Human Geography and the Holocaust: A Model of Medical Geography
Morgan State University
Felicia Grizzle
SOCS 101

Abstract:

Geography is best described as the field of science dedicated to the study of the lands, the features, the inhabitants, and the phenomena of the Earth. Medical Geography is the study of the geographic distribution of disease (including epidemics and pandemics), illness, death and health care. This study uses Medical Geography and Geography in general to make sense of the Holocaust. I argue that the theory of Medical Geography shows the different ways Jews were used as experimental tools, and the significance to their locations.

Geography and the Holocaust: A Model of Medical Geography

The Holocaust was one of the most significant events in world history. The Holocaust was a genocide in which over 5 million Jews were killed by the Nazi regime. The Nazi party transported Jews to concentration camps where they worked them to their death, or just killed. These victims were starved to death, tortured, experimented one, and dehumanized. The Germans believed that most of their problems were because of the Jews, and felt it only necessary to kill them off. They wanted to get rid of the Jews in order to have a better Germany. Medical Geography is described as the study of the geographic distribution of disease (including epidemics and pandemics), illness, death and health care. This is an area of medical research that incorporates geographic techniques into the study of heath around the world and the spread of diseases. This form of Geography also studies the impact of climate and location on a certain individual’s heath. In the book Maus by Art Spiegelman, Art is the son of a Holocaust survivor, Vladek. Vladek tells the story of his survival of the Holocaust to his son. Throughout the book Vladek explains to his son the hardship of being a Jew during this time. Vladek and his wife were often times put in situations were their health was at risk. For example Vladek came across a lady that was willing to hide him and his wife Anja. This hiding place happens to be in the cellar of her house. In this cellar, they had to sleep with rats and other bugs. They knew they had to make these sacrifices just to stay alive. The Germans on the other hand inflicted physical, emotional, and mental pain on to the Jews during the Holocaust. One of the major concentration camps was in Aushchwiz. The Jews that were deported to these concentration camps were forced to live in horrible conditions. Elie Wiesel, a Holocaust survivor speaks about his time in Aushchwiz. He explains that it was so cold one night that he could not feel his right leg and it began to swell. He could not even walk on it so he went to see one of the Jew doctors in the camp. The Jewish doctor at that point told him that either his toes or whole leg would have to be amputated. The Germans did not clothe their prisoners enough and most of them died from diseases and cold weather. Besides the fact that the Germans were not feeding and clothing the Jews enough, they were also experimenting on them a lot. They told the Jews that they would be going into certain chambers to shower but instead were gassed to death. The concentration camps were also so tight and packed with so many Jews that eventually they were getting sick from being dirty and spreading germs around. The Jews medical personal were banned from working in the public heath system and could not help other Jews. The female Jews were also subjected to brutal prosecution that was unique to their gender. For instance pregnant Jews were subjected to working long hours in factories on their feet. Also their children were subjected to working these long hours. Both women and children were more likely to die under these harsh working conditions. Pregnant women were also forced to have abortions against their will. In Warsaw