What were the effects of the Holocaust?

Well, it depended on who you were and where you were. A Jew just released from a camp tried to contact friends and family members that were taken to other camps. They and others tried to publish books on the Holocaust to prevent it from happening again and giving us a constant reminder. Some of the texts were too gruesome or sad to print at the time so they kept trying. Some never found any survivors of their families, but heard what had happened to them (gunned down, escaped then re-captured and killed by dogs, burned in the incinerator/gas chambers, etc.). If you were a Nazi or guard and were arrested by the US you were tried in court. Some are still waiting to be found and tried. Other German Nazis that were captured as POWs during the war were also put on trial.

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Very few of the guilty were put on trial.

• Europe lost nearly two-thirds of its Jews (about 6 million out of a pre-war total of about 9.4 million).
• Large areas of Eastern Europe had previously had flourishing Jewish communities - Warsaw, Lodz, Lviv (Lemberg), Vilnius, Riga, Czernowitz, Minsk, Kiev, Odessa - to name some of the bigger and best known. All these centres had gone, for ever. A simple example: in 1939, just before the start of World War 2, Lodz had a Jewish population of about 215,000. After the Holocaust about 800 Jews were left in Lodz. A small trickle of further survivors found their way back in the following months. This may help people understand something of the scale of human devastation caused, and why this is called the Holocaust.
• There were also the pre-Nazi Jewish communities of Central Europe - Berlin, Prague, Vienna, Budapest - to name only the best known and biggest.
• There was increased determination among Jews in the then British Mandate of Palestine and among Holocaust survivors to establish Israel. However, they had to fight for the creation of Israel. It was not some consolation given by the guilt-ridden victors.
• On an individual level, survivors needed help to regain their health. Many of course needed longer term help, too.

First answer by Joncey. Last edit by Joncey. Contributor trust: 3107 [recommend contributor]. Question popularity: 12 [recommend question]