Role of Ordinary Germans in the Holocaust

Synopsis – Hitler’s Willing Executioners is a work that may change our understanding of the Holocaust and of Germany during the Nazi period. Daniel Goldhagen has revisited a question that history has come to treat as settled, and his researches have led him to the inescapable conclusion that none of the established answers holds true. Drawing on materials either unexplored or neglected by previous scholars, Goldhagen presents new evidence to show that many beliefs about the killers are fallacies. They were not primarily SS men or Nazi Party members, but perfectly ordinary Germans from all walks of life, men who brutalized and murdered Jews both willingly and zealously. “They acted as they did because of

The Holocaust took place during the late 1930s to the early 1940s, a time when many external and internal factors were affecting Germany and its people (Hill 1). Nevertheless Nazi leaders and common Germans killed almost two thirds of an estimated nine million Jewish people (Hill 2). One of the most puzzling questions about the Holocaust is why did common Germans take part? It is difficult to formulate an exact answer to the question because it deals with a whole nation, but many historians have hypothesized explanations related to the German’s unwilling and willing participation (Goldhagen 375).

made them live in “ghettos”, and brought them to concentration camps to work to their death (Introduction to The Holocaust). Nazi’s did not only kill Jews, they also killed people who did not behave correctly to their standards, homosexuals, people with disabilities, their political views, communist, socialist, and Jehovah’s witnesses (Introduction to The Holocaust). Millions of people died during The Holocaust and few escaped the wrath of the Nazi’s (Introduction to The Holocaust).

During the Holocaust, German citizens residing near concentration camps were fully aware of the atrocities being committed so close to their homes. Though they hopefully realized that the mass slaughter of innocent Jews was horrific and inhumane, no one stood up for the Jews’ violated human rights or made an effort to save Jewish lives. King Jr. writes that if he had “lived in Germany at the time, [he] would have aided and comforted [his] Jewish brothers” (King Jr. 1350). By not siding against the Nazis, German citizens essentially showed that they supported the Final Solution. Had they taken direct action, even by simply petitioning to the government or by voicing their disagreement, countless Jewish lives could have been

“The Holocaust also shows us a combination of events and attitudes can erode a society's democratic values.” In 1933,the three most influential people during the holocaust were Hitler, residents near the concentration camps,and the Nazi soldiers. The Holocaust is a very serious topic. The jews were sent to concentration camps while they did not know where they were going and how long till they will be there. These jews were being put to hard work and if they do not do it, they would get punished in major ways.

The Holocaust was a terrible event that started January 30, 1933 and ended May 8, 1945. It was twelve years of torture and suffering that the Jewish people went through. Many people help this awful event happen like bystanders, perpetrators, and people who was influenced by Nazi ideology. Our big question is How was the Holocaust humanly possible? How can we explain why ordinary people participated in the mass murder of millions of innocent men, women, and children?

History has taught you nothing if you think you can kill ideas. Tyrants have tried to do that often before, and the ideas have risen up in their might and destroyed them. You can burn my books and the books of the best minds in Europe, but the ideas in them have seeped through a million channels and will continue to quicken other minds." (Keller). Countless words written by intellectuals were put to flame on May 10th of 1933 by Nazi Germany. The purpose of this destruction was not driven by hatred of the paper or book jackets, but by the fear of citizens reading these books and thinking anything that didn’t perfectly conform to Nazi ideology. Attempting to make people agree with your politics by removing entire pieces of reality is a foolish

Due to the actions throughout the holocaust the Nazis need to be stopped. Starting in 1933 the holocaust is one of the most horrid scenes of WWII. The holocaust had killed six million people by the end of WWII. The Nazis had made the Jews suffer for over 10 years and had half them locked up in camps. The Nazis had kep them locked up for years with no water, no food, and no contact with anyone. They kept a strict watch on prisoners and didn't allow them to do anything. They threw people out of their houses kidnapped people fro mthe jobs all because if a religion they followed and because of a previous war, in which Hitler thought that the Jews were responsible for them losing the economic war during WWI. Due to the actions throughout the holocaust

The German people were somewhat responsible for the holocaust for a few reasons. A main reason to support this point is that the Germans showed acts of love and kindness towards the disgraceful leader and the Germans all supported in voting for Hitler to become their countries leader. Statistics show on the Election results in Germany from 1924 – 1933 the Nazi party started out with 6.5 percent of votes in May 1924 and dropped down to 2.6 percent votes in May the following year. In September 1930 the votes dramatically increased to 18.3 percent and continued to get higher each year. In 1933 the Nazi party had 43.9 percent of votes. This is a key example of how the German people contributed to the holocaust. On the election map from the years 1920 – 1933 every state is coloured in demonstrating a percentage of people who voted for Hitler. This shows that there wasn’t one state who didn’t support/ vote for Hitler, which explains how he gained so much power over the country. Photo evidence of Germans saluting and cheering on Hitler during his parades and speeches has been captured and is a primary source of evidence of the Germans encouraging Hitler and the Nazi party. Due to Hitler being the major influence of their time, people still to this day believe that the Germans played a small role in the growth of the

Having said that this reminded the Germans of Adolf, as the “big man” that was in charge. In their houses there were even photographs of children playing, showing that they dressed up as Nazi officers and pretending to build fake concentration camps and working against the Jews. This obviously shows that the German people were responsible because even the children were influenced and manipulated through pro-Nazi messages at home and at school. The German people were also responsible because they voted for Adolf Hitler and allowed him to gain power and tried to convince them to dislike the Jewish people. In January 1933, Hitler took over Germany, after all the other Candidates received less than 2% of votes each. Germany were very supportive of him, only about 30% percent of Germans were not as supportive of him being elected, but still did support him, so they did not face persecution or even execution at the hands of the Nazis. Nazi propaganda also convinced the people to vote for Hitler, most of it appeared to persuade them that the Jewish were their enemy as well. Hence many Germans began to dislike the Jewish, some however helped them to hide, and some even saved the Jewish people from being found. Therefore, the German people were responsible for the Holocaust to a small degree because the voted for Hitler and gave him

Nazi success is a topic that is often misunderstood or misinterpreted because of the way the Nazis are viewed in general. Most people know that the Nazis killed millions of Jewish men and women. The whole world then knew about the Nazi 's view on the final solution to the Jewish Question, which was the plan to carry out the extermination of Jews in Europe. The Nazis anti-semitic views are widely known, but their economic success is a topic lesser acknowledged or understood. Following the Great Depression, the German economy faced extreme poverty and unemployment and with it came the consequence of reduced living standards and hunger. On January 30, 1933, Adolph Hitler became Chancellor of Germany. While many people know this man as the murderer of millions of people, his knowledge of Germany 's economy and how to get Germany back on its’ feet was beyond impressive. Unfortunately, one of the main factors in the revival of Germany 's economy after the Great Depression involves forced labor. Forced labor allowed for the economy you go back to a stable position faster than ever possible before. The war effort that the Nazis had in total war effort what extremely beneficial to the economy. Just relied on foreign labor completely, but it worked, once you get forced to work in concentration camps or in other Nazi operated areas it 's almost impossible to survive or get out alive. It boosted the Nazi economy and allowed Hitler to end unemployment and in poverty in Germany by 1935.

Adolf Hitler came to power over Germany in January of 1933. He hated Jews and blamed them for everything bad that had ever happened to Germany. Hitler’s goal in life was to eliminate the Jewish population. With his rise to power in Germany, he would put into action his plan of elimination. This is not only why German Jews were the main target of the Holocaust, but why they were a large part of the years before, during, and after the Holocaust. Hitler’s “final solution” almost eliminated the Jewish population in Europe during World War II. At the end of the war and along with his suicide, the Jewish population would survive the horror known as the Holocaust and the Jews would eventually find their way back to their homeland of Israel

I was a hidden child. I hid in this woman’s house from ages three to five. I am very grateful to her, but I don’t know her name. I will never be able to thank her in any public way. How would you feel if you had to be hidden from danger? What will you do if you were found? Will you survive or perish? This is a true story about a German holocaust that survived, and is named Jeannine Burk.

The life of a middle class German, who was not Jewish, and supported the Nazi party lived an idyllic life. From the Powerpoint, to the BBC video, even the Oral History many of these people lived a happy life that was free from suffering. They believed Adolf Hitler was their savior for getting them out the Great Depression. For giving them jobs and food when needed the most. These Germans had a better life than a German whose views opposed the Nazi regime or those who were Jewish or of Jewish descent. The middle class German thriving at this time looked the other way and willed themselves to be blind to what Germany truly was.

In 1944 during the Holocaust a girl named Rose F. which see was 19 and her sister was 14.They were both taken into a camp Rose would also tell her sister “If you don’t eat,you will die.Later in the days they were both taken into different camps and separated apart from each other.As they would go to a gate and meet their Rose would always give her sister food they she would eat.Then the time that they had met each other the german soldiers might have seen Rose and her sister.So her sister ran back to the camp.Then the next day and day after her sister had never came back to her by the fence.That Rose had felt guilty because she thinks that it is her fault that the soldiers could have killed her sister. “i felt guilty for many years that maybe I should have run back and tried to get her with me or stay with her.” Maybe I didn’t do enough to stay together Many people argue that survivor’s guilt is needed to define the survivor’s guilt.Some people believe that survivor’s guilt is necessary.Others feel that survivor’s guilt is not.Survivor’s of life and death situations should feel survivor’s guilt.That survivor’s guilt is a deep sense of guilt, combined often with feelings of numbness and loss of interest in life, felt by those who have survived some catastrophe. It was first noticed among survivors of the Holocaust.