Although the Jews of Ashkenaz and the Holocaust have many similarities and connections, the circumstances that led to their deaths were very different. The Jews of Ashkenaz were ambushed by the Christians after living in their land for twelve years. Since the Jews had not prepared for the attack, while the Christians were marching towards the Jews, parents panicked and sacrificed their own children because they did not want to see them get beaten up by the Christians. In the Holocaust, the exact opposite happened. Instead of killing their own children, parents did their best to hide them from the Nazis. Under no circumstances were they going to hand their children over to the Nazi guards, the gas chambers, or the train leading to other concentration