Women in the Holocaust Essays

Women in the Holocaust Essays Women in the Holocaust Essay Women in the Holocaust Essay Judaism, Catholic), and Cultures (e. g. Gypsies, Slovakians) were unworthy of existence. The Nazi’s considered themselves a superior race and were guilty of genocide through horrendous acts of human extermination. In this paper I will discuss this heartbreaking period, and the dangerous and frightful times women faced. I will also discuss the constant humiliation and torture which went along with experiments. In addition, I will speak about jobs given to them in and outside the camps such as prostitution. My focus will be on things such as rape, sexual harassment, murder from gas chambers, treatment of people, and on issues women faced with their children in these camps. Finally, I will like to say that although women and men both shared frightening events, each gender encountered unique emotions and experiences. Prior to these concentration camps many women were forced to move into ghettos. For example, a ghetto such as Warsaw was guarded with Polish, German, and Jewish Police. It has been recorded that, â€Å"Conditions in the Warsaw Ghetto were so bad that between 1940 and 1942 an estimated 100,000 Jews died of starvation and disease in the Warsaw Ghetto† (Jewish Ghettos, 2004). We know that this is an understatement for not everyone could be recorded. Women within these ghettos were targets of rape and public humiliation by the Gestapo. It was said that, â€Å"members of the Gestapo would come to the ghetto- alone or with friends- for entertainment. The entertainment consisted of taking potshots at a child, raping a woman, cutting a beard off an old man, humiliating people in the street, and so on† ( Chapnik, 1998). Once women began being deported to concentration camps even more disastrous things they faced. First, the Nazi’s would shear women using rusty razor blades. They shaved their whole body and even their pelvic hair. This was done in order to degrade, humiliate, and annihilate a women’s sense of femininity and determination. Also, after entering a concentration camp, being sheared, and experiencing dumbfounding stress, some women ceased menstruating. Women who did menstruate had to deal with blood coming down their legs because they were not provided with the right hygiene articles. Unfortunately, many of these women faced constant shame, critiques, and assaults by the Nazi soldiers. Although, many of these women experienced these down-grading experiences they felt lucky if they got their menstruation for they knew they were still capable of bearing children. Many women in the concentration camps also faced life changing events such as rape. This injured their self-esteem and injured their physical being. In many of these concentration camps, brothels were set up for soldiers and selected prisoners. These brothels were made for organized rape and were places where women had no control over their bodies. Many women who were thought of as pretty and had strong bodies were inspected for appearance and tried out. Thus, these women were subjugated and raped. To go along with this many women who were raped and were found pregnant were forced to have abortions. Many of these abortions were done by forced sterilization. Forced sterilization was an experiment which many doctors tried on women. This Nazi sterilization law was passed on January 1, 1934. The Nazi’s used two types of sterilization techniques. The first technique consisted of secretly adding toxic chemicals in woman’s food. These chemicals cause much pain and anguish to women. It also caused them to have certain health problems such as hemorrhaging, itching, and cavity problems. The second type of sterilization involved x-rays to burn and destroy woman’s ovaries. Both of these types of sterilization destroyed her feelings and made her feel horrible. Many women in these concentration camps also dealt with other types experiments besides sterilization. Another experiment some women were forced to do was the warming of the body heat practice. This experiment was thought of by Heinrich Himmler who recommended it to Dr. Rascher that he try to use women to warm the frozen men. He suggested that the victim and a woman copulate. This experiment occurred with some success; however it was not as successful as the Warm Bath. The Warm bath was when the victim was placed in warm water and the temperature was slowly increased. This method proved to be the best. Many victims died do to shock if they were warmed up to quickly. Another experiment some women faced with was artificial insemination. This experiment happened to About 300 women at Auschwitz. The artificial insemination was done by Dr. Clauberg. He reportedly taunted victims strapped down before him by informing them that he had just inseminated them with animal sperm and that monsters were now growing in their wombs. As if the experiments mentioned weren’t enough some women had to have experiments done on them which consisted of taking parts of their body and so on. One experiment in particular was made to benefit soldiers who suffered from gas gangrene. The studies tested the effectiveness of sulfanilamide and other drugs in curbing such infections some women were infected with gas gangrene or bacterial inflammations, while others were forced to receive bone transplants and bone amputations. Unfortunately, many of these had to deal with having such experiments done on them because if they refused to be experimented on they had to deal with threats of being beaten or had to fear with possibilities of being sent to death. One way many people from the concentration camps died from was the Gas chambers. These chambers were used by Nazis on all types of prisoners. The Camp Ravensbruck which was the largest concentration camp for women in all of German Reich had over 100,000 women from 20 countries imprisoned, and where 5-6,000 perished as a result of gas chambers. Many people described the gas chambers similar to showers. Sadly, many victims were told that they were going through a process of disinfection and they believed perhaps they were going to get some clean water to take a bath but the truth was that their lives were going to be taken away from them without approval. Many women in the concentration camps in order to survive had to not only allow themselves for experimentation but had to be physically be in shape and fit the age range in order to be considered strong and age appropriate to work. Women that worked were forced into hard labor, either at SS Textile factories or more physical work. All had to deal with terrible living conditions, made to stand outside for hours in freezing conditions during roll-call and were frequently beaten for the slightest violation of camp rules. Those that weren’t were normally shot. Then years later they were then sent to a nearby sanatorium which already had a gas chamber built for the  T4. In addition other women worked outside doing things such as farm work and many of the women who worked had long days that stretched up to 15 hours. Many Women in the camps also prostituted in order to survive. Many women in the camps prostituted themselves while asking for favors in return. For example, in exchange for sexual favors women would plea for food or to live another day. Many women also prostituted themselves with hopes that their children be taken care of with food and for their lives not to be taken away from them. Many women also prostituted themselves with false promises of liberation after a few months. Women in order to survive and keep their jobs had to try and keep themselves healthy. Sadly, many women in the concentration camps got diseases particularly typhus. They pretended that they were still healthy enough to work. They knew that being sick would lead them to being killed by the Nazi soldiers. To these women survival was the most important. Too many even escape meant death, for if any one escaped, all the other prisoners in that bunk or group were immediately shot. The only resistance possible for most people was the effort simply to stay alive. To help them survive, the prisoners looked for ways of remaining human, of not descending to the level of â€Å"animals†. They began to live an inner life, a life that the guards and the camp could not reach to destroy. For many women and men it was a life of religion. To many it had been their strength on the outside, before the camps; and now it became their strength in the camps. Also, many people to survive got a chance to do some of the work they had done before. For example, if they were doctors, they could help the sick as best they were able. If they were scientists they watched and memorized what they saw. If they were historians and writers they kept notes in their minds. One example of this although not a woman was Viktor Frankl, a psychiatrist, who wrote on his efforts to help his other prisoners: â€Å"The thought of suicide was entertained by nearly everyone, if only for a brief time. It was born of the hopelessness of the situation, the constant danger of death looming over us daily and hourly, and the closeness of the deaths suffered by many of the others. I spoke of the many opportunities of giving life a meaning. I told my comrades that human life, under any circumstances, never ceases to have a meaning   They must not lose hope but should keep up their courage in the certainty that the hopelessness of our struggle did not detract from its dignity and meaning. I said that someone looks down on each of us in difficult hours a friend, a wife, somebody alive or dead, or a God and he would not expect us to disappoint him. He would hope to find us suffering proudly † (Rittner, 1993). Many women in the camp of Ravensbruck also were to secretly hide anything that dealt with learning or writing. The soldiers did not want the women teaching each other things that may be of any use to them. Although it was a danger many women still took the chance and they secretly taught each other languages such as German and English. Some women hid little pieces of paper whether it was toilet paper and would write things such as poems, and birthday cards to give to one another. Tiny handbooks and dictionaries small enough to be hidden were secretly copied and passed to each other. For example, â€Å"One Polish inmate, Eugenia Kocwa, wrote her own English textbook on 80 sheets of stolen toilet paper. It was copied by dozens of other women† ( Aktion R. Camp, 2004). To many of these women it was important to get distracted and try and keep their spirits up. For this reason many women took learning important. Many women also took recipes of food and copied it and gave it to one another. They spoke to each other about different foods they made and they told each other family traditions. Some women went as far as giving up some of the little food they got in order to â€Å"buy† paper or pencil to write such things as recipe books. Food dominated the conscience of the women and for these reasons writing recipes was a way of them to alleviate their hunger. As one can see many women during the holocaust dealt with tragic events and their lives were marked for ever if they happen to survive. They had horrific things happen to them from rape, murder, humiliation, and so on. Many died from starvation, disease, or suffering. Many suffered knowing it was a possibility that they would never see their families again. These people lived a life of misery in these camps. They were used as guinea pigs for ridiculous experimentations. They felt hopeless not being able to protect their children as they wanted to. Some gave up their dignity and sold their body for false promises. All this suffering was due to the idea that not all people were equal and that it was important to go forth with hatred, discrimination, and violation. This Holocaust is something that should teach people throughout the world that decimation is not something people should teach others for the only thing it does is destroy people and nations. Aktion Reinhard Camps. (2004, March). Retrieved December 2, 2010, from eathcamps. org/occupation/ghettos. html Bauer, Yeduda. 2001. A History of the Holocaust. New York: Franklin Watts/Scholastic Chapnik, L. (1998). The Grodno ghetto and it’s underground: A personal narrative. In Ofer, D. and Weitzman, L. (Eds. ) (pp. 109-119). Women in the holocaust. New Haven; Yale University Press Merriam Webster Dictionary. Retrieved 2010. m-w. com Rittner, C. , Roth, J. (1993). Different Voices: Women of the Holocaust. Paragon House: New York. Ofer, D. , Weitzman, L. (Eds) (1998). Women of the Holocaust. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press