Figure 1.--These Jewish children are being deported from the Lodz Ghetto in Poland to the Chelmo death camp in September 1942. They were murdered in a gas chamber on arrival. Jacob Igra/USHMM

Jewish children were the most vulnerable of all and died in the greatest proportion. They were the most vulnerable and had no economic value which the NAZIs could exploit. Even more importantly, they also were the seed for the future of the Jewish people. The NAZIs also saw them as a force for future retribution if they were not killed. The NAZIs are estimated to have murdered over a million Jewish children. One can not forget the images of the starving Jewish children on the Warsaw Ghetto whose parents had been killed. A great body of literature exists on the Holocaust including the experiences of the children. some of the children were killed by SS Einsatzgruppen in mass executions with their parents in Poland and on a larger scale in the Soviet Union. Most were forced into gettoes where those without parents often starved. Then they were deported and died in the various NAZI transit, labor, or death camps. Some Jewish children managed to survive the Holocaust by hiding, emmigrating (often without their family), or concealing the fact that they were Jewish. When asked after the War why they killed the chilldren, a ranking SS officer told his interviewers that was a stupid question. Of course it was a question from an American that had not yet full come to terms with the evil of the Holocaust. The children were not a messy consequence of killing the adults, Killing the children was the heart and soul of the NAZI effort to destroy the Jewish people. And the NAZIs were terrifyingly effective. It is estimated that about 90 percent of the Jewish children in the occupied were killed by the NAZIs. Survival was not random. Survival depeneded on who you were, where you were from, gender, age, health, appearance and other factors.

Death Rates

Jewish children were the most vulnerable of all and died in the greatest proportion. The NAZIs are estimated to have murdered over a million Jewish children. The children were not a messy consequence of killing the adults, Killing the children was the haeart and soul of the NAZI effort to destroy the Jewish people. And the NAZIs were terrifyingly effective. There are of course no precise statistics. It is estimated that about 90 percent of the Jewish children in the occupied were killed by the NAZIs. This is much higher than the 60-70 percent of adults that perished. [Tec] Part of the reason was that children died in such large numbers was that they were more vulnerable and less able to fend for themselves. Another factor is that the NAZIs specifically targeted the children. Here they were stunningly successful. In 1939 there were some 1.7 million European Jewish children under the age of 16. By 1945 only an estimated 0.2 million of those children had survived, most by hiding. [Greenfield]

Survival

Survival was not random. Almost all of the children who survived either emmigrated or were hidden by Christian families or institutions (usually Catholic) schools and orphanages. There were several factors which affected whether a child lived or died. Survival depeneded on 1) who you were, 2) where you were from, 3) gender, 4) age, 5) health, 6) appearance, 7) parents, and other 8) factors. Children from wealthy families were the most likely to survive. These parents had the money to send their children abroad before the War began or smuggle them out after the War began. Money of course did not guarantee saftey, but it was an important assett. Of course the NAZIs as part of the Holocaust began depriving Jews of the abilitty to make a living and to loot their property. Besides being lucrative, impoverishment made them more vulnerable. Once impoverished Jews had few alternatives and chances for escape. Where you were from was crucial. German Jewish children had the best chance of survival because the Holocaust in Germany was a slower process and parents had time to understand the NAZIs and prepare. Many parents protected their children by sending them outside the country. Dutch Jewish children had almost no chance of survival because their parents had no concept of the danger and there was no where to escape. Also children who grew up speaking Yiddish and spoke Polish or other local language with an accent were difficult to hide. Gender was also a factor. Because Jewish boys were circumcized, it was much more difficult to hide them. Age was another critical factor. Infants could be placed the most easily with families willing to protect them. Young children from about 3-7 years were the most difficult to hide. In their innosence they could easily say someting to give themselves away. Older children could more effectively be coached to guard their secret. Health was another factor in that many children faced great deprivation and children who were not physically strong were less much likely to survive. Appearance was a key factor. Children who "looked Jewish" were virtually impossivle to hide. Part of the curiculum in German schools was racial education which among other aspects taught German children to identify Jews. Light complexioned Jewish childrem especially children with blond hair and blue eyes were the most likely to survive. Parents also played a key role. Some recognized the danger and planned for it. Others did not. Many parents arranged for emmigration such as the Kindertransport or hiding places before they were arrested and forced into gettoes. Also coaching by the parents was important in the child being able to successfully hide. Howard Greenfied's book The Hidden Children provides 25 examples of children who were succesfully hidden.

Reasons for Targeting Children

It is difficult for modern readers to understand why the Germans conducted the Holocaust. Certainly there was no logic to, but only hate. Especially difficult to understand was the killing of the children. There appears to have been several reasons. The key was at the heart of NAZI ideology. The NAZIs were obsessed with eugenics and building a new world around the Aryan master race. The Jews were seen as race polluters and the carriers of hereditary diseases. The elimination of the Jews was thus seen as an essential step in building the new perfect Aryan race. The children were potential racial polluters. The children as the seeds of the Jewish future were thus not killed reluctantly or unintentionally, but rather the children were seen by the NAZis as essential to kill. There were other reasons for killing the children. They had no economic value which could be expolited by the the NAZIs. In fact they had a negative economic value as they kept their care kept their mothers from working. The NAZIs also saw them as a force for future retribution if they were not killed.

Images

The childern suffered humiliation, phyical and verbal abuse, deprivation, and starvation. The older children were set to forced kabor. Most were utimately murdered. One can not forget the images of the starving Jewish children on the Warsaw Ghetto whose parents had been killed. A great body of literature exists on the Holocaust including the experiences of the children. some of the children were killed by SS Einsatzgruppenin in mass executions with their parents in Poland and on a larger scale in the Soviet Union. Most were forced into gettoes where those without parents often starved. Then they were deported and died in the various NAZI transit, labor, or death camps.

Jewish Resistance

Many ask, "Why didn't the Jews fight back". Often the question is couched as an accusation that the Jews were to cowardly to fight and somehow deserved their fate. In fact the Jews did fight back. The best known example is the Warsaw Getto uprising (1943). There was also an uprising at the Sorbibor death camp. In addition there were Jewish partisan groups. Some were argue that the Jewish resistance was weak and inefectual given the enormity of the NAZI killing machine. That is a question we will leave to others to answer as HBC wants to primarily focus on the children in the Holocaust. In this regard, it must be rembered that the NAZIs used the children as a weapon to limit Jewish resistance. Many Jews might have run away and either fought or at least been more difficult to arrest. One factor limiting this was partents inability to abandon their children. An adult might be able to survive in a forrest or join a partisan group. With small children this was impossible. This is why the NAZIs kept families together until the moment the Jews steped out of the cattle car tarnsports on to the platforms at the death camps and the selections began.

Survivors

Some Jewish children managed to survive the Holocaust by hiding, emmigrating (often without their family), or concealing the fact that they were Jewish.

The Killers

When asked after the War why they killed the chilldren, a ranking SS officer told his interviewers that was a stupid question. Of course it was a question from an American that had not yet full come to terms with the evil of the Holocaust. A young U.S. procecutor in the Nuremberg War Crimes tells of his interview with S.S. General Otto Oldendorf was commanded Einsatzgruppen actions. Oldendorf was not some uneducated S.A. thug, but a ciltured man with five children and a PhD. in economics. He complained that it was a stupid question to ask him why the children were killed. He said that Germany was fighting for its survival and the children of left allive woukld mean future enemies that would have to be fought. He made a point that he always insisted on his men acting with "compasion". They were not allowed to throw babies out windows or crush their skulls by swing them against trees. He told his men that mothers would hold their babies to their breasts. Thus aim for the baby and one bullet will economically kill two Jews. [U.S. prosecutor]

Children of the Holocaust

This portion of the Wiesenthal site is dedicated to the children of the Holocaust. Each day, we'll revisit a special child's life as a tribute to their unique person. Each of the children featured are accompanied with a biography and photograph. To navigate through the biographies, click on the name next to the picture and it will take you to that child's personal page. To return to this main index page, click on the icon that says, "Meet Other Children of the Holocaust". This site includes children from the many different countries in which the Germans dominated.

Experiences

One problem that teachers face is when and how to discussthe Hiolocaust to children. In terms of books, The Diary of Ann Frank is probably a book than can be used for this introduction. Another book, written for the younger reader, is Howard Greenfeld's After the Holocaust which relates the experiences of eight child Holocaust survivors. The book is designed for readers about 13 and older to appreciate. The word, Holocaust, means destruction by fire, as Greenfeld notes in the introduction of his work, "After the Holocaust". Lives, property, and culture were destroyed by that cataclysm. The eight survivors of the Holocaust who share their experiences with the reader, however, also their youth.

Sources

Gilbert, Martin. A History of the Twentieth Century Vol. 2 1933-54 (William Morrow and Company, Inc.: New York, 1998), 1050p.

Greenfeld, Howard. After the Holocaust.

Greenfeld, Howard. Hidden Children (Houghton Mifflin Company: Boston 1993).

Tec, Nechama. "Children and the Holocaust: Keynote address," Children and the Holocaust Symposium, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, April 3, 2003.

U.S. prosecutor. This gentleman spoke from the floor at the Children and the Holocaust Symposium, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, April 3, 2003., but I did not get his name.

Created: April 3, 2003
Last updated: 8:03 PM 5/26/2006