7816vn+Holocaust+Essay

//Are We Ready?//

 From 1933 through 1945, an event called the Holocaust took place. The Holocaust was when Adolf Hitler and his Nazis were taking people who they thought were undesirable (mainly Jews) and threw them into concentration camps, death camps, and murder camps. Anyway, during this essay, I will explain why I think 6th graders should learn about the holocaust such as maturity, avoiding prejudice, and learning that life isn't fair.  The first reason I think sixth graders should learn about the Holocaust is that we are mature enough to know (most of us). One reason I think we are mature enough is that it is a part of history, and we might as well learn about it know, rather than later. As Martin Luther King Jr. said, history will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of social transition was not the strident clamor of the bad people, but the appalling silence of the good people. My second example is that life isn't fair. Most 6th graders need to know this before they can understand the Holocaust, but we are mature enough to find out. An example of of life not being fair is that during the Holocaust, Dutch resistance members had to sneak radios into bunkers in order to find out what was going on in the rest of the world. My third example is that the Holocaust could teach 6th graders right from wrong. For example, if a kid were about to make fun of someone else, they could think of how the Jews were treated, and stop bullying the kid.  The second reason 6th graders should learn about the Holocaust is to avoid prejudice. The first reason it is important to avoid prejudice through the Holocaust is to stop bullying. This is important because bullies will think about their actions. My second example is Rachel's challenge. This challenge helps us learn about prejudice by showing that anybody is capable of good things, just like the German soldiers who pretended not to see escaping Jews. My last example of avoiding prejudice is to not judge. This is the most important example of this essay because this is how most of the Holocaust started. If nobody were to judge, nobody would be discriminated and if no one discriminated, there would be no segregation, so this could all start with you and I not judging people. As Paul Harris said "Segregation never brought anyone anything except trouble." My third, and last reason that 6th graders should learn about the Holocaust is so so that it never happens again. Even though a Holocaust-like event is probably going to happen again, it is always worth a try to prevent it. My first example on this reason is that if you teach kids about this event at a young age, it is more likely to scare them, than to scare an adult. As Jane Elliot said, "Age is how we determine how valuable you are." My second example is that If kids understand that the death camp workers were almost always starved, battered, or suffocated by carbon monoxide, they might fight back if this event happens again, or spread the good word before it happens again. My last example is that if 6th graders are told "DON'T LET IT HAPPEN AGAIN!" some of us might take it to heart, and then they will try their best to enlighten the bad, and support the good. As Nelson Mandela said, " A good head and a good heart are always a formidable combination." No matter who you are, you NEED to learn about the Holocaust. Weather it is a brief explanation, or a full detailed description, it is a necessity. With that being said, if you know anyone who has not learned about the Holocaust TELL THEM SOMETHING. As Maya Angelou said, "History, despite its wrenching pain, cannot be unlived, but if faced with courage, need not be lived again." 