“Deportations From Western Europe” by Holly Arendt Essay

Exclusively available on Available only on IvyPanda® Made by Human No AI

In her article “Deportations from Western Europe”, Holly Arendt explores the role that ‘ruthless toughness’ played in shaping the way in which Germany interacted with the world under Nazi leadership. She begins the article by pointing out the way in which men manifesting this particular character trait to a great degree were selected as emissaries to other countries beginning in 1941. By 1942, these relations led to plans for the deportation of thousands of Jews from France, Belgium and Holland. Most of the Jews to be deported in this way had reached these locations after fleeing German influence in places such as Russia, Austria, Poland, Rumania and Hungary while few realized the true intentions behind the term ‘resettlement’. However, this influence was not necessarily as strong or as ruthless as it might seem.

As Arendt illustrates, it was due to the eagerness of the Germans to ‘resettle’ as many Jews as they could within their borders despite their apparent hatred for them that brought suspicion upon them. Eichmann’s attempts to assert his authority in France caused some to question his true intentions and his request that French Jews be included in the deportations triggered a complete change of heart on the part of French officials. Rather than moving forward with the deportation efforts, France agreed to uphold naturalizations granted to Jews prior to 1933 and intentionally delayed efforts to deport even stateless Jews.

These problems weren’t present in France alone. Arendt discusses several ways in which Belgian officials did what they could to prevent or interfere with deportations. Local law enforcement was reluctant to participate in collection efforts, those guarding trains were careless in ensuring train cars were locked and the nature of the Jewish population as a result of recent events made the community highly unorganized and therefore difficult to pick out. Holland was largely at the mercy of the Germans after their entire government fled before occupation, but this country also managed to interfere with deportation issues due to disagreements between Eichmann and Himmler as well as opposition by the population. Unfortunately, the public was divided on this issue and an equally strong faction worked diligently to uncover Jews in hiding and turn them in while native Jews worked against their refugee brethren under the mistaken belief that they would be safe as natural citizens. Denmark’s officials resigned their positions rather than take part in deportation efforts in that country, finding asylum in Sweden. “Italy and Bulgaria saved their Jews by playing “a complicated game of double-dealing and double-crossing … but they never contested the policy as such” (337). The Danes simply refused to make any distinction between Jews and non-Jews, native Jews or foreign Jews. The Danish resistance through measures such as refusing to work on German ships encouraged other nations’ resistance and began changing the mindset of German officials placed in Denmark.

What impressed me most about these stories was the way in which strong people in other countries worked to reduce the number of Jewish people that were killed in the concentration camps. Although it is deplorable that so many were killed, far many more were saved because these other countries were willing to take them in and protect them to various degrees. These kinds of stories are important for people to hear because they encourage others to resist evil thinking.

Works Cited

Arendt, Holly. “Deportations from Western Europe.”

More related papers Related Essay Examples
Cite This paper
You're welcome to use this sample in your assignment. Be sure to cite it correctly

Reference

IvyPanda. (2021, November 29). “Deportations From Western Europe” by Holly Arendt. https://ivypanda.com/essays/deportations-from-western-europe-by-holly-arendt/

Work Cited

"“Deportations From Western Europe” by Holly Arendt." IvyPanda, 29 Nov. 2021, ivypanda.com/essays/deportations-from-western-europe-by-holly-arendt/.

References

IvyPanda. (2021) '“Deportations From Western Europe” by Holly Arendt'. 29 November.

References

IvyPanda. 2021. "“Deportations From Western Europe” by Holly Arendt." November 29, 2021. https://ivypanda.com/essays/deportations-from-western-europe-by-holly-arendt/.

1. IvyPanda. "“Deportations From Western Europe” by Holly Arendt." November 29, 2021. https://ivypanda.com/essays/deportations-from-western-europe-by-holly-arendt/.


Bibliography


IvyPanda. "“Deportations From Western Europe” by Holly Arendt." November 29, 2021. https://ivypanda.com/essays/deportations-from-western-europe-by-holly-arendt/.

If, for any reason, you believe that this content should not be published on our website, please request its removal.
Updated:
This academic paper example has been carefully picked, checked and refined by our editorial team.
No AI was involved: only quilified experts contributed.
You are free to use it for the following purposes:
  • To find inspiration for your paper and overcome writer’s block
  • As a source of information (ensure proper referencing)
  • As a template for you assignment
Privacy Settings

IvyPanda uses cookies and similar technologies to enhance your experience, enabling functionalities such as:

  • Basic site functions
  • Ensuring secure, safe transactions
  • Secure account login
  • Remembering account, browser, and regional preferences
  • Remembering privacy and security settings
  • Analyzing site traffic and usage
  • Personalized search, content, and recommendations
  • Displaying relevant, targeted ads on and off IvyPanda

Please refer to IvyPanda's Cookies Policy and Privacy Policy for detailed information.

Required Cookies & Technologies
Always active

Certain technologies we use are essential for critical functions such as security and site integrity, account authentication, security and privacy preferences, internal site usage and maintenance data, and ensuring the site operates correctly for browsing and transactions.

Site Customization

Cookies and similar technologies are used to enhance your experience by:

  • Remembering general and regional preferences
  • Personalizing content, search, recommendations, and offers

Some functions, such as personalized recommendations, account preferences, or localization, may not work correctly without these technologies. For more details, please refer to IvyPanda's Cookies Policy.

Personalized Advertising

To enable personalized advertising (such as interest-based ads), we may share your data with our marketing and advertising partners using cookies and other technologies. These partners may have their own information collected about you. Turning off the personalized advertising setting won't stop you from seeing IvyPanda ads, but it may make the ads you see less relevant or more repetitive.

Personalized advertising may be considered a "sale" or "sharing" of the information under California and other state privacy laws, and you may have the right to opt out. Turning off personalized advertising allows you to exercise your right to opt out. Learn more in IvyPanda's Cookies Policy and Privacy Policy.

1 / 1