...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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...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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...Professor Ferguson English 30 July 12 Religion and War Since the dawn of time people have raged war. Many could argue that politics, power, or natural resources are the cause 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...
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...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 to have a plan set in place to effectively exterminate the Jewish population. As the Germans advanced on both fronts of the war, they began using mobile units known as SS Einsatzgruppen (action squads) to...
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...studying 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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...history and lessons of the Holocaust since over 5.7 million Jewish people had their lives taken away by a man who was intolerant of their religion. The largest numbers of victims of the Holocaust were Polish citizens. Adolf Hitler tried to destroy a nation by destroying families who were targeted because of their religion and culture. George Santayana said, “Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” (history: quoteland.com) This quote explains why the lessons and history of the Holocaust need to be passed on to student’s today and future generations of students. Students need to clearly understand why Hitler wanted to rid Europe of the Jewish people, what was done to them in the concentration camps, how the families were split apart, and how he tried to destroy the Jewish religion and culture. The Holocaust plays an important role in world history. The word genocide was developed after events in Europe, between 1933 and 1945, called for a legal concept to be used to describe the “deliberate destruction of a larger group.” Genocide became a crime punishable under international law. (Genocide:britannica.com) The United Nations had difficulty defining the term “war crime”, but after the events of World War II three categories against the law of nations became generally accepted as such. The first, “crimes against peace,” involves preparing for or initiating a war of aggression; the second, “war crimes,” includes murder, ill treatment, or deportation of...
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...Alexia Gonzalez Political Science 4823: The Holocaust/ the Shoah Final Paper December 12, 2013 The Comparative Analysis of the Holocaust Ethnic cleansing and genocide are considered to coexist in a spectrum of assaults on nations or religio-ethnic groups. These threats were more prominent during the 20th century which caused massive violations of human rights and jeopardized the overall security of humans. Determinants of ethnic cleansing and genocide root from socio-political factors influenced by deeply embedded ideologies which are manifested by political leaders of specific regime types. During World War II, German authorities targeted Jews and other minority groups like the gypsies and Pols due to their perceived racial inferiority. The German ideology in attempt to eradicate these auxiliary groups led to the conflict known as the Shoah. The Shoah is the biblical word meaning destruction and it is the standard Hebrew term for the murder of European Jewry. The Shoah was the systematic, bureaucratic and state sponsored persecution of six million Jews. Comparable to other ethnic based genocides, Germans believed they were racially superior and that Jews were inferior; and deemed a threat to the “German racial community” resulting in their mass murder. Various interpretations of the Shoah has given rise to similar attitudes and opinions regarding its historical events. The Holocaust Survivors and Victims Database, is one of the largest resources of its kind which includes...
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...Fall 2013 History 1801E Section 553 Instructor: Dr. J. Fang Sydnee Silverberg 10.23.13 After its defeat in World War I, Germany, a once frightening and intimidating force, was disgraced by the Versailles Treaty which lessened its prewar territory, drastically reduced it’s armed forces, demanded that Germany acknowledge its guilt for the war and forced it to pay reparations to the allied powers. Once the German Empire was destroyed, a new parliamentary government known as the Weimar Republic was formed. The German people suffered from economic instability, massive inflation and a very high unemployment rate which had worsened during the depression following the New York stock market crash in 1929. The Nazi party had made its mark and taken advantage of the political unrest in Germany, gaining an electoral foothold. The Holocaust, also know as the Shoah, was the heinous and despicable genocide of approximately six million Jews during World War II led by Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party between 1939 and 1945 throughout German occupied territory. Although there are a number of parallels between Mussolini and Adolf Hitler, their personal political views became known to the public at very different times; Hitler published his views well before he came in to power, where Mussolini waited until he was the dictator of France. Following World War I, Hitler struggled with his disbelief in Germany’s defeat and was consumed with extreme, revolutionary views regarding...
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...The Rising of a Racist Dictator-- Adolf Hitler The Rising of a Racist Dictator-- Adolf Hitler Ray Cai Period C Mrs. Chappell 5/9/13 Ray Cai Period C Mrs. Chappell 5/9/13 The Rising of a Racist Dictator-- Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler is the leader of the Nazi Party (Nazi is the abbreviation of the Germen word “Nationalsozialismus”) (Shirer Foreword). He improved Germany to a powerful country rapidly after the World War I. Also he is one of the main sponsors of the World War II. He used to lead the Germans to the peak of the power and conquest. His Nazi spirit leaded people to the top of the anti-semitism. With his Nazi Party, Hitler killed at least five million Jews, eight million Bohemians, more than two million Polacks and six million Soviet soldiers and citizens. He started the World War II and it made the death of about twenty million soldiers and twenty million women, children and seniors (Shirer Foreword). In recent study of Hitler and his holocaust against the Jews, he rose to power and spread his anti-semitism throughout Germany and Europe, with the establishment of the concentration camps and his doctrine of hate called “The Final Solution”. I found that the disaster for human beings was not only caused by Adolf Hitler, but was also caused by the everyday people in Germany. In some ways, his “success” represented the common aspiration of the German people at that time. The Treaty of Versailles attacked the finance of Germany and it...
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...Final Paper Genocide Wade Harris HIS306: Twentieth-Century Europe Instructor: Fara Driver November 2nd, 2015 If anything could be described as a scar on the face of the twentieth century genocide would be that scar. Genocide is not the invention of those in the twentieth century, but rather the epitome, the refinement of a horrific act that the twentieth century has perfected. An act that has popular support and the backing of governments, so how can people who live side by side peacefully with others for so long suddenly flip and be able to kill their neighbors? Genocide is a series of choices, choices made by leaders to begin the killings, choices made by people to participate, and the choice to see something wrong and having the power to stop it, but choose not to. Many have written that it is deep seeded hatred passed on from generation to generation that always sits in the back of the minds of those committing genocide, things that may or may not have happened. Other scholars write that it is cultural differences that are ignored until a leader or group uses them for their own gain. (Churchill, R. P. 2014) Whatever the reasons, it is always the minority on the losing end, the bully mentality of a few whirling up hatred for someone else until everyone is in a frenzy and the rhetoric seems real, the threat conjured up is real, and the only action to keep things safe and secure is to remove the problem by any means. This is how genocide starts. But...
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...Western Ideals and World War II Jahaun Abrams HIS/114 March 26, 2011 Robert Brown Western ideals and World War II Hundreds of philosophers and historians possess the concern of how the modern world has come into being. Many issues, from The Great War to World War II have effects society today. This paper will trace the rise of totalitarianism in Germany as well as other European countries between 1918 and 1939, and the contrast to political developments in Great Britain, France, and the United States. In this paper the subject to explain is the Holocaust in the context of World War II and Western ideals, including the roots of anti-Semitism and intolerance of those considered inferior in Germany, a comparison of anti-Semitic actions in Germany, also an explanation of The Final Solution. This paper concludes with a description of the aftermath of World War II. After World War 1, the German government was facing thousands of difficult problems as society search for someone to blame for the defeat in the First World War. Extremists from all sides sent threats to revolts. The extreme inflation causes Thousands of Germans to have any faith in the German government. Hitler gains control of the Nazi party in the 1920s, an organization, which is anti-Semitic. Hitler gains popular political credibility by placing the responsibility on the Jews for Germany's defeat in the First World War. Hitler also blames Jews for Germany’s economic problems. “What is less understood...
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...systematic genocide in world history that happened during World War II. About 11 million people were killed during the Holocaust, 6 million being the main target: Jews. Also, pretty much anyone who wasn't 100% German blood was also killed because they were perceived as "racial inferiority" so Polish people, Soviet prisoners of war, Blacks, Jehovah witness, the handicapped, homosexuals, etc. In 1933, there was about 9 million Jews, and 2 out of every 3 Jews were killed. Killing them was part of the "Final Solution", the plan to annihilate all Jewish people. In the 1930's Germany's conditions were not the best. The economic depression hit the country very hard, and lots of people became unemployed...
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...informing the public. Surprisingly, America as a nation, usually well informed and considerate of global issues and situations, left the Holocaust, the genocide of over six million Jews, Gypsies and handicapped across Germany and Poland, in the shadows of the concurrent war. Beginning in 1939, European countries engaged in a war that America clearly seemed unprepared to participate in. When America finally entered the war, the domestic concerns it faced at the time held precedence, even though it received news of the atrocities in Europe. The Holocaust, initially neglected as front-cover news, now holds a major concern and memory in American history. Since the start of World War II, strengthened and advanced reactions to the horrors of The Holocaust have ensued from simultaneously increasing publicity. As war broke out across Europe, Americans laid back, hoping to continue isolationist efforts. Still recovering from the Depression, newspaper companies held a large monopoly of the public information distribution (Holocaust). American citizens simply remained unaware that millions of people were suffering from discrimination and hatred. The New York Times, one of the most prominent publishing powers in America, held a delicate, complicated stance on the situation as news of the victimization and mass destruction of thousands of Jewish Europeans finally unraveled. Reporters accessed knowledge of the growing plight in Europe but faced doubts of how to relay the news to...
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...Forgiving But Not Forgetting Calling the Holocaust a crime against humanity may be more than fitting, but to say that it is unforgivable may be a slight stretch. Simon Weisenthal's, The Sunflower, discusses the author's experience in the concentration camps during the Nazi Germany era and how a dying S.S. officer, Karl Seidl, changed his perspective on the Nazis as a whole. Forgiveness is understanding the offender’s actions and leaving the past behind to make for a better future as it is the more humane thing to do; for instance, something that Simon had done when he met Karl’s mother, allowing her to think of her son as a peaceful young man. Understanding an action is a large step in the concept of forgiveness because recognizing the events that took place is what allows the brain to process the information and contemplate the reasoning behind the action. According to Sven Alkalaj, a responder to Simon, “without recognition of what happened, there can never be forgiveness” (103). A person can easily say they would never forgive an S.S. officer, that would be the initial response. However, if we were to think about why those soldiers did what they did, we may understand the desire to protect family, fit in, and avoid suspicion during a fascist regime. The Stanford Prison Experiment conducted By Philip Zimbardo, illustrates how under the right conditions and enough peer pressure, even the average college student can have a sadistic side to them. Although, the S.S....
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...people of Germany this legend had an all too real comparison to true events on its history. According to stories from survivors the voices of the dead can still be heard crying out for help. There are many authors who wrote books with great detail on the Holocaust, giving their perspective point of view on this tragic event. During the Holocaust it is said that over six million Jews suffered countless amounts of obscenity throughout the history of time. In the book Histories of the Holocaust by Dan Stone, the author describes the legendary of one man, the will to survive, the aftermath, and the ability of some people to still be compassionate to each other during a time of evil. Stone explains some of these agonizing conditions the Jewish people had to endure, even before the Holocaust on how their lives were miserable. Being forced out of their homes, the ones who were wealthy enough flee to...
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