The Holocaust is widely considered to be one of the darkest times in history- an abominable genocide with casualties measured in millions. With infamy comes inquiry, leading many to question and examine the exact motives behind the Nazi regime that killed masses. There are various factors to be considered when pinpointing the root causes of the Holocaust, among these being the historical and cultural hatred of Jews, the growing German unrest following WWI, and the Nazi Party’s ability to effectively utilize propaganda as to spread their doctrine. Despite this, anti-semitic ideas and propaganda spread before and during WWII were decidedly some of the most influential causes of the Holocaust.
Although the Holocaust is generally associated with its horrendous consequences and mounting death tolls, it actually “began with words and ideas: stereotypes, sinister cartoons, and the gradual spread of hate” ("Antisemitism in History"). These ideas existed long before the rise of Hitler, and throughout time and history, the Jewish people have served as a scapegoat for many of the world’s problems. Anti-semitic ideas can be traced all the way back to before the time of Christ, as Jews were reportedly persecuted in Egypt and other countries of the ancient world. Anti-semitic rhetoric was further circulated in the Classical Period during which Catholic leaders alleged that “Jews were responsible for the crucifixion of Christ” ("The Jews as Scapegoats"). Jews were thought to be satanic and followers of the Antichrist. This concept was continually developed throughout the centuries to follow, and “theological anti-semitism reached its height in the Middle Ages” ("Antisemitism in History"), when Jews were accused of various atrocities such as committing blood libel and causing the Black Plague.
Following the end of WWI, anti-semitism took a new turn as the modern ages of warfare, propaganda, and politics began. World War One's Treaty of Versailles entailed strict regulations on Germany, launching them into economic, social, and political turmoil. Angered, humiliated, and frustrated, the German people were desperate for a scapegoat. Combining these emotions with their pre-existing prejudices and beliefs in myths against the
“Was German ‘Eliminationist Anti-Semitism” Responsible for the Holocaust?” is a fascinating and somewhat discouraging debate that explores the question of whether German anti-Semitism, instilled within citizens outside of the Nazi Party, played a vast role in the extermination of Jews during the Holocaust . Daniel Jonah Goldhagen, author of “The Paradigm Challenged,” believes that it did; and argues quite convincingly that ordinary German citizens were duplicitous either by their actions or inactions due to the deep-seeded nature of anti-Semitic sentiment in the country. On the other hand, Christopher R. Browning, who has extensively researched the Holocaust, argues that the arguments of Goldhagen leaves out significant dynamics which were prevalent throughout most of Western and Eastern Europe during this period of history.
Horror struck on January 30, 1933, when Germany assigned Adolf Hitler as their chancellor. Once Hitler had finally reached power he set out to complete one goal, create a Greater Germany free from the Jews (“The reasons for the Holocaust,” 2009). This tragedy is known today as, “The Holocaust,” that explains the terrors of our histories past. The face of the Holocaust, master of death, and leader of Germany; Adolf Hitler the most deceitful, powerful, well spoken, and intelligent person that acted as the key to this mass murder. According to a research study at the University of South Florida, nearly eleven million people were targeted and killed. This disaster is a genocide that was meant to ethnically cleanse Germany of the Jews. Although Jewish people were the main target they were not the only ones targeted; gypsies, African Americans, homosexuals, socialists, political enemies, communists, and the mentally disabled were killed (Simpson, 2012, p. 113). The word to describe this hatred for Jewish people is known as antisemitism. It was brought about when German philosophers denounced that “Jewish spirit is alien to Germandom” (“Antisemitism”) which states that a Jew is non-German. Many people notice the horrible things the Germans did, but most don’t truly understand why the Holocaust occurred. To truly understand the Holocaust, you must first know the Nazis motivations. Their motivations fell into two categories including cultural explanations that focused on ideology and
After WW2, there was a thing called the holocaust. There were many concentration camps all over Germany where many Jews were killed in different ways. It happened between WW1 and WW2, 1933-1945. My position on why this happened is that Germany was going through a rough time, so Hitler wanted their country to resemble power. Read on to learn more about the causes and ways the Holocaust could have been avoided.
At the end of WWI in 1918, Germany’s economy was in ruins. There were very few jobs, and bitterness began to take over the country. According to the text, “Hitler, a rising politician, offered Germany a scapegoat: Jewish people. Hitler said that Jewish people were to blame for Germany’s problems. He believed that Jews did not deserve to live.” (7) This was the birth of Antisemitism--prejudice against Jewish people. Europe’s Jewish people have always been persecuted due to their “different customs and beliefs that many viewed with suspicion.”(7) Hitler simply reignited the flames, and a violent hatred was born.
Antisemitism, the hatred for the Jewish people, has been called the longest hatred in history. This history is deep rooted and has existed for thousands of years, taking different forms throughout its existence, and intensifying up until and through the Holocaust, to then diminish to an extent but still be prevalent in most societies. Antisemitism exists in different forms, religious, ethnic, and political. The presence of Christianity as the predominant religion in Europe can be noted as a driving factor in religious and ethnic antisemitism, as can the Holocaust. Whereas instances such as the Islamic view on Judaism can be
The Holocaust was one of the most despicable acts of crime committed in history. It was the slaughtering of six million Jews along with other minority groups. Anti-semitism was on the rise in Germany due to one man, Adolf Hitler. The Nazi leader is known to be one of the most infamous dictators that were able to rise to power. Leading Germany, Hitler improved the economy, started World War II with the idea of Lebensraum, and exterminated Jews due to youth anti-semitic influences.
It is extremely evident that Jews were the main target for dire judgmental opinions, but there was one man who had a passion for Germany; he believed he was the ‘saviour’ of Germany, this man served in the first world war, and it was then, near the end of the war, recovering from a war wound, when Germany was weak and crumbling, he made a vow to himself, that he would be the one, to make Germany strong, he was: Adolf Hitler.
German anti-Semitism played the main role in Holocaust and extermination of Jewish population in Europe during World War 2. There are different views on this subject among historians. Some support the fact that German society was anti-Semitic and ordinary
What causes conflict? Well, conflict is caused when there is a disagreement or miscommunication. The Holocaust was a huge and bloody disagreement that led to World War II and was a horrific event that took place in the 1930-1940’s. A man that we’ve probably all heard of, named Adolf Hitler, came into power and participated in the slaughter of nearly 6 million jews, 250,000 disabled, and 196,000-220,000 Gypsies (according to the National Holocaust Memorial Museum website). These deaths were all over the European continent that were under German rule. My position on the main cause for the Holocaust was that the end of World War I left Germany in poverty. With the government in corruption, the people were desperate for change, so they allowed Hitler into power with the belief that others could control him if he did something bad. This obviously wasn’t true.
It’s about the jews and how and what happened to them after the Holocaust. The Holocaust was the time where about six million jews and one million other people dying. Most people were killed because they belonged to different races and religions. The Nazis wanted to kill people that weren’t from their same religious group. The Nazis also killed people who disrespected Hitler. Hitler was the leader of the Nazi party.
During World War II, the Jews were the primary victims of Germany’s most atrocious act, the Holocaust, where thousands of Jews were senselessly slaughtered in the name of Nazism. Countless innocent Jews perished in concentration camps, while the majority of the Nazis watched and did nothing. To them, the Jews were not human beings, but rather mere animals, who deserved concentration camps. This reasoning baffled the Allied countries, as they understood that regardless of race and religion, no one should be subjected to concentration camps. Yet, the Nazis completely disregarded and violated the basic rights of humankind. The Nazis successfully propagated this anti-Semitic mentality because ordinary Germans were consumed by their ignorance
There were many groups of people, other than the Jews, that were victims of persecution and murdered by the Nazis. The groups affected by the Holocaust were the Jews, Gypsies, Poles and other Slavs, political dissidents and dissenting clergy, people with physical or mental disabilities, Jehovah’s witnesses, and homosexuals. According to A Teacher’s Guide to the Holocaust, There is evidence as early as 1919 that Hitler had a strong hatred of Jews. As Chancellor and later Reichsfuhrer, Hitler translated these intense feelings into a series of policies and statutes which progressively eroded the rights of German Jews from 1933-1939 (“Victims”).
During World War II, the Nazis persecuted and executed over six million Jews and placed them in concentration and death camps such as Auschwitz, Sobibor, and Treblinka. This event, named the Holocaust, is the worst known case of genocide in human history. Even though the Holocaust ended quite some time ago, the question “how could the Holocaust have happened?” still lingers in the minds of many. To answer this question, you must determine possible motives behind why this would happen. Another way to answer this question is to utilize different sources to help form some explanation as to how it was allowed to continue for so long. The purpose of this essay is to provide and explain some possible motives as to why the Holocaust happened while
Many religious conflicts are built from bigotry; however, only few will forever have an imprint on the world’s history. While some may leave a smear on the world’s past, some – like the homicide of Semitic people – may leave a scar. The Holocaust, closely tied to World War II, was a devastating and systematic persecution of millions of Jews by the Nazi regime and allies. Hitler, an anti-Semitic leader of the Nazis, believed that the Jewish race made the Aryan race impure. The Nazis did all in their power to annihilate the followers of Judaism, while the Jews attempted to rebel, rioted against the government, and united as one. Furthermore, the genocide had many social science factors that caused the opposition between the Jews and Nazis.
Known as one of the most horrific events in history, World War II (WW2) caused tremendous adversity and suffering amongst the lives of people across the globe. However, what is most concerning about the war, was what happened behind closed doors, specifically within Germany. The Holocaust is still considered one the worst ethnic cleansing attacks in the world. Although there is an endless amount of research and hard evidence of the Holocaust occurring, certain groups of individuals strongly reject it. Known as “Holocaust Denial”, this conspiracy theory has always been personally intriguing due to several reasons and will be analyzed more thoroughly.