Speaking Slowly

Geography plays a huge role in the Holocaust. In May of 1939, many Jewish refugees decided to flea the Nazis. The St. Louis left Hamburg taking 937 passengers to Havana, Cuba, all the way across the Atlantic Ocean to get away from the Nazis. Cuba was an ocean away from Nazi Germany; there was very little chance Germany would be able to take over Cuba. Since the vast majority were rejected from Cuba and the United States, the St. Louis returned to Europe, where the remaining refugees went to France, Great Britain, the Netherlands, and Belgium. Here, because these countries were so close to Germany, the refugees were not completely safe. When the Nazis took over France, Belgium, and the Netherlands, many of the refugees were "again trapped under Nazi rule." They were not physically far enough away to escape the Germans. Because France, the Netherlands, and Belgium border Germany, they were at risk of being taken over.

Concentration and extermination camps were present throughout Europe, mostly in Germany and Poland. Six extermination camps were set up in Poland, since that's where many Jews lived. These camps were set up near where the most Jews lived so that the Germans did not have to transport them far from their homes. Ghettos were also set up where the most Jews resided. Warsaw and Lodz, first and second with most Jews, respectively, had the two largest ghettos. The Germans did not have to transport them far to contain them in designated areas. Once they gathered the Jews together, it was easier to transport them to concentration camps and extermination camps.

Unlike the concentration camps, resistance to the Nazis could be found all around Europe. Both Jewish and non-Jewish resistance organizations were running throughout Europe. There were may uprisings in ghettos and concentration camps, which were calmed by the Nazis. Resistance wasn't all violent. There were members of the resistance who hid Jews, and smuggled them to neutral territory. They were able to get the Jews out of the occupied countries nearby to safety.

There is definitely a huge bias against the Nazi's on the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum website. Nonetheless, the maps provide useful information with real numbers, and maps that explain what happened. The speaker speaks slowly and clearly, so that everybody can understand him, even if they don't know anything about the Holocaust. The website believes that the visitors to the website are against Nazism, and are curious to find out more about the Holocaust. The maps suggest that the museum is interactive and easy to understand. The museum counts a memorial but the website does not. The museum is tangible, and has actual artifacts in it. The website just has pictures and videos, but nothing to touch. No real artifacts can be found on the site.