and the Nazis felt as if it could have been used for the war effort. This provoked Hitler to authorize the use of extermination methods such as gassing trucks and extermination camps on the Jews in his "Final Solution" act. These were attempts to kill lots of people and use fewer bullets.
Extermination camps were the most effective at killing. The Nazis at the camps would call out specially selected Jews. Those called were told to step out but some did not, and they would end up getting beaten. The Nazis then escorted the Jews to the gas chambers. The Jews saw bathrooms which promoted excitement. They entered the chambers willingly, not knowing the bathrooms were rigged with deadly gas.
Shortly after, the Jews noticed the doors were locked, and the showers had no water. They also noticed the showers were secreting a light blue mist. Panic ensued. Slowly, the Jews succumbed to Zyklon B-gas; a poison developed to kill bugs but is deadly to mammals in large amounts. This gas was pumped into the gas chambers and in less than 10 minutes, it proceeded
to kill every Jew in the room.
After the war ended in 1945, the remaining Jews were rescued by the victorious Allies, but a devastating truth settled in. Before the end of the war, many of the concentration camps began to kill more Jews. Some camps even forced the Jews to build a massive grave, and then shot them where they stood. By the end of the war, a massive death toll of 67% of all Jews in the concentration camps had been killed. Before the "Final Solution," there were 8,861,800 Jews in the concentration camps. After the "Final Solution" only 2,927,900 were able to walk away alive. However, even with their freedom, the Jews that lived would forever be chained by the terrible things they had experienced. While none would ever be able to forget loved ones and friends they would never see again, many would continue to be haunted with the knowledge of just how much humans can hate.
Solution" there were 8,861,800 Jews in the concentration camps. After the "Final Solution" only 2,927,900 were able to walk away alive. However, even with their freedom, the Jews that lived would forever be chained by the terrible things they experienced, to the friends that they would never see again, and the knowledge of just how much humans can hate.
-Conor Mulligan
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