The history of the holocaust And how it affects us to this day by Eun

The history of the holocaust

And how it affects us to this day

By Eun Kim 김은

Can you imagine being ripped away from your family in the middle of the night, stuffed inside a  cattle cart, taken to a prison like building, stripped of your clothes, starved, shaved of your hair and forced to do labor to hold on to a thin thread of hope. You say “that’s terrible! That could never happen in real life!” you’d be surprised to know that this is true. Oh so terrifyingly true. In 1993, the holocaust started and it went unnoticed for 12 years. During the the holocaust, innocent victims suffered beatings and hard labor. Others ceased in mass executions and gas chambers, those who had survived examinations went on death marches where over a hundred thousand innocent lives were buried in the blood stained snow. The holocaust had shocked the world, leaving it to take precaution against genocide.

After the First World War, Germany had to pay retributions to the Allies. But because they had to pay their own war dept, they suffered an economic crisis. Many people were left angry and poor. A man named Adolf Hitler took power during that time. He manipulated the public’s anger by making himself into a hero through a movie that made him loved by the public. His effective use of propaganda won his people over, on the 30^th of January 1933 Hitler became Germany’s chancellor, he and his regime soon began the mass genocide of the Jewish population. He started with his infamous Enabling Act on March 23^rd 1933 that gave him absolute power over the government, he started by ordering the making of a new textbook, in the textbook young people would be taught that the Jewish were the cause of all their problems which stirred hate and racism. He also created an army of devoted soldiers, they called him the Führer (Fuehrer) and because much of Germany’s youth were Nazi soldiers, they had a sense of belonging and marched through the streets blinded by mob mentality. From there, he started to nibble away at the Jewish population; he began little by little, such as forcing the Jewish to wear arm bands to distinguish the Jews and closing Jewish owned businesses one by one. Then his actions grew louder, moving them in cramped cattle carts from one ghetto to another until they finally entered the concentration camps where they would be immediately killed or become slaves to hard labor. The Jewish were mainly targeted but they weren’t the only victims; gypsies, the Polish, Slavs, homosexuals, the disabled, and Jehovah’s Witness were also targeted.

Once they stepped out of the cattle carts, they formed lines and they would be categorized into groups that would decide their life. Men on one side, women/children/elderly/disabled on another, and twins were separated. The men would be physically evaluated, if they passed, they would be given a uniform and a tattoo with their number. On the other hand, those who failed would be executed alongside the women/children/elderly/disabled. Twins and a selected few would be taken into Dr.Mengele’s laboratory. The twins would be part of a study to maximize the German population, other of Dr.Mengele’s infamous experiments include attaching extra limbs to a person’s body or testing the human body in harsh conditions like timing how long a person could survive in ice cold water.

Another World War broke out and when the American allied troops entered the concentration camps they were horrified. The troops described the victims as walking skeletons. When the camps were infiltrated, they had been abandoned as most of the troops would try to kill off the rest of the prisoners by taking them on death marches in the freezing cold, they ran for miles and it resulted in nearly 60,000 lost lives. The troops had found a total of 358,000 men’s suits, 837,000 women’s outfits in Birkenau (January 18^th 1945) alone and 15,400 pounds of human hair. It is estimated that the number of victims is around 6,400,000. The main concentration camp known as Auschwitz had 7,500 people alive compared to an estimated 4.5 million out of the 6.4 million victims died inside concentration camps. The survivors still continued to die in rates of 400 people a day from their illnesses and over-consuming. The victims were starved for so long that even though plenty were given, their bodies couldn’t adjust, victims had to gradually increase in intake; it took months to get back on a regular diet. When they recovered, they hoped and searched for their families but almost none of them could.  

In 2012, 67 years have passed since the liberation of death camps and we are still being affected by the holocaust. One way is through prevention. During world history class, a whole chapter consists of the holocaust. During English class, we are assigned at least one book about the holocaust during our high school experience. All this is done to educate the future generation. Tons of movies and books were made about the holocaust, such as The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, the Night, Diary of Anne Frank, Hiding Place, Schindler’s List, Shoah and more! Being possibly the last few generations to ever see a survivor in person is unfortunate but it is that much urgent to educate the young people. They say that history is constantly repeating itself. Therefore, if we are educated on genocide, it could prevent another from happening. After all, they say that knowing the past is the most important tool for the future. 

Why Korea should host the Green Climate Fund by Eun

TiTle : Why Korea should host the Green Climate Fund

This summer have you asked yourself at least once “When did it get so hot?” During this year, there have been two severe hurricanes in the Korean Peninsula, major wildfires, droughts and deathly tornadoes in the United States alone! Researchers say that with global warming increasing, it will not only bring up the global temperature by a few degrees but it will also bring about even more devastating outcomes. Starting from hotter summers and snowier winters, it will cease to stop. Increase in heat waves, droughts, floods, severe storms, forest fires, increase in insects, weeds, and pests, all are just the beginning. The aftermaths of these problems will start to affect our daily lives. There will be a decrease in farmed goods such as corn, which is used in bread, candy, soft drinks, and used as food for animals which affects our poultry price also. Prices for food would become high and cause a food shortage. Not only that, the higher temperatures in the warmer seasons would cause an energy shortage also. The climate is connected to the global economy which connects to all aspects of our daily lives. Some people do not recognize this problem; they simply regard this as a myth. Which is the reason why the GCF was made, to not only help developing countries prevent damage and adjust to these climate changes but to help to raise awareness of the seriousness of climate change. Korea has come up as one of the main choices for hosting the GCF.

Korea would be a great foundation to help the GCF program for many reasons. One reason would be our convenient location. The location for GCF Korea would be in New Songdo city, Incheon, which has become one of the most eco-friendly cities in the world, from low-carbon buildings to a remarkable recycling program that reuses a major percent of renewable waste. It is also connected to the metropolitan city of Seoul and almost all major cities in Korea. It is only a few minutes’ drive from the Incheon International Airport that serves over a 100 major cities all over the world. Songdo city is home to many foreigners as it is located near UN buildings, embassies, and international schools. Another reason could be that the people of Korea would provide a supportive environment for the GCF. Korea understands the importance of taking a stand against global warming. When a policy to lower carbon emissions were sent to the legislation, it was passed in less than a year because both parties agreed that the effects of global warming would only get worse and action needed to be taken. The government also takes charge to assist the Korean eco-system for example; the Korean government announced that they had finished restoring the four major rivers of Korea through the Major River Restoration program. Finally, another reason is that Korea would like to return the help we have received. As everyone knows Korea has ascended from being one of the poorest countries into becoming a thriving global market. This was only possible because other nations came together and lent a helping hand. Now, in 2012, Korea has become a global helping hand, volunteering and donating to developing countries, our country will become a great global partner to the GCF.