FREE ESSAY ON UNDERSTANDING THE HOLOCAUST

UNDERSTANDING THE HOLOCAUST

When trying to understand an event such as the Holocaust there is no substitute for first
hand experience. However, because we cannot relive the Holocaust, we must attempt to gain
an understanding of this tragic event through other means. In JS 211, sources such as
books, movies, and even Holocaust survivors themselves, can help us learn what happened
in the to those targeted by the Nazis in World War Two. Each of the many resources
available to us can provide information on what the Holocaust was in terms of facts and
statistics, and probably as effectively as being there could. Nevertheless, the average
USC student will still be missing the human factor, what would you feel like being a Jew
living under the Nazi regime.
When trying to understand what was experienced by a person in a particular situation, you
must be able to draw on knowledge gained though similar experiences. Even the most
skillfully written account of an event, such as the Holocaust, cannot convey the feelings
of the participants if the reader has nothing against which to compare. Without having
lived through an event as tragic as the Holocaust, you are left only to imagine the
feelings of those who did.
You would be hard pressed to find many people, anywhere in the world, who have ever
experienced something with the tragic enormity of the Holocaust. Finding people who may
be able to truly relate to, and understand, the tragedy experienced by Holocaust victims
is hard anywhere. However, the task is even more daunting in a community such as USC.
While the situation may be somewhat exaggerated by our rivals, who refer to us as The
University of Spoiled Children and taunt us at games by waving car keys or credit cards,
the majority of USC students have led a fairly comfortable life. Most probably grew up in
a fairly affluent family, lived in a nice neighborhood, attended good schools, etc, not
exactly the kind of upbringing where one might encounter mass persecution and genocide.
You could possibly say something along the lines of It's like when your dog dies, only a
thousand times worse, but that does not really capture the enormity of the situation.
Probably everyone has at one time or another felt the basic emotions, such as grief or
despair that were such a part of the Holocaust experience. It is the immense magnitude of
the feelings that will be hard to envision for people who have never lived through an
event as horrible as the Holocaust. 
Certainly in JS 211, we will learn much about the Holocaust: Who were the bad guys? What
motivated them? How was it allowed to happen? What may be a harder, and maybe impossible
task however will to put ourselves in the shoes of the Jews or any other group targeted
by Nazi Germany in World War Two. It is through no fault of the authors, directors, or
lecturers that this failing exist, rather it is the audience. For most of us, being far
removed from the Holocaust both socially and historically, is simply too hard to imagine
what it would be like to endure such extreme suffering. Surely everyone can sympathize
with the plight of Holocaust victims, however to really understand the immense magnitude
of the experience without having been there personally requires a knowledge that most
just do not have.