Argumentative Essay: the Holocaust and Adolf Hitler

Heartless murderers. Inhumane maniacs. These are both things that describe the horrors of the Holocaust and Adolf Hitler. As I stand here, watching the video on the screen of my classroom, we sit silently screaming in terror of the millions of dead bodies layered onto each other like rotten meat ripe for the slicing. My class and I blankly stare at the screen in front of us in fear for the 6 million helpless, innocent people that died for the pure pleasure of Adolf Hitler. We cry for the fact that some people think that is still not enough. I sit here, in my classroom writing this essay, so you will teach the children of the agonies that the youth of their age went through just mere years ago. I am writing, so you will educate the future of our society, and help to make sure it will not happen again. This is why I ask you to mandate Holocaust education in Washington state.

Holocaust deniers insist that the Holocaust is a myth, invented by the Jews for their own ends, jealously, or pure boredom. According to the deniers', the Allies needed this to justify their occupation of Germany and the “harsh” persecution of Nazi defendants. With this statement, I beg to differ. I believe that the Holocaust is indeed real, and that it should be taught in schools. The Holocaust is an important subject that should be taught in schools, because it teaches students valuable morals, rights and wrongs, how evil people can be, and that it is important for people to learn from history. Learning about the dangers of hatred and discrimination in the Holocaust is important to fighting intolerance and prejudice in today's world. Studying the Holocaust provides opportunities to explore and inspire with stories of courage and adversity, upstanding actions and resilience.

According to (genocideeducation.org), “Violence and destruction are raging in the Darfur region of western Sudan. Since February 2003, government-sponsored militias known as the Janjaweed have conducted a calculated campaign of slaughter, rape, starvation and displacement in Darfur. It is estimated that 400,000 people have died due to violence, starvation and disease. More than 2.5 million people have been displaced from their homes and over 200,000 have fled across the border to Chad. Many now live in camps lacking adequate food, shelter, sanitation, and health care. The United States Congress and President George W. Bush recognized the situation in Darfur as “genocide.” Darfur, “near Hell on Earth,” has been declared the worst humanitarian crisis in the world today.” Genocides like the Holocaust are still happening today, showing that history can, will, and already has repeated itself. Not only does teaching it in class help educate the children on how lucky they are to live in a safe environment, but it shows what their ancestors and neighbors had to go through to get them there.

Now, as I said before, the Holocaust is scary. There is no denying that. But that is what makes it important. Fear is what motivates people to stay safe. The impact the Holocaust had on its survivors, whom most of are the same age as I am, they will remember it for the rest of their lives. Why should they have to withstand that as we silently watch?

World peace is impossible. It is irrelevant, for it is improbable and unlikely. This is why we are lucky nothing is impossible. Everyone will always have their opinions and beliefs, but once we are at a point where we don’t have to divide ourselves because of it, anything is possible. If we work together, analyze and learn from our mistakes, we can make sure that nothing like the Holocaust will ever happen again. For this reason, I ask you to mandate Holocaust education in Washington state.