Kameron Marlow

Professor Wertz-Orbaugh
UWRT 1102-003
9 November 2015
Women and Children in the Holocaust: A Research Review
The Holocaust was a horrific time in history led by Adolf Hitler and Nazi
Germany. Many innocent Jews, Gypsies, and others were thrown into camps and not
given a fair chance at life. My focus is on the women and childrens treatment in the
concentration camps during the Holocaust. I think it is essential to note that the prisoners
were not treated fairly in any way. The treatment that was forced on them was not
suitable for humans to life a healthy and successful life. There is no reason that anyone
should turn a blind eye to such harsh and unacceptable treatment.
I have done much research that led to helpful information that allowed me to
expand my knowledge on concentration camp treatment for women and children. My
first source was a testimony from a lady who endured and made it through the Holocaust.
The second was an informative site that gave much needed information about the living
conditions in the concentration camps.
A personal account of a Holocaust survivor seemed to be the perfect source for
this assignment. I came across an article written by Kira Cochrane about the survivor,
Helga Weiss. Helga Weiss was a 14-year-old girl when she went to the horrific camp of
Auschwitz. She was historically not a religious girl, but she prayed every night that she
wouldnt die as her mother did. Ironically, of the 15,000 children that were sent there
from Terezin, Helga was one of one hundred to make it out alive. It is noted that they

spent 3 years at Terezin, while living conditions had to get better for it to be even
considered poor. The children slept two or three to a bed that was not even big enough for
one.
On Helgas 12th birthday, the authorities were sent to her house to take the family
and send them to Terazin. Terazin was just a camp that was used as a transit hub to send
the Jewish people to Auschwitz and Treblinka, which were official concentration camps.
Helga states that, We were allowed to take 50kg of luggage so we took just our clothes
and something important to us. I took two very small dolls, a pad, watercolors, and
crayons. This speaks to me in specifically two ways. First, this shows an uncertainty for
what is about to occur. In our time, I for one do not appreciate or understand uncertainty.
I appreciate the lifestyle of planning. If you fail to plan, you plan to fail. In this case,
they couldnt plan their destiny. Second, this shows an importance factor. They took what
they knew was a need and were practical with their decisions. As a girl, her dolls Im sure
meant the world. They were her dolls and I would bet were kept in top condition as kids
treat their best friend dolls.
In the camps there was always a shortage of blankets, having most of the time
people being so cold that it was almost unbearable. Recorded in this article, Helga makes
a statement that spoke to me. She says, The living conditions were bearable, because we
had only one blanket. To me, this shows so much hope that she knew how terrible things
were, but with a positive and non-quitting mindset, there is hope to make it through even
the toughest things that life threw her way. She and her mother used coats that they had to
help cover up with when the blanket was not enough.

For my second source, I decided to pursue the historical information about things
the prisoners were required to do in the camps. The United Holocaust Memorial Museum
gives great information about the clothing the prisoners wore. For example, prisoners
were required to wear color-coded triangles on their jackets, which enabled the guards
could easily identify them. Also, it states that the prisoners who were Communists or
Socialists were required to wear red triangles on their jackets. Criminals in the camps
were required to wear green so they could easily be identified. Others who were Gypsies
or the Germans who were known as asocial or shiftless were required to wear black
triangles. The religious group known as Jehovahs Witnesses wore purple in the camps.
The people who were put in the camps because of their sexuality, known as homosexuals,
wore pink in the camps.
The Soviet Union soldiers who were captured by the Germans were thrown into
the camps and forced to do hard labor. Gypsy men and women were also thrown into
camps and later killed. Twenty three thousand of them were sent to the harsh camp
known as Auschwitz, where twenty thousand were killed. The United States Holocaust
Memorial Museum states that the Germans killed more than three million. Most of the
killings consisted of execution, gassings, or horrible treatment by the Germans.
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum states, On the night of August 2,
1944, a large group of Roma was gassed in the destruction of the Gypsy family camp."
This speaks to me in quite a few ways. This makes me angry, sad, and thankful. I do not
understand why the Germans felt the need to harm so many people who had done almost
nothing to them. They killed them for a reason that none of them could help. I am a white
American. I am so proud of that, but I cannot help that I am nor change that. These

people were unjustly killed for their race and ethnicity and I believe those who died for
that reason were killed for a reason that is unfair.
Political prisoners, Jehovah's Witnesses, and homosexuals were sent to
concentration camps as punishment. Members of these three groups were not targeted, as
were Jews and Roma, for systematic murder. Nevertheless, many died in the camps from
starvation, disease, exhaustion, and brutal treatment. This is beneficial due to the fact
that it gives specifics about how these civilians were mistreated and brutally hurt for their
beliefs. I believe that no man should be killed for his beliefs. No I am not a JW, I am a
Christian, but I do believe that if her/she wants to believe in that they should not be
punished. Also, I am not a homosexual and I do not believe in it, but they shouldnt be
killed solely based on their sexuality.
Explicitly stated in the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, on August 23, 1944 Auschwitz camp, the harshest Gypsy camp was closed. It states that there, Up to
220,000 Roma (Gypsies) are killed in the Holocaust. I can only imagine if something
like that swept the United States. I think it is imperative for Americans, and the whole
world to learn from that situation and know that no matter what, we stand united against
that form of treatment to those who did nothing but be humans and live a normal life.
Those people should be commended and memorialized for going through the harshest
treatment that has ever been documented.

Peer Response
For this Research assignment, I believe that Roland did well to meet the
requirements that were given for this assignment. He wrote on retributive efforts by the
survivors of the Holocaust. Specifically, he did a good job explaining his quotes and
interacting with them as the quotation sandwich states. I liked his source of the feelings
of Holocaust survivors. I think it was strong and provided good information to research
and it was very powerful as well. Many people would choose to stay away from the
feeling aspect, but I believe Roland did well and met his requirements. I did not see
clearly how he explained the sources and why he chose them. Although they were great
and very relevant, I did not see the explanation for why he picked them specifically.
Roland did a wonderful job with his quotation sandwich. He gave information about the
quotes and then stated the quote. After he stated the quote, he gave his opinion and why it
was relevant for his piece of writing. I think he could add more in regards to his sources.
He should include why he chose them for his paper. It is important as a reader in order to
understand his motives behind choosing those specific quotes.

Works Cited
"Children during the Holocaust." United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. United
States Holocaust Memorial Council, 18 Aug. 2015. Web. 14 Oct. 2015.
Cochrane, Kira. "My Diary of a Nazi Death Camp Childhood." The Guardian. N.p., 22
Feb. 2013. Web. 16 Oct. 2015.
"Prisoners of the Camps." United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. United States
Holocaust Memorial Council, n.d. Web. 26 Oct. 2015.