The Pros And Cons Of The Holocaust

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The Holocaust made many Jews see their lives as Jews verses the world. Many Jews felt that those who were on their side during this time did not help them to the extent that they should have and thus caused the Holocaust to have a far worse end result than it should have. The Holocaust also brought up many political debates within Jewish culture. There was also a strong sense of Jewish pride after the Holocaust ended. After going through such a terrible genocide it was hard for most Jews to trust other people groups because they knew how quickly small hateful words could turn into large scale killings. The Holocaust even caused some Jewish thinkers to question ethics such as Levinas who "dedicated the rest of his life to asking and answering the philosophical question of whether the Holocaust makes ethics meaningless." (Batnitzky, 101) How could such a horrible thing happen to millions of people for …show more content…
"Jews must resist Hitler by remaining Jews." (Batnitzky, 93) The creation of the state of Israel gave Jews a place where they were no longer outsiders, but rather in charge of their own lives. Going through such a horrendous period of time made many Jews stronger in both their beliefs and their will to live. "The strength of this power lies in the very nature of the Polish Jew, which is rooted in our eternal tradition that commands us to live" (Kaplan, 667). Despite the devastation the Holocaust had on the Jewish community, Jews not only survived, but began to grow stronger than ever in the aftermath. Jews banded together and began watching out for one another, skeptical of the gentiles around them. They began having political debates over whether or not Israel was destined to be the homeland. Despite their political disagreements, however, the Jewish community was stronger than ever. The Holocaust created a social and political change in Jews that ultimate made them stronger as a