[caption id="attachment_3020" align="alignleft" width="289"]<a href="http://jeanatacc.com/2011/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/george_rodger_bergen-belsen_19451.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-3020" src="http://jeanatacc.com/2011/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/george_rodger_bergen-belsen_19451-289x300.jpg" alt="" width="289" height="300" /></a> A mass grave found at the liberation of Bergen-Belsen[/caption]

One of the most disturbing acts in the world’s history is the racial genocide against Jewish people in Europe during WWII.  The discriminatory policy and extermination of more than six million Jews, has been the most inhumane, barbaric, and uncivilized action taken by an individual.  Adolf Hitler is the most famous yet mentally sick and twisted individual I have known.  I have always been disturbed and amazed by the amount of power this tyrant held.   The Nazi’s set up a network of concentration camps and death camps to hold the communists, intellectuals, gypsies, and most of all Jews.  Some concentration camps worked people to death and some like Auschwitz killed more than one million people in gas chambers.  The gruesome scenes Allied forces came upon while liberating these camps words can’t describe.  George Rodger was first on the scene at the liberation of the camp Bergen-Belsen in 1945.  People in America and other places that were far away from Europe only heard about the tyranny of the Nazis.  George Rodger photographed the devastation and allowed the world to see the biggest racial genocide in our history.  The photos make any person feel uncomfortable and sick.  George Rodger’s photos of the liberation of Bergen-Belsen should be preserved because it shows the dangers of war, evidence to prevent genocide, marks the beginnings of photography, and to remember all who were brutally murdered. <!--more-->

The twentieth century has been the bloodiest century ever recorded by humans.  One way of recording things was by the camera.  Artists like George Rodgers, began producing photographs to show people what was occurring.  This century marks the beginning of mass communication between civilizations all around the world and the birth of photo journalism.  Photo journalism is the presentation of images to tell a story.  Fiero recalls, “Photography and film—media that appealed directly to the masses—became important wartime vehicles, functioning both as propaganda and as documentary evidence of brutality and despair.”  While World War II was at its height in Europe, the Americans were paralyzed by The Great Depression.  The stock market crash and over production of materials left the American economy in shambles.  Dorthea Lange documented the conditions with many photos like “The Migrant Mother.”  Lange shows the anguish and despair of a mother who sells her last possessions for food.  Americans were experiencing their own war with starvation and lack of jobs.  Not only photography but poetry was also a tool to show the dehumanizing and degrading effects of war.  Randall Jarrells “The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner” is about a WWII air force gunner’s fatal experience.  Jarrell showed a soldier becoming an instrument for the rampage of war across the world.  The war and the depression became reoccurring themes throughout this century.  Elie Wiesel won the Nobel Peace Prize with his novel “Night” in 1986.  It was his own autobiography of the terrors of Nazi Germany.  With technological advances such as the television and mass communication of this century, people were able to witness the cruelty of WWII and the despair of the Great Depression on many different levels.  Everyone became aware of the problems other people were experiencing.  They could see it in photo journalism, feel it in poetry, and hear it in a novel.

There are many photos that were taken at Bergen-Belsen and they most closely relate to Dorthea Lange’s “Migrant Mother.”  George Rodgers told the story of what happened at concentration camps and Dorthea Lange told what happened to the American People during the Great Depression.  One group of photos shows the effects of war and the genocide of people.  “Migrant Mother” shows the struggle of American people to feed their young.  Both photos hold weight and depth emotionally.  They both provoke the need for change in society and government.  The photos of Bergen-Belsen and “Migrant Mother” are a story of their own.  They mark the beginning of photo journalism and the no need for words.  A new style of art is created with the technologically advancing media.  The photo is taken on the camera and is quick and easy.  Painting and writing would of taken hours.  The photos of Bergen-Belsen are for much more mature audiences and contain violence.  “Migrant Mother” shows poverty and a mother’s will to save the younger generation.  Bergen-Belsen shows death and starvation of the victims of the holocaust.  The photos have the same element of form allowing the picture to tell the story.  They were both used to bring news to cultures and societies around the world about what was going on.  Both of the photos are equally important to represent major events in our world’s history.

The photographs at Bergen-Belsen are innovative and unusual for its time because it marked the beginning of photo journalism and were the first to show the devastation of the Nazi Germany concentration camps.  LIFE Magazine hired Rodgers as a WWII correspondent to bring news to the American people.  No one really thought it was that bad.  When the British liberated the camp they didn’t even have enough supplies for all the survivors on the brink of death.  The pictures of Bergen-Belsen are unique because the sheer devastation and brutality they depict.  They say a picture is worth a thousand words and the photo’s sum up the Holocaust and lack of effort by other governments to stop what was occurring.  You don’t overlook a picture of a pile of corpses.  You don’t overlook a picture of a person whose pelvis is protruding because of lack of nutrition.  These photographs make you stop and wonder, what happened? What can we do to stop this? That was the effect photo journalism had on people.  George Rodgers photos of Bergen-Belsen stand out specifically because you see the brutality the victims suffered in the hands of a tyrant at war.  These photos showed a very dark time and place in this world.  Photo journalism became important in anti-war Semitism, political propaganda, and showing reality that the government may not want people to see.

People were in awe when the photos reached newsstands.  America had entered WWII and along with the help of Allied powers, put a stop to the Nazi Regime.  Was it too late?  Did our hesitation to join the war cause the genocide to go on longer than it should?   Before the United States had entered the war the rumor of the Holocaust pushed the government to act.  People were upset and outraged that this was occurring.  The Bergen-Belsen photos put the attention on the inadequate American response to WWII.  It still raises great debate today.  Our history books and websites only offer a small portion of information into the Holocaust.  Hitler has been framed a tyrant and the Holocaust has been proven inhumane.  What about the response of the American government?  The only answer I can find is we feared war and were paralyzed by the Great Depression.  Most will agree that it wasn’t a good enough reason and debate will continue.

Writing about these photos has been hard.  I have found that respect for the people that died during the Holocaust has interfered with my ability to stay on task at writing about the photos specifically.  My reaction has been like the reaction of the American people when LIFE Magazine first produced the photos.  I am utterly disgusted and sad that this occurred.  George Rodgers said “When I discovered that I could look at the horror of Belsen – 4,000 dead and starving lying around- and think only of a nice photographic composition, I knew something had happened to me and I had to stop.”  I agree with Rodgers, and when I look at these photos and try to find meaning I feel guilty and angry.  These photos offer insight to the devastation of war and the effects of totalitarianism.  Unfortunately, we can learn from these photos and prevent things like this from ever happening again.  Governments can know when to intervene and what restrictive measures to take.  Lastly, I think it is extremely important to remember those that were killed during this time period.  It is important that we educate future generations to prevent genocide from reoccurring and producing an opinion that it is unacceptable.  These photos show victims of murder and what isn’t right with our history.  They mark an important time of civil rights and that all should be treated as equal.  These photos offer an extensive lesson on the effects of war.  Future generations need to be aware of the photos and the message they send.  It is important we prevent this from reoccurring and learn how to properly respond to war and tyranny.

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Works Cited

“American Response to the Holocaust.” 2012. <em>The History Channel website</em>. Nov 26 2012, 4:25 <a href="http://www.history.com/topics/american-response-to-the-holocaust">http://www.history.com/topics/american-response-to-the-holocaust</a>.

This is the history channel website which provides information on world history.  I used this source to find a general response to the Holocaust.  It was hard to find information on the specific response generated by the photographs at Bergen-Belsen so I used a general response to the holocaust.  I also used it for background and historical information.

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Bergen - Belsen." <em>Www.HolocaustResearchProject.org</em>. Holocaust Education and Archive Research Team, 2007. Web. 26 Nov. 2012. &lt;http://www.holocaustresearchproject.org/othercamps/bbelsen.html&gt;.

This website provides information on the Holocaust and different concentration camps. I used this source for background information about the concentration camp Bergen-Belsen. I received information about the camps occupants, what it was used for, and how many people were there.

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Clark, David. "George Rodger 1908-1995 - Iconic Photographer." <em>Amateur Photographer Magazine</em>. IPC Media Technology Network, n.d. Web. 26 Nov. 2012. &lt;http://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk/how-to/icons-of-photography/534652/george-rodger-1908-1995-iconic-photographer&gt;.

This is a photography magazine’s website that has a lot of information regarding photographers and the history of photography.  I used this source for background information about George Rodger. It provides information about his life including being the first to photograph Bergen-Belsen.

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Collins, Ross. "History of Photography and Photojournalism." <em>History of Photography and Photojournalism.</em> North Dakota State University, n.d. Web. 26 Nov. 2012. &lt;http://www.ndsu.edu/pubweb/~rcollins/242photojournalism/historyofphotography.html&gt;.

This website is for a photography class at North Dakota State University.  I used this resource for background and historical information on photojournalism.  It gave me information about the beginning of photojournalism, the way it was used to show news, and the way governments used it.

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Fiero, Gloria K. The Humanistic Tradition. Vol 2. Books 3-6. 6<sup>th</sup> ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2011. eBook. McGraw-Hill’s Connect. 2011. Web. Fall 2012.

This textbook provides information on the history of human culture, art, religion, and philosophy.  I used it for information about WWII and what was going on around the world during that time.  I also used it for information about “Migrant Mother.”

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"Genocide." <em>World War 2 on History</em>. History Channel, n.d. Web. 26 Nov. 2012. &lt;http://www.history.co.uk/explore-history/ww2/genocide.html&gt;.

This website is about history in general and a vast array of it.  I used this source for background information on genocide specifically.  It gave me information about policies against Jews, gypsies, intellectuals, and communists.  It also gave me information about concentration camps and death camps.

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