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Crimes against Humanity

By: Julie Bauer

You must speak out against crimes against humanity.

Otherwise, those pupils that narrow fear

Will become yours.

Those quiet, overflowing tears

Will become yours.

Those hoarse screams of protest

Will become yours.

The bright stains of blood, marring the ground

Will have been spilled from you.

You must speak out against crimes against humanity.

Are we to stand down and cower?

By: Kamryn Mercer

Are we to stand down and cower,

When someone abusively steps up to power?

Are we quiet,

When we should really be starting a riot?

We should have saved their innocence,

But all we did was look away in ignorance.

But after when they come to take away you,

All you can think of is, “what did I do?”

Sad

By: Braden Heisler

This poem was sad.

It made me mad.

What they did was bad.

They took away all they had.

That was sad.

I bet they were mad.

I never want to be that bad.

Innocent

By: Blake Johnston

They were innocent.

Why couldn’t they be stopped?

Who stood up for them?

These people,

Just shouldn’t have died

What if it were you?

Would you feel deprived?

Pain

By: Tanner Worthing

Rips at my heart,

The pain they suffered.

Advice to remember,

Don’t wait till it’s too late.

Anger at what was done.

Sympathy for those who suffered.

Guilt if I’ve turn my head before.

Sadness.

Mourn.

Pain.

It scares me

By: Shayla Branstetter

It scares me

Watching people struggle with no hope

Knowing people won’t help

We only can cope with evil

No one does anything to change the bad

For we all stand and watch

Even though we’re mad.

The rest of people ae in need

By: Hannah Hornberger

Whenever the rest of people are in need,

It is our duty to help.

Whenever we see people being attacked,
it is our duty to help.

Whenever we see people dying in the streets,

It is our duty to help.

But when you don’t help and no one is left,

It’s no one’s duty to save you.

The System Had Failed

By: Christina Hollen

The system had failed the land,

Along with its people,

The land then turned dark,

And the inhabitants even darker,

Plagued with ignorance and cruelty.

Cruelty became the poison,

And ignorance it’s cure.

And the people allowed it.

Object to Things

By: Mikayla Mason

Object to things if they are wrong

If not, everyone will be gone

Put other before yourself

Treat other the way you want to be treated

Would you be content knowing that someone died because of you?

You could be the one who isn’t being too

This decision is very hard

But you never know what you would do until you’re in that situation

When they came for you

By: Jake Miller

When they came for you,

There wasn’t a thing you could do.

When they came for me,

Nazis were all I could see.

When they came for us,

There wasn’t a person we could trust.

But when they came for our brothers,

That- is when we must speak for the others.

Speak up

By: Eric Morder

Speak up when you see wrong

Speak up for one another

Care about people

All we have is each other

Speak up now

Dot sit and wait

Speak up now before it’s too late

Government

By: Robert VanKrik

When a government becomes oppressive

It is important to stand up for those afflicted

Because if they come after you

You would want help, too

Do not look back and ask

What you could have done

Instead stand up for what you believe

Only then will you achieve.

All these bodies

By: Sarafina Milburn

All these bodies make me sore

To think of their crying roars

The man in black who caused it all, didn’t care to see them fall.

Down in the grave which them, themselves have made.

To this day we show remorse to this horrific source

Nobody was left to object

By: Hanna Matley

Nobody was left to object,

It was like we were a neglect.

They came first for the Communists.

Then they came for the Socialists.

Since we are a threat,

We are the ones to get a beat.

We never get to eat.

I don’t know what we did to deserve this.

If you wanted to survive

By: Emmy Shawley

If you wanted to survive,

Keep your mouth shut.

If you wanted to help.

You didn’t know how to help.

If you wanted to forget,

Well you can’t forget.

But at the end of all of this,

You’re still the one to die.

You Didn’t Care

By: Ian McFarland

You didn’t care,

Until it was you,

You didn’t help any Jew,

You didn’t speak out,

You thought you could wait,

Before you spoke out,

It was too late.

No one said a word

By: Alexis Parson

No one said a word

The treatment of these people was absurd

They suffered through their days

Wondering when someone would say

Just something to let them know

They were trying to help, but no

There was only silence.

You Stayed Hiding

By: Dustin Miller

When we went to die

You stayed to hide

While we got gassed

You didn’t even gasp

We went to camps

And you worried about your cramps

As we cried

You didn’t even try

To save us from dying

You just stayed there hiding.

Nobody Seemed to Care

By: Tristan Claypole

Germany had taken a very tough defeat at war,

And it left their whole country tore,

When Hitler was their leader he made a very bad call,

Say the Jews were the reason for this all,

The Irony of it all was too much to bare,

The worst part is that nobody seemed to care.

What the Nazi did back then.

By: Shane Thomas

There were things back then that’s been done in the war that ended in 1945.

What the Nazi’s did back then it just wasn’t right.

Some people back then said it was alright.

But it wasn’t alright because there were millions that died.

Back then both sides had a fierce cavalry.

And back then neither sides showed any pity.

I don’t see why there was no harmony.

IO wish back then we could all experience tranquility.

Labels will always be labels

By: Beau Potter

Labels will always be labels

Fables will always be fables

But what’s right is right

And what’s wrong is wrong

But to see right I’m at a loss of sight

And as long as it’s not me I’m worry free

But what’s right right

And what’s wrong is wrong

But to stand up and say something

While fables are being placed with labels

Is to do wrong all along

People Watch

By: Ceci

People watch other being torn from their homes

Bravery is a word the watcher no longer know

They felt temptation to try and step in

But soon felt fear slowly sink in

They looked for ways to make it seem less real

To make it seem like there is no pain to feel

They hoped they didn’t need help if they ask

Until it was them who was last

Lights Out

By: Danielle Coakley

Watching as they walk away,

Knowing I didn’t get them to stay.

Wondering who will help me tonight,

Knowing I didn’t help or fight.

Looking up as they say my name,

Not standing up really was lame.

Now I’m feeling some shame,

Knowing I played the same game.

My heart breaks for those who wanted out,

And now without a doubt, it’s time for my light to be put out.

Smell

By: Braden Nelson

The cold wind blows the smell of gunpowder away, it hits me in the face like a punch to the face.

I’ve lost it all, my family, my job, my freedom, I’ve lost my life.

As I see my friends die one by one I lose my sense of sanity, knowing I’m holding a ticket to heaven.

The cold wind blows one last time.

The smell, of death has finally came.

Auschwitz

By: Nick Watters

Auschwitz, a terrible place, a place where those Nazi bastards had their way with people. I gripped my gun tighter as we came to the black gates, here we go, I burst through the gate securing the perimeter but no Nazi scum in sight, we all step back and looked to see the dread they caused. People crying, people starving, people dead. May god help these people?

I’ve already lost enough.

By: Chris Huff

I’ve already lost enough. At this point I have nothing to lose.

You’re not doing yourself a favor you’re doing me a favor,

I’M THE VICTIM!

When it’s all said and done, karma still lives on,

So how long do you think it will take for you to feel the pain that you already caused?

That’s if you’re not dead by then.

Sinned

By: Emily Pielmeier

Oh the ditches are so deep

And the memories we will keep

For I had done nothing but survived

And watched the communist walk off to die

And as I watched them walk

I wondered if I should talk,

But I never did.

All I did was watch them get taken away.

I stand here

By: Joshua Stevens

I stand here and think

How can a one man let?

So many people die

He tries to let the

Days go by to

Stay alive but at

The end he’s gonna be

The last one and he’s gonna

Be the next one to die.

THE WAIT

By: Kaylob Tatsch

As we walk into the pits

Kids and women throw their fits

I can’t stop imagining the fire that may start at my wrists

I looked a Nazi in the face and just wanted to spit

We wanted to escape but there was no way for us to split

As the fences surround us

Through the gates comes another bus

You’re not here for labor, they’re liars, whatever you do don’t trust

I just stood there!!

By: Sierra Strunk

Why did I just stand there and watch

These wonderful people were getting killed

And I just stood there

People were getting treated badly

And I just stood there

Why do I feel so guilty?

Maybe because I don’t want to be next

But I just stood there and watch people die

And now I feel guilty?

Fear

By: Kermit P. Foor IV

There is just one word,

That keeps you from helping,

Fighting for what is right.

One word.

That makes you say

“Not me, I can’t do it”

Run away

Just,

One word,

FEAR!

History

By: Pamela Campbell

I fear this warning

Will not be heeded

Hate won once

And death succeeded

And shook the world

But still; all around the world

Hate remains

And fate stains

To repeat history.

I will try

To heed it, though;

I will love

Even if my fate

Is death

I will love before it’s too late.

For the Weak

By: Alyssa Kolbfleisch

I didn’t speak

For then I was very weak

But now it’s my turn

And there is no one else to show concern

People were wondering when I’d next get paid

Now I feel for those who suffered

But I deserve this for being a coward

On A Perch

By: Bryce Hornberger

On a perch you sit;

While they spit, hit, and kick.

Your Neighbors,

Your loved ones,

Your family, your friends.

All the while you sit on your perch of self-hate;

Waiting watching, hating, loathing, counting;

Till they come for you.

You say you didn’t Object

By: Jared Zitterbart

You say you didn’t object,

Until you were the subject.

In a matter of crisis,

You became bias.

No one stood for you,

For you wouldn’t stand for a Jew.

When they came for you on that day,

Did you already know your fate?

Silence

By: Emily Fosselman

Silence, in substitute of gunshots I hear silence.

When you look away I don’t see you I see violence.

Violence and cruelty to the ones like me who don’t have a voice and don’t have the will.

So you just stand there still.

Silence, they say its’s violent but I don’t see it at all

All I see is a coward, someone who has no power.

Nothing Done

By: Danielle Peters

It was you all along

You stood up on stage

Standing talking to a crowd

Showing no emotion

Others felt pain, discomfort

They had dreams, and hopes

But others gave up because of you

You are the one

That cause no hope

The motor roars to life.

I hear the truck coming.

The truck stops here.

I look outside the soldiers get out.

I hear the soldiers coming up the stairs.

Here they are standing right in front of me.

The take the Jews that are right next to me.

They sped away never to be seen again.

But I didn’t speak up.

Wait another motor roars to life.

Here they come.

This time for me.

I ask for help.

Nobody will speak for me.

This is where the truck stops.

By: Aaron Bowman

We laughed, we played, and we were loved

We were nothing more than children

Ripped from the arms of our parents

We were going to be teachers, doctors, mothers and fathers

We had hopes, and we had dreams

We were taken in the silence of the night

And like cattle herded together with no air to breathe

Separated from humanity, to be no more

Remember us, for we were the children

Whose hopes, dreams, and lives, were stolen away

By: Briana Sisto

You are a small cog of the Nazi regime

But without cogs, you destroy the machine

The machine of suffering and perishing and death

Responsible of atrocities like racism and theft

Theft of unalienable basic human rights

To build a godless empire of unreachable heights

An entire country of cowards led by fools

That create a Reich that use cogs like you as tools.

By: Collin Younker

Watching as they walk away,

Knowing I didn’t get them to stay.

Wondering who will help me tonight,

Knowing I didn’t help or fight.

Looking up as they say my name,

Not standing up really was lame.

No I’m feeling some shame,

Knowing I played the same game.

My heart breaks for those who wanted out,

And now without doubt, it’s time for my light to be put out.

By: Danielle Coakley

Innocent people died each day

Yet no one had a word to say

What they were doing was not okay

Yet people were silent, day after day.

Were the cries for help not heard?

Did anybody say a word?

The treatment they got was truly violent

But other people just remained silent.

By: Grant Beeler

“No one left,” is that all you have to say?

People perished, people died,

People helped, people tried!

You just stood there, nothing to say,

Nothing to help, nothing to prevent,

Nothing to do, it was all content.

Until it was you, but nobody was there to say,

“You could’ve helped, you could’ve tried,

But you just perished, and you just died.”

I didn’t know that one word could cause so much damage.

Just one word, one feeling, one emotion, could leave a huge mark on human history.

One man, I dint know that one man could control the deaths of so many innocent people.

One man, who was powerful for all the wrong reasons and dint even care.

The one thing that controlled that one man was that one word…hatred

By: Kayla Beichler

You heard the people screaming and begging

But you ignored their sounds

You saw the children crying as they witnessed so much death

But you turned the other cheek

You felt them reach for your help

But you didn’t offer a hand

You smelled the fumes of the gas chamber

But you just closed the open window

You could taste the salt of your tears

But you did nothing

By: Lydia Eamigh

It is important to fight for others,

Not only for your sisters and brothers.

But for everyone you call neighbor,

Help out and pick up their labor.

Stand up for the, when persecuted,

Make sure they won’t be executed.

Martin Niemoller clearly messed up,

But unlike him, you can stand up.

By: Max DeArmitt

Sounds of silence.

Have you heard the sound of silence?

No man has till he walks on a nameless grave.

With no words to words to say, nor any to think

They just sit and wonder, why.

Not just what happened,

But why it was a thought.

Not any kind of dream,

Nor any superstition.

But why someone would do such evil

Or why they let have this way.

That ghoulish feeling that is around

No way to be ignore.

This feeling is fear,

And no matter how hard you try

There’s no way to save

Those millions who died

By: Nick Antonelle

He murdered so many

By: Thor Schmittle

He murdered so many

The blood is still warm

The pain is still plenty

The hearts are still torn

No it wasn’t right

For all the Jews

Who hope to live through

The Night

Heartless

By: Alexis Rossman

I’m just a young girl

So often I’m told.

Yet older than many

Who were slain in the cold.

Innocent children starving and weak

Without blame or guilt.

Soon to face the ovens

That evil men built.

What heartless men could kill with such hate?

A people like us, they sent to their fate.

With love in our hearts, we all must strive

To never forget those who lost their lives.

Saying it was a good place

By: Caleb Mayes

They were telling us about a place, saying it was a good place,

Loaded in train cars like cattle, cold, dark, amid smelly.

We got to this place, it wasn’t a good place,

Screams and shouts, yelling and crying, booms and bangs.

Soldiers lining us up in rows, giving us different clothes.

We all stank, we needed showers, we were hungry, and we needed food,

They won’t give us any good.

They took our group to this larger building, with some soft music playing.

They told us we were going to get a shower,

In we went to our delight.

Hundreds of people waiting, but wait.

The ceiling is opening,

In came crystals called Zyklon B,

We were jumping, crying, trying to escape.

Slowly dying, goodbye world, eventually, we will get our revenge

The German Soldiers

By: Deric Sharer

When I heard the names all I heard was the breathing,

The footstep, and cries. I stood there with the fear for all Jews and Christian’s

I knew by then we were already dead.

I stood there for what felt years

Until I was left standing alone with the German soldiers

I thought they protected us

Now they slaughter us like livestock

When people came you didn’t help

By: Bryce Graham

When people came you didn’t help.

You didn’t stand by them.

Everyone thought that you were like them.

But as people got taken.

You didn’t care.

You just watched.

Then it came to you.

And you looked around and no one was there for you.

As you hit the ground.

People Burn

By: Dom Harpster

People burn

People were screaming “Help us please!”

There going up in flames

But it is too late to get help

It was the saddest thing ever

It was the last thing they said

The end

There was Fear

By: Noah Boslet

There was fear

There was anger

As it grew longer

I grew scared

There were screams

There was torture

They left scars

As the closed

The big metal bars

Watching them run

By: Kaitlyn Knisely

Watching them run

Knowing there is no way out

No way to help

No way to stop what is happening

Knowing nothing is going to change

What’s about to happen you cry

But do they care, No!

You see all the people watching you

Do they care, No!

You stand there wandering with a few seconds left

Does anyone care?

Singled Out

By: Saidi Sanchez

There were people being singled out

While you remained passive

There were people, voice to hoarse to shout

While you remained passive

There were people who were being mislead

While you remained passive

There were people, legs too weak to tread

While you remained passive

There were people stripped of their lives

While you remained passive

But as I critique your mistakes

I realize I’m staring at my own reflection

A passive soul

Who make no corrections?

Einsatzgruppen

By: Trevor Sholly

Body after body after body

They dropped like rain

Thousands of droplets that fall from the sky

A lot of good people that shouldn’t have died

Thousands of bodies

The awful smell

Thousands of soldiers

This felt like hell

Gunshots go off and I knew I was the end

As they called my group next

I had to say goodbye to my friends

Why

By: Carlee Gathagan

Why didn’t you help?

Why didn’t you try?

Why did you think you should just let me die?

Out of everyone here

Your life was the last one to fear

You thought it’d be cool to just disappear

You were so scared

You didn’t know what to do

Until they called your number and said

You’re next Hew

That’s when you knew your time was done

I never thought I’d see someone die so young

Guilty

By: Morgan Stoy

So many have died, do you feel guilty?

People show emotions, but never did.

All the people you tortured, the people you’ve killed?

But never has a tear run down your guilty cheek.

What pleasure does that bring you?

Have you no soul!

Response to the “Martin Niemoller” Poem

By: Dionna Pearce

The Communists first.

And you turn a blind eye.

Followed by the Socialists.

Still you turn your back.

You’re not one of the two.

Why should you say a thing?

Next go the labor leaders.

But you’re okay.

For you are you, not them.

So go ahead.

Keep your back turned.

And don’t say a word.

You don’t live by the faith of the Jews.

So when it’s their turn.

You remain silent.

But now, take a guess.

Go ahead.

A guess on who’s next.

You.

They have come back.

And you are the only one left.

How’s it feel to be lead off.

Like a cow to a slaughterhouse.

Not knowing

And no one, not one speaking out.

Since your back was turned.

It was easy for them that way.

The Wind is the Cries

By: Emily Mclntire

The wind is the cries,

Of those who lost their lives.

Now all we can do is rise.

Speak up, and help another.

Don’t let each other kill one another.

We need to protect one another.

No more hiding; or crying

No more innocents dying.

I’m sorry, I cannot help you

By: Tyler Frye

I’m sorry, I cannot help you, I cannot hide you nor can I, or will I, protect you. And I am sorry for that. But if I help you, then they will come for me, my family, and maybe even my business. And if they come for me, I will have no one to run to. Go run! Maybe I cannot assist you, but maybe someone else will. It’s nothing personal. It’s that I will not be able to resist them, for I cannot resist fear.

One Man Takes the Lead

By: Olivia Stetter

One man takes the lead

While millions take a plead

While you were just livin life

Other were paying the price

A price where they have no say

But where were you anyway

Not here not there

But when it’s you, you expect

people to care

We were the Only Children Left

By: Bailey Kudlawiec

We were the only children left

For there was no one here

Our families gone and taken away

They told us hide

We’ve been here for days starving, cold, lonely, and scared

There’s noise outside, loud banging and now coming up the steps

They’re here now

They found us and now taken away

There’s no one left