of David
became obligatory. A closed Jewish quarter was constructed when
walls went up around the Podgorze district and all Jews were
commanded to move there. Into this midst Schindler arrived,
expecting to set himself up in business as an entrepreneurial
industrialist.
Schindler knew how to make a
bureaucrat contented, and was rewarded with control of a once
Jewish-owned enamelware factory he names Deutsche Emailware
Fabrik. His extravagant parties, immodest bribes and sphere of
girlfriends helped him secure profitable contracts to produce
mess kits and field kitchenware for the German army. Schindler's
factory became a haven for his Jewish workers. He used his
connections to curt every Nazi action that endangered his Jewish
workers, especially those that came from Amon Goeth, the inhuman
SS commandant of the Plaszow forced labor camp.
In order to hide his workers from Goeth's random and brutal
assaults, Schindler came up with the idea of establishing his
own sub-camp at Emalia. He built and operated the camp at his
own expense. No guards were permitted inside the camp to abuse
the workers, and food and living conditions were infinitely
better than at Plaszow. Schindler dealt intelligently on the
black market, purchasing goods with the help of Poldek
Pfefferberg. He was even able to influx such luxuries as liquor,
chocolate, fruit, coffee and silk stockings. This inclination
landed him in good favor with Nazis who could have, with a
simple shrug, boxed him to a death camp. In 1944, when the Nazis
demanded Plaszow and its sub-camps be shut as part of their
"Final Solution," targeting all Jews to be sent to Auschwitz,
Gross-Rosen or Treblinka annihilation camps, Schindler increased
his resourcefulness. He capitalized on his intelligently
cultivated Nazi connections, negotiating with Goeth to allow him
move his factory to Brinnlitz, a small town on the
Polish-Czechoslovakian border. He would be permitted to draw up
a list of "essential" Jewish workers whom he could take with him
as his work force. When word spread that there was a list, all
prayed to be on it.
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This was the story of the holocaust that the Nazis started as an
emblem of bigotry and hate. But still in the present day, the
crimes motivated by hate and hate group activities are more
visible. In this informational age, the predominance of hate
groups in America and all over the world is increasingly more
evident. There are more than 500 hate groups in the United
States only, majority with several branches all over the
country. While we are seeing the frequency of vicious crime drib
across the country, the reported numbers of hate crimes had
almost doubled between 1991 and 1995. Congress defines a hate
crime as: "a crime in which the defendant intentionally selects
a victim, or in the case of a property crime, the property that
is the object of the crime, because of the actual or perceived
race, color, national origin, ethnicity, gender, disability, or
sexual orientation of any person."
Every American has a stake in an effectual combating to violent
bigotry. With our increasingly disparate society, we cannot make
secure communities if not we nurture endurance. Hate crimes mark
individuals or groups based on gender, race, disability, age or
sexual orientation; accordingly, the awesome majority of
Americans could be the victim. Hate crimes claim a primacy
response because of their special emotional and psychological
contact on the victim and his or her community. The extensive
effects of hate crimes cannot be graded exclusively in terms of
physical injury or money spent. These crimes may realistically
frighten members of the victim's community, leaving them feeling
secluded, defenseless and unprotected by the law. By making
members of minority communities timid, incensed and furtive of
other groups, and of the power structure that is assumed to
insulate them, such events can impair the foundation of our
society and fragment communities.
According to the National Council of La Raza (NCLR), a count of
factors bequest to hate crimes, including: the predominance of
racism and negative stereotypes
• The media's negative depiction of racial and ethnic
minorities, women, gays and lesbians, and other targeted groups
• Demographic shift and inter-ethnic anxieties
• Anti-immigrant sentiment and
• Increased visibility of hate-groups, especially on the
Internet.
The FBI reports that almost half of all victims of reported hate
crimes are African- American. Likewise, while Hispanics lately
make up only 7% of reported victims, hate crimes against
Hispanics are on the increase. According to a study by NCLR,
police besetment and official mistreatment have become prevalent
in heartland and suburban communities that have seen a big
inrush in the number of Spanish-speaking immigrants. Incursions
targeting undocumented immigrants have frequently swept up
citizens and other legal residents by error. At present, 42
states have some type of Hate Crimes legislation. Out of these
42 states, only 22 have extensive laws that cover race, gender,
age, disability, and sexual orientation. The safety of all
citizens from criminal activity animated by hate is fundamental
to the enrichment of strong families and communities.
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