1. In 1933 the world’s worst nightmare came to life. Adolf Hitler was the leader of the nazis.
The nazi party throughout the whole holocaust murdered approximately six million Jews.
Germans blamed the Jews for the embarrassment of Germany. Therefor the punishment the
Jews were put through was concentration camps. Concentration camps were started by Hitler
as a control mechanism upon the jews. In these camps there were people of all ages. The ages
went as far as infants to 90 year old elders. The ages did not matter to the many german
soldiers who were on duty. The children over 12 were used for medical experiments while the
children under 12 were burned alive. Elders were burned alive as well due to their fragile bones
and weak muscles. This how the word “Holocaust” got it’s meaning... “sacrifice by fire”.
Obviously the German soldiers could not let the german citizens see what was being performed
in these camps so they separated the camps from the citizens with barbed wire fences and thick
wooden stands. And that is what is represented in my art work.
I am demonstrating the separation between the jewish children and the german children
during the holocaust. I used a scene from the movie “ The Boy In The Striped Pajamas”. This
particular scene is showing a little jewish boy in the clothes that all jews were put in and how the
jews were separated by the fence to keep them from contact with germans. To further portray
my message I have three people doing the “heil Hitler” sign above the jewish boy who is sitting
under their hands. This is showing how jews were under german control with no say in what
they were to do or what they were given. On the other side of the fence where the german boy
is I have the words “Heil NO” showing how heiling Hitler was not the right decision to do and
how it destroyed the world around us. These words also showed how after the germans found
out what the concentration camps were doing they were appalled. My message that I’m trying to
show is “Never forget”. The holocaust was a very hard time for many people and was the cause
of the death of far too many innocent people who did nothing to deserve what they were put
through.
With my art I am trying to leave you with a feeling of sadness, mourning, grief, and
sympathy. This time in history was a very traumatic for all of the world. Many people put to
death, beaten, burned, whipped, and hung due to the Nazi party. This is a time that should
never be pushed aside or forget as time passes. So I ask you… How would you feel to be
separated from your child to only have them burned alive due to your racial background?
