Adolf Hitler declared that the Jewish people are not really human beings. Instead they are a monstrous class of sub-humans, lower than the animals. Slowly, the Jews began to lose all of their civil rights. Jews now could be beaten up, abused, arrested, or even shot. If a Jew walked down the street and a Nazi Gestapo Officer approached... the Jew had certainly better cross the street because he could be shot for just looking at the Nazi, or be shot for not looking at him.

It was a common punishment for the Gestapo to stop Jewish men and women on

the street. Then each person would be given a tooth brush. Next on their hands and knees they would be forced to scrub down the street. They could also be forced to scrub and clean the public restrooms. Soon the Nazi began to confiscate all Jewish homes and businesses. Next the Jews, men, women, boys and girls were forced to move into the Ghettos. Most cities and towns of any size had Ghettos. Now Ghetto is just a fancy word for a skid row district. Tall barbed wire fences were erected at the entrances of the Ghettos. Every Jew needed a special pass to even temporarily leave a Ghetto. Any time day or night, the Gestapo would come into the Ghettos to choose their victims. With the point of a finger the fate of Jew after Jew was decided.

Many were herded into railroad box cars and sent directly to Nazi Death Camps. While others, who were young and healthy, were chosen to be slave laborers. And Henry Frank was chosen to work on a construction crew. It was hard work, from six in the morning until five in the afternoon. But when war started in September of 1939, he was put in a War Supply Factory. As food became scarce, they were especially affected by the shortages. On Food Ration Cards, a large "J" for JUDE was printed. So they received only one fourth the food that was allotted to Germans.

General Reinhard Heydrich, deputy head of the Gestapo, came up with a plan to cope with the Jews. It was called "The Final Solution," execute every Jew everywhere! In early 1943, he was appointed as "protector" (Military Governor) of conquered Czechoslovakia. General Heydrich was so ruthless in dealing with the Jews that the British decided to assassinate him. Two Czech resistance fighters were parachuted

in from England. He was ambushed in his car with a small bomb and severely wounded. Six days later, on June 4, 1943, the General died from his wounds. It is reported that he repented on his death bed for betraying his own people, the Jews. For it seems that General Reinhard, the Jew hater, was at least half

Jewish.

Unfortunately, the next Protector of Czechoslovakia was even more ruthless than General Heydrich. His name was General Karl Hermann Frank, another high ranking Gestapo Officer. He began to retaliate for the assassination of General Heydrich by rounding up thousands of Jews. He ordered the complete destruction of two Czech towns, Lidice and Levzaky. Men, women, boys, girls and even babies were murdered! The slaughter reached as far as Berlin. The Gestapo arrested 500 Jewish men, Henry Frank's father was one of them. Then his father and 151 others were lined up in front of a brick wall ... and Shot! To Henry Frank it was very ironic that his last name was Frank and the last name of the new Protector was also Frank. He couldn't help but wonder if they were related. The very next day Frank, his mother and four sisters were arrested by the Gestapo.

They were taken to the concentration camp in Theresienstadt, Czechoslovakia. This was a model camp to trick the outside world into believing that the Jews were not being mistreated. When the International Red Cross would come to inspect the camp, everything would change. They were given clean and pressed uniforms to wear. Clean sheets and pillows were also issued. Red Cross food boxes were placed on the tables but they didn't dare eat anything. The Gestapo even printed counterfeit money, so that they could be paid wages. But of course, after the Red Cross left, everything just vanished. One day a construction crew

was selected and Frank was one of them. They left  Theresienstadt and were taken to a place near Berlin. At this construction site they had to build houses for Gestapo officers.

They worked fifteen hours a day and it was hard work. While at night they had to sleep on a hard board. The guards were very harsh and beat them to make them work harder. One guard decided that Frank was not working hard enough, so he hit him with a steel pipe. The blow was so hard that it knocked most of his teeth out. Frank was promised that his family would be spared if he worked hard enough. His mother, four sisters and several small nieces were still at Theresienstadt, so he worked very hard. This construction job lasted for about a year. When the workers were sent back to the Camp, a shocking surprise awaited them. They had lied about their relatives safety so they would work harder and not try to escape. Frank's family was gone, they had been sent to the Nazi gas chambers! But one day a woman ran up to him and threw her arms around him. Oh Henry, she said, "it is so wonderful to see you again." Frank looked at her bewildered and wondered who she might be. "Don't you know me Henry? I am your sister, Inge," she cried. Frank didn't recognize the bald, skinny and hollow-eyed girl standing before him. But it was his sister, the only other member of his family to survive the Holocaust with him.

Now, Henry Frank was fortunate, for he came to the United States of America. He married Irene Frank, another Holocaust survivor, and they have two children and five grandchildren. But thousands of the Jews were not that lucky. With the war over, you would think that their troubles were over. As they began to return to their home towns, they were in for a rude surprise. Thousands of Jews no longer had a Home Town.  Adolf Hitler's henchmen had completely destroyed over Five Thousand Jewish towns and cities! So all those Jews had no place to return to. And none of the other countries around about wanted the Jews. They were refused entrance time and time again. They had survived the Holocaust of World War Two only to become DP's (Displaced Persons).

Thousands of Jews wound up back in the concentration camps they had lived in before. Only now they were called "Holding Camps." Most of the Jews wanted to go to Palestine and have their own nation again. But there were many obstacles in the way, too many to name in this one story. However, on May 14, 1948, the new Jewish nation of Israel was born. It was the first time in 1,878 years that the Jews had their own nation once again. The history of the Jewish people has indeed been a very bloody history. Did you ever wonder why? In the 27th  chapter of the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus is brought before the governor Pilate. He said, I am innocent of the blood of this just person: see you to it. Listen carefully to verse twenty five, Then answered all the (Jewish) people, and said, His blood be on us and on our children.
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