k place resulting in nearly all Jews fleeing from Russia (Calendar of Jewish Persecution). However, possibly the most dramatic event of Jewish persecution history began in 1933. Adolf Hitler, ruler of Germany, placed all Jews in ghettos and later had them all moved to labor camps. After a short time in the labor camps, the Jews would be killed and replaced by more Jews. These massacres, now referred to as the Holocaust, occurred until 1944, when Adolf Hitler committed suicide. "Gradually I began to hate them. For me this was the time of the greatest spiritual upheaval I have ever gone through. I have ceased to be a weak-kneed cosmopolitan and have become an anti-Semite" (Adolf Hitler). Over six million Jews were killed during the Holocaust, making it not only the most dramatic event of Jewish persecution, but also one of the world's largest tragedies. A recent article in The Salt Lake Tribune named the Holocaust one of the worst tragedies in the past 1,000 years. Among the other tragedies are the Black Death from 1346-1350, which killed 25 million Europeans; The Spanish Flu outbreak in 1918, which killed over 20 million people worldwide; and from 1981-1997, over 30.8 million people worldwide were infected with the HIV/AIDS virus. (Can Humanity Outlive Next Millenium?). It is also notable that the Holocaust is the only one of these tragedies that was 100% preventable. Some say anti-Semitism is increasing again in the 90's, but it actually occurs less than ever (European Anti-Semitism). Anti-Semitism and all prejudice in general have declined greatly in the past 50 years. Blacks and other minorities have received equal rights in America. Women have earned the right to vote and do numerous other things. But despite the changes, there will always be some types of prejudices. Hate groups that consist of white people who hate all other races still exist, even though they are usually very small. There are even some Blacks, Hispanics, and Asi...
