...World War II: Hitler’s Jewish Genocide It is regarded as the most widespread and deadliest conflict in human history, killing more than 50 million people. World War II was the largest armed conflict in history, spanning the entire world, and involving more countries than any other war. The war has been generally believed to start on September 1, 1939 and lasting until September 2, 1945. Historians are still arguing about the exact cause of World War II, however the common belief of fault resides on the implementation of Adolf Hitler. Hitler was possessed by a passionate set of ideals to expand Germany, and with his election as German chancellor in January 1933, marked the start of an accelerating progression towards world war. Under the dominion of Hitlers ambitions, Germany invaded western Poland as a result of the intransigence between both countries. World War II ravaged civilians more severely than any previous conflict, and served as the justification for genocidal killings by Nazi Germany, under the order of Hitler. To fully understand how Hitler attained the support of a nation to agree with his ideology, one must know the conditions before the wake of World War II, and how Hitler instilled influential ideas of national pride. In this essay, I intend on showing why it is important to understand a certain aspect of World War II. I will first focus on establishing the importance of knowing what events led Germany into the circumstances it was in prior to...
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...Imagine being brainwashed into agreement for a mass genocide. Though it may sound ludicrous, this was a reality for many Germans during the Holocaust. However, not all Germans supported Hitler’s quest to annihilate the Jews; some Germans opposed it or remained neutral towards it. The reasons for why Germans supported Hitler’s quest to annihilate the Jews was split between the distress of Germany that had been created by an economic crisis, threats that were carried out by the Nazi regime, and propaganda that was used to persuade Germans. Firstly, many Germans supported Hitler because during the Great Depression, which hit the citizens of Germany harshly, Germans were in need of a political savior. Therefore, they looked to Hitler and saw him as a determined leader who could save the nation (“Great Depression”). Furthermore, the Nazi Party threatened those who dared to oppose them. Some members of individual Nazi Party units were granted license to punish whomever they felt was against them, and perceived opponents were thrown in concentration camps (“Nazi Terror Begins”). In addition to pressuring the Germans with fear,...
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...the Holocaust must know the factual background before some of the more technical studies can be understood. As well as general works we have included books of specialized interest concerning the matters about which we at The Holocaust History Project are most frequently asked. Many of these books deal with more than one subject, but in the interest of brevity we have not cited a book more than once. General history of the Holocaust The Holocaust was not just an event. It was a process that continued for over a decade and involved millions of people. No single book could cover every aspect of the Holocaust. Those listed below will give the reader a general idea of the historical realities of the Holocaust. Lucy Dawidowicz, The War Against the Jews, Holt, Rinehart and Winston, New York (1975) Martin Gilbert,...
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...current Government. This presented the NSDAP an opportunity to present a policy that would benefit Germany. The regime offered opportunities to the population with security across the community and a direction of supremacy for their race. Policies of the Nazis did not include involving the broader population in the more brutal and violent parts of their rule, thus the people’s communities were forged through genocide. Hitler was obsessed with having a pure racial community in Germany and an extension of land for Germany eventuating in world domination and he pursued these objectives with ruthlessness and inhuman brutality. Progressive radicalization was inevitable due to the chaotic anti-Semitism beliefs and competitive nature of an elite ruler and a few devout followers. The propaganda campaigns are what paved the way to anti-Semitism becoming a way of life throughout Germany responsible for desensitizing people to human compassion and portrayed the Jewish people as evil sub-species who needed to be eradicated in order to achieve a pure race fit for the Utopian society Adolf Hitler had envisioned and promised. The Beer Hall Putsch of 1923 is an event that continues to resurface in the numerous literatures I came...
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...Anti-Semitism is defined as a racial term meaning the negative belief and emotions about “Jews qua Jews” (Newman, 2010, p. 15). Anti-Semitism dates back to 70.C.E where the ancient rebellious Hebrews “exhausted the patience of their Roman masters”, lost their homes and were spread through the Mediterranean lands (Botwinick, 2014, p. 4). Jews were always outcasts to Christians because the Jews denied that Jesus was the “messianic son of God” which therefore added more tension when it was believed that Jews killed Jesus (Botwinick, 2014, p. 5). The Holocaust also known as the “Catastrophe, the Sho’ah, is one of the tragic periods of “Jewish Diaspora” (Keter Books, 1974, p. 1) It started between 1933 and 1945 in Europe. It first started with discrimination...
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...Fall Term Essay 1 Mariam Khan 4792982 Political Science 1F90 TA: Ayisha Ali There are many political ideologies in today’s world, and with everyone’s individual views, who can actually say whether one is more right than the other (Gellner, 1-7). Nationalism has been an extremely ancient ideology dating back to primitive people and tribalism (Snyder 1990, 241-249). This concept then manifested itself during Athenian times aiding in the development of the great empires and progressed into England and then jolt started the French revolution (Snyder 1990, 241-249). All these eras of nationalism conjoined political, economical, religious, and ethnic factors to unite peoples and nations (Gellner, 1-7). Nationalism can also be considered an ideology of debate because of its vague definition and complexity. Many people can state nationalism is the appreciation of their country or nation; others can define it as the need for independency (Gellner, 1-7). Both these routes can have negative and positive characteristics and outcomes. The positives are very straight forward, the love of one’s country and bond between citizens can be dubbed vital to the prosperity of a nation or country. What happens when this love of one’s country and the bond between its citizens crosses ethnic and human boundaries? This can be defined as ethnic nationalism, which allows ethnicity to become main component in being a nationalist (Snyder 1990, 241-249). This paper will define nationalism...
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...The Holocaust was a destruction on a mass scale, which was caused by a nuclear war. The Holocaust was also known as the Shoah. This was a genocide and Adolf Hitler’s Nazi Germany killed six million Jews. Two ways in which the Holocaust could be attributed to economic causes would be through the great depression and exploitation. Listing the Great Depression as an economic cause, due to the mass killings and war. Many Jews were out of jobs once the war came to an end. Diseases spread throughout cities, which was another cause of deaths. There weren’t many white recruiters, Therefore the higher power had to recruit blacks, which caused some confrontation. Exploitation was an economic cause, due to Hitler’s plan to exploit Jews of Poland along...
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...charismatic leader. They found that in Adolf Hitler. Hitler joined the German Work Party in 1919. The party embraced right-wing ideology which suited Hitler’s views. Adolf Hitler was a captivating speaker and he encouraged national pride, militarism and commitment to the Volk (people) and a racially “pure” Germany. Hitler changed the name of the party to the National Socialist German Worker’s Party, shortened to the Nazi Party. He hated the Jews and promoted anti-Semitism. There are many stories as to why Hitler hated the Jews, but it is commonly thought that it was because many Jews were merchants and financially successful, when many workers struggled during the depressed economic state of Germany. He had actually developed his dislike for Jews long before he became a soldier. Hitler was appointed chancellor in 1933 and since he had the support of approximately 400,000 Nazis, he was able to overthrow the democratic government and on March 23, 1933 became the dictator of Germany. As dictator, he could then turn his attention to the driving force which had propelled him into politics in the first place, his hatred of the Jews, Gypsies, homosexuals and his idea of a racially “pure” Germany. This paper will examine Adolf Hitler’s rise to power and how the greatest persecution in the world began when Hitler became dictator and would not end until years later in the greatest tragedy in all of human history, the Holocaust. Adolf Hitler was born in Austria in 1889 to a...
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...Germany suffering and in economic hardship. In 1934 Adolf Hitler came to power in Germany and offered the individuals of Germany hope for the future. Adolf Hitler...
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...Nazi Propaganda: Selling Social Policy How was Hitler able to use social policy and propaganda to manifest support for the National Socialist Party Hitler’s radical antisemitism? by James C HIST2** Professor: Judith S****** The name Adolf Hitler, will be forever synonymous with one of the most oppressive and destructive eras in human history. Often regarded as the worst anthropological disaster in history, World War 2 was responsible for the deaths of millions of soldiers and civilians alike who. This would mark “...the first [war] in which civilian populations became systematic, strategic targets.” (Merriman page1049) Driven by his intolerance or perhaps hatred, towards the Jewish people Hitler was able to turn a largely personal vendetta against Jews, into an issue of public policy, and ultimately one of the largest genocides ever documented[1]. How did one mans ideas, Hitler’s anti-semitism, evolve from the hurtful words of Mein Kampf to anti-Jewish laws in Nazi Germany and ultimately the biggest recorded savagery in the History of mankind? Although the blood of over 6million Jews stains his hands, Hitler was not alone in his actions; he required support. This essay examines various theories regarding the conception of Hitler’s antisemitic values and asks how Hitler was able to use social policy and propaganda to manifest support for his would be genocidal Nazi regime. Central to comprehending policy decisions made by Hitler, is an understanding of his...
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...“You could not do this and you could not do that. They forced Father out of his business. We had to wear yellow stars. I had to turn in my bike. I couldn’t go to a Dutch school anymore, ...” Anne writes in her diary. Her words tell of being stripped of basic human rights and freedoms. In the play, The Diary of Anne Frank, written by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett, the Frank family was subject to involuntary hate and discrimination from his dominance. The debt and chaos after WWI in Germany started the horrific event of the Holocaust. The historical events reflected in the play show Hitler’s actions affect Anne and her family through persecution and dehumanization. The historical timeline, “Frank Family and WWII Timeline”, states the major...
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...Cory Arentsen History 1000024 Professor Hackner 16 April 2015 The Holocaust The Holocaust is possibly the biggest monstrosity that has ever been committed by man. The one specific man, Adolf Hitler, was the main contributor to this horrid time. Hitler was a festooned veteran of World War I and also a German politician, a chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and the leader of Nazi Germany from 1934 to 1945. By the end of World War II, which ended in 1945, the Nazis had thrashed millions of Jews, Slavs, Gypsies, homosexuals, and communists. The primary targets of Hitler’s motives were the Jews. Of the nine millions of Jews who lived in Europe before the Holocaust, approximately 6 million were killed. For years, European Jews were prosecuted and seen as a problem by most of Europe. Anti-Semitism was extremely popular in Europe and during the rise of the Nazis, the new laws that were put in place to discriminate against the Jews were highly tolerated. All of this combined with Hitler’s radical nature set the stage for the slaughter of the Jewish people. Legal discrimination against the Jewish people began immediately after the Nazis took power in 1933. However, the mass slaughtering of all the European Jewish people were widely kept a secret until after the war. These highly topped secret death camps were first coordinated and discussed at the Wannsee Conference held in Berlin. This conference was between all of the highest ranking Nazi officials and its purpose was...
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...World War II in 1942 and 1943 Adolf Hitler and his faithful “true believers”; the Nazi party’s, idea of complete totalitarianism was in full effect during the years of 1942 and 1943. As Doris Bergen discussed in her book War and Genocide, World War II is usually not defined as the war itself, but the annihilation of the people Nazis considered their enemies above all the Jewish people. However without the military conquest of the Hitler and his Nazi party, which gave them the ability to reach the 95 percent of the Jews outside of Germany, was handed to them on a plate through their victories in war (172). These years of relentlessness killing however would eventually lead directly to the downfall of Adolf Hitler, his Nazi Party and bring about the end of World War II. Hitler’s inability to focus more on the war itself than the “Jewish problem” led him to lose control of Europe, through the battle of Stalingrad and his production of killing in the new killing centers. Prior to 1942 it seemed the defeat of the ever-powerful Germany was impossible, in 1944 though it seemed it was inevitable as the Allies and the Red Army pressured Germany from all sides. Before the German lose of World War II, The Nazi party was literally a killing machine. The special murder squads in 1941 that would first make people dig their own graves in which they would be shot into was now too traumatizing and insufficient for the Nazi armies (156). In response to this their most important advancement...
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...of war. But many people miss the underlying factor: Religion. Throughout history religion has been the prominent cause of wars. Religion has many conflicts in the history of the world. In ancient times civilizations believed that if they won a war it was because the gods favored them. The wars may have been over land or power but it was believed that it was their religion that won their victory. The bible says, "Some rely on chariots, others on horses, but we on the name of the Lord our God. They collapse and fall, But we stand strong and firm. Lord, grant victory to the king; Answer when we call upon you"(Psalm 20: 8-10). The key test is to see who wins. If God is really on your side, then you will win. One might face enormous odds against them, but this doesn't mean anything when God stands on one side. One of the major examples where religion caused war would be the Crusades. The Crusades were fought in the 11th century. The Crusades were a series of Holy Wars between Christian and Muslims, which was centered around the city of Jerusalem. In 1065 the Turks took Jerusalem and massacred 3,000 Christians starting a chain of events, which lead to the start of the Crusades. However, some researchers say that the massacre of the 3000 Christians which caused the crusades to begin and not because of differing religious beliefs. The Crusades were fought for two hundred years. No one knows how many people died during the nine Crusades. This is one of histories bloodiest battles...
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...In the years between WWI and WWII, Adolf Hitler rose to power in Germany, a country recently devastated by the loss of the first world war. At the end of WWI all the countries involved in the war meet in Versailles to discuss the terms of peace. The peace treaty, known as the Treaty of Versailles, placed harsh punishments on Germany. Germany was forced to pay for the cost of the war, and accept full blame for the war. Also, in order to weaken Germany, territory was taken from Germany and given to other countries, or used to create new countries. These terms of peace left Germany impoverished and its people angry. Hitler’s inevitable rise to power was a direct result of the reparations, war guilt, and loss of territory demanded by the Treaty...
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