The museum starts on the fourth floor with Adolf Hitler's appointment as Chancellor. But the tragedy started before 1933 when World War I hit Europe and created new countries. At that time, over nine million Jews lived in Europe.
Between 1933 and 1938, the Nazi state rose to power and became a place where citizens had no guaranteed basic rights. In 1933, the Nazis established their first concentration camp, where they imprisoned homosexuals, Jehovah's Witnesses, and others classified as "dangerous".
On May 10, 1933, the Nazis held a book burning event. There, they burned "un-German" books that came from public and university libraries, including all books written by Jewish authors.
On September 1, 1939, Germany invaded Poland in hopes of wiping out each and every Jewish citizen. Over the next year, Nazi Germany conquered much of Europe.
In many places, Jews were required to wear identifying armbands. In June of 1941, Germany turned against the Soviet Union. On September 2, 1945, World War II came to an end. But by then, over six million Jews had been murdered by the German Nazis.
The museum exhibition came to an end after we walked through a room where the ground was covered in shoes of the many victims of the Holocaust. Seeing these shoes made me realize just how harsh it was to live in these concentration camps.
While there are no Jews in concentration camps in current times, genocide still exists in our world. For example, in Syria, President Bashar al-Assad has turned against, and started murdering, his own people. This makes me realize how fortunate we are to live in a country where genocide does not currently exist. But our country needs to do more to help others who face these attrocities.
By: Landry Schoennauer
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