It is hard to imagine that, along with others, 6 million Jews were targeted and killed during the Holocaust. It is astonishing to realize how racist and cruel the Nazis were towards the Jews. According to A Teacher's Guide to the Holocaust, once Hitler had control of the German government he “translated his harsh feelings toward Jews into many policies and statutes that eroded the rights of German Jews from 1933 to 1939” (“Victims”). Racist anti-Jewish legislation passed the Nuremberg Laws in September 1935. These laws gave an extremely thorough Nazi definition of who was Jewish. Many people who did not consider themselves Jewish were now seen as targets of Nazi discrimination. Jews are not seen as a race and Jews are a religious and cultural group. Indeed, Jewish traditions became urbanized in Europe as early as 2,000 years before the Second World War. Eastern and Western European Jews formed a way of life based on spiritual practice, education, language (primarily Yiddish), arts, and music. It was a complete ethnicity that the Nazis tried to make disappear. The Jewish genocide, rarely mentioned but also known as Judeocide, began in early 1942. The Nazis singled out Jews for genocide for a couple of reasons. It is quite obvious that Hitler and the Nazi Party had different views and beliefs than any other group. Hitler saw historical events as a racial struggle. He had blamed the German defeat in the First World War as well as other economic difficulties on the Jews. Furthermore, they thought that Aryans (Germans) were superior to bastards (Jews) and non-Jews. According to the Houston Holocaust Museum, the “Nazis viewed the Jews as a race whose goal was world domination, and by mid-card, the Jews wanted world domination and did not all share the same religious and cultural beliefs. I believe that the German people granted Hitler much more authority than they considered necessary. Furthermore, much more could have been done to help Jews and other groups affected during the Holocaust. Works Cited Grobman, Gary M. "Who Are the Jews?" The Holocaust: A guide for teachers. Np, nd Web. May 18, 2014. “The Holocaust: An Introductory History.” An introductory history of the Holocaust. Np, nd Web. May 18, 2014."Frequently Asked Questions about the Holocaust." Frequently Asked Questions about the Holocaust. Source: Simon Wiesenthal Center, n.d. Web. May 18, 2014.Nadler, Rabbi Avraham M. “Was the Holocaust Only Against the Jews?” Aish.com. Np, 26 February 2011. Web. 18 May 2014. "A guide for teachers about victims of the Holocaust." A guide for teachers about victims of the Holocaust. Np, nd Web. May 18 2014.