Caitlin Harrison

UWRT 1102 016

8/25/15
WW #1
Upon learning that the general focus of our University Writing
class this semester will be the Holocaust, I was very pleased. I have
always had a passion for this topic, and have many areas of interest
within it that I have always wanted to explore at a deeper level. I think
that this will be a wonderful opportunity for me to broaden my
understanding of this deplorable historical event and engage in
research in order to do so.
The background knowledge that I have of the Holocaust is
somewhat limited, however, I do recall a few instances that I was able
to gain some insight into it. In middle school, for instance, the topic of
our English class was the Holocaust as well. We read the book Boy in
the Striped Pajamas and wrote many research papers on this event.
However, since this was so long ago, I really do not remember as much
of it as I wish I could. The majority of the information I learned was
mostly about the overview of it. My teacher touched on the subjects of
concentration camps, the ghettos, and the World War II overall.
I remember learning the statistics of the mass genocide and
being struck by the fact that humans were capable of such an atrocity.
The fact that the Nazis were basing their racism and prejudices against
these people off of religion outraged me. Before learning about this, I

Caitlin Harrison
UWRT 1102 016
8/25/15
though that religion was a personal thing, something that no one ever
had the right to judge or degrade. I still stand firm behind this belief,
but as I have grown older and witnessed so many world affairs, I have
become aware of the fact that unfortunately, religion is actually one of
the greatest driving forces behind so many disputes.
Another thing that I recall wondering was what the United States
and other bystander countries were doing at this time and why they
were not stepping in to help. I now understand that many countries
were not fully aware of the extent to which things were going on
behind these concentration camps for a majority of the time. Before
learning that, I was ashamed of my country for not trying to bring this
genocide to a halt quicker. However, I then remember learning about
the Japanese interment camps that were being enforced within our
own land around the same time, and once again I was overcome with a
sense of shame. When I think back on all of the things that took place
around the world based on peoples religions, skin color, and other
factors, I can't help but to wonder why it took so long for humanity to
discover that the differences within us is what makes this world such a
beautiful place. Unfortunately, I think that some of the world still
hasnt grasped this understanding.

Caitlin Harrison
UWRT 1102 016
8/25/15
My knowledge on this topic is, like stated before, very limited.
However, the sorrow and pain that I feel for those of Jewish descent
and the other races that were dehumanized at this point in history
brings about a passion in me to learn more about this time, and
attempt to make sense of humanitys shortcoming. In no way do I think
what happened could ever be justified, but I do believe that it is
important to try to understand where these superior races biases
and beliefs were coming from in order to prevent a horror like this from
occurring again.