One Jew, One Law Broken, One Death

One Jew, One Law Broken, One Death

When someone thinks of the children in the Holocaust, they most likely think of Anne Frank. However, what they may not realize is 1.5 million other kids died in the Holocaust too.  Ulrich Wolfgang Arnheim was one of the 1.5 million who died horrifically because of Nazis genocide actions. Today, I will discuss Arnheim’s life, compare his life to my own life, and discuss how we can all learn from his experiences.

Dr. Fritz A. and Milli Arnheim gave birth to Ulrich Wolfgang Arnheim November 2, 1927 in Berlin, Germany. Ulrich was a good-natured, sensitive and clever child. He studied English at school and was well liked by his classmates. Ulrich was six years old when the Nazis came to power. The Arnheim family tried to get out of Berlin, but they didn’t make it. They were hopelessly trapped after October 1941. At that time, the Germans began deporting Jews to sealed, hunger  and disease-ridden ghettos in eastern Europe. In the poem The Butterfly it says,”Butterflies don’t live in here, in the ghetto.”I can imagine that was how Ulrich felt. After September 1942, they began deporting German Jews directly to death camps. Ulrich and his parents were murdered in the Auschwitz death camp less than a year later.  In Children During The Holocaust it says,”In the ghettos, Jewish children died from starvation, exposure, and lack of adequate clothing or shelter.”This leads me to think that Ulrich probably died because he was already tired from the ghettos.

I was born on June 8, 2004 in Birmingham, Alabama. My parents are Kenneth and Amy Poole. My dad is an engineer and my mom is a occupational therapist. My life has been  pretty easy-going unlike Ulrich. When Ulrich was eight years old, the Nazis came into power and immediately started to make laws against Jews. At the age of eight, I moved to a new state and began making new friends. Ulrich was only thirteen when he was sent to a ghetto. Two years later he died. I could never imagine suffering so much at such a young age. I am so blessed to live in America, land of the free.

There are many things we can learn from Ulrich and the Holocaust. One main point is it is not right to kill people for racial reasons. The whole reason Hitler killed the Jews was because of his personal prejudices. He wanted to take over the world. His desire was for everyone to be German because he thought that Germans were the perfect race. It says in Children During The Holocaust,”The Nazis killed the “unwanted” or “dangerous” groups either as part of the “racial struggle” or as a measure of preventative security.” This confirms he killed the Jews simply for not being like the German race.

Sixty to seventy-five percent of Jews died in the holocaust. Ulrich Wolfgang Arnheim along with many others died a death they should not have died. They tried to stay alive to the best of their abilities but the Nazis cruelty overtook them. We are so blessed to live in America, a free country. I will forever remember you, Ulrich.