In March, 1944, the Nazi Government decides that the Jewish population in Hungary needs to be annihilated. The family practices the faith and live virtuous lives. Like many Jewish-Hungarian girls, Livia lives in a close family of prosperous merchants. Livia Bitton-Jackson tells the grueling story of her survival during the Holocaust in her autobiography, “I Have Lived a Thousand Years: Growing Up in the Holocaust.” One country was Hungary and every Jewish person in the land was targeted for extinction. This scapegoating gave targets of ridicule and hatred to a frightened country: now there was someone to blame for all their problems.Īs the Nazis overran nearby countries, they imposed their hatreds on the newly-conquered nations.
In the 1930’s, Hitler blamed Germany’s problems on the Jews, Gypsies and other groups. After that, the goat was driven into the desert and a likely death. One of the first reactions that happens is that some group is “scapegoated”: in ancient Israel, a goat was brought into camp and all the sins of the people were put upon the animal. When times become extremely troubled, simplistic answers are frequently sought. “I Have Lived a Thousand Years: Growing Up in the Holocaust,” by Livia Bitton-Jackson
