The Holocaust – Shoah

In the history of the Jews, assault of Germany, as the strongest economic, military and cultural power of Europe, from 1933 to 1945, has changed the route of the political path of the world. During the Nazi Regime of Germany, Jews were exposed to cruelties and 6 million Jews were deported and killed during the Adolf Hitler tyranny period. Germany declared judenrein (clean of Jews) on 1943 and 180 000 to 200 000 Jews were killed according to statistics. Those who survived during the period left the country and found new places to live. Palestine was the main route for the surviver Jews and excessive immigrations was performed to Palestine with the hope of having own land of Jews. The holocaust had many impacts onto politics of coming times and still its impacts are obvious onto relations of many countries, and especially in the region of the Middle East. Jerusalem, as a precious city of most-believed religions, is still a reason for conflicts in Middle East and the immigration of Jews to Palestine land began after the holocaust.The land was not picked up occasionally but the land was engaged to the Jews by God, according to Judaism. So, the holocaust was a spark to move to the land for Jews. The fire that the spark started has burnt even much numbers of Palestinians than Jews who were killed during the holocaust for decades and still burning. When we look at the impacts of the holocaust, we see that it caused many immigration waves to Palestine (aliyahs) and the aliyahs had laid the groundwork of oncoming Jewish state; moreover, Jews used the holocaust as a matter for their policies, by also benefiting from anti-semitist behaviors of other nations, and they are romanticizing and exaggerating the issue, which still creates conflicts in Middle East.

Palestine became the main destination for Jewish refugees during the holocaust and after it, even if the Arabs were opposed to the Jewish immigrations, and after many waves of immigrations, more than 100 000 Jews moved to Palestine territory, which created the ground of oncoming Jewish state, and it has. Due to the immigrations were being made by urges of England and England was not desiring a tension with Arabs, after Arabs mentioned their complaints from the immigrations, England had restricted immigrations with quotas, such as allowing 75 000 Jewish immigrant in 5 years. However, even though England and Soviet Bloc had put restrictions to immigrations, an organization of former partisans and ghetto fighters, Berihah, managed illegal immigrations during 14 years, and 110 000 Jews immigrated to Palestine by their supports. During second aliyah (kibbutz galuyot), which was second huge wave of immigration, more than half a million Jews went to Israel between 1948 and 1950. The aliyahs were not only from Germany, but also from Arab countries, Ethiopia, Soviet Union and post-Soviet states, Argentine, France and North American States. Palestine was practically being prepared for a Jewish state and negotiations were being held with dominant and influential states, such as England, Soviet Russia and US. Ottoman was not for a Jewish state in the region but existence of a Jewish state was requisite for three victorious allies in the region because there weren’t any ally of them in the region. Accordingly, Balfour Declaration was performed and it “was the key piece in the jigsaw, for without it the jewish state could never have come into existence” (Johnson, 423). The land was engaged to Jews by God as Jews were believing and many leaders of West were supporting this belief. Influential Gentiles in the United States were expressing their supports for Zionist aspirations “beginning with a letter by John Adams in 1819 that fervently wished the Jews again in Judea, and independent nation” and there was signs of outstanding lay and religious leaders at the end of the letter in which it says “according to God’s distribution of nations, it is their home—and inalienable possession from which they were expelled by force” (Penkower, 110). Jews were considering the holocaust a piece of God’s plan for Jews. That’s why ther were trying to use the holocaust as a matter for their future plans, and the maximal usage was made by declaration of the State of Israel. That was consequence of the holocaust and something which is not certain whether made Jews happy or sad with its existence.

Anti-semitism, growth of nationalism in Europe and massacres created the hope of re-establishing Jews as an independent nation. In 1897, the First Zionist Congress proclaimed the decision “to establish a home for the Jewish people in Eretz-Israel secured under public law” (Herzl, 1897). The new state was seen as a redemption of the holocaust and those who were murdered by Hitler are sacrificials for new-born Jewish state according to Judaism. God says in the Jewish bible that “You only have I known of all the families of the earth, therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities” (Amos, 3:2). So, the creation of Israel was the consequence of Jewish sufferings. According to Paul Johnson, Hitler’s persecution was the last in the series of catastrophes which helped to make the Zionist state (Johnson, 520). The Palestine mandate was assigned to United Kingdom after World War I and from now on the Zionist movement had first concrete benefits for the oncoming Jewish state in Zion.

Holocaust was a catastrophe and all nations accept that in today’s world but what unacceptable is that Jews are romanticizing what happened in Germany and benefiting from the holocaust by displaying like Jews are always under a possible attack of all other nations and that makes Jews’ attacks legal to others because of the possible attacks. When we look at today’s situation in Palestine, there is an obvious holocaust to Palestinians, which is a slow-motion one, and still there are effects of holocaust when we listen the pretexes of the State of Israel after their attacks to Palestinians. As Bradley R. Smith mentions, “Today the Holocaust is being used to justify a “Greater Israel” with expanded borders necessitating both voluntary emigration and compulsory expulsions of the Palestinians” (Smith, 1996). Social scientists are calling Jews’ behavior as ‘Holocaust Doctrine’. Jews are asserting the holocaust, mentioning what happened in the Jewish history, and trying to show themselves as pitiful people and consider that they have right to do everything to other nations just to protect Jewish community. In an open letter from Paul Grubach to George Bush, he is saying that “The world is aware how jealously the Jewish community guards the Holocaust, both as a memory and a weapon” (Grubach, 2007). According to him, Holocaust Doctrine is indeed an ideological weapon used against the non-Jewish world. After each attack of Jewish state to poor countries, world is becoming aware of the fact that Jews are not that poor and under a threat of being attack. Media power is almost in the hands of Jews in whole world and that is obvious they are exaggurating more than necessary, just to find reasons to their planned moves in Middle East. It is not only plans of the State of Israel, but also plans of US. If we consider that fact that Palestine, and especially Jerusalem, is the heart of the Middle East, then we can see why still Jews are using the holocaust as a matter for their policies at the region. Again Mr Grubach argues that “More and more of the world are starting to see the lies and exaggerations in the Holocaust ideology and how it has actually become a murderous religion that “justifies” Zionist wars and aggression” (Grubach, 2007). So, as a consequence of the holocaust, Jews are performing their policies without need of a reason in all over the world and especially in Middle East. Moreover, because the State of Israel is under the wings of US and England, it is the most powerful state in the region and acting according to the interests of US and England, not only its own.

To summarize, the holocaust in Germany caused waves of Jewish immigrations to Palestine and according to plans of Zionist organizations, England, US and Soviet Russia, the State of Israel was established in Palestine and the holocaust maintained its impacts in today’s world. Aliyahs had created the hope of re-establishing the Jewish state on the land that God engaged to Jews and Jews have believed that the state is given to them in accordance to God’s plan for Jews. However, the plan was made by Zionist organizations and three victorious allies, US, UK, and Soviet Russia, for their own interests in Middle East. On the other hand, Jews have not let it go with establishing a Jewish state but still using holocaust for their policies all over the world and asserting the holocaust as a reason to all their behaviors and attacks over other nations. However, their exaggurations are awared by more and more people in whole world everyday and anti-semitism is increasing because Jewish state is not taking the interests of other nations into consideration. God may make them suffer more, as he says in Jewish Bible, to grow in wisdom and walk on the right path.

REFERENCES

• Paul Johnson (1987). A History of the Jews. New York: Harper & Row. p423-585.

• Monty Noam Penkower (1994). The Holocaust and Israel Reborn. New York: Library of Cataloging Data. p110.

• JAFI: Zionist Congresses: First Congress – Basle (Basel), 1897.

• King James Version (2001). Bible-Amos. Charlotte: Church of the Great God. Amos 3:2.

• Bradley R. Smith (1996). Zionism and the Holocaust. The CODOH Revisionist Library: Tangled Web. 1.

• Paul Grubach (2007). An Open Letter to the President of the United States. Pennsylvania: Tangled Web. 1.

  Mustafa Gerdan