The Nazi Observatory

Throughout Europe, similar horrific tales of slaughter and abuse began to surface as Adolf Hitler became more successful and aggressive in his quest to create a purely Aryan nation. “Another, considerably more violent phase of anti-Jewish activity took place in 1938 and 1939; it was initiated on November 9-10, 1938, the infamous Kristallnacht, or night of shattered glass.” Passports were still being issued for Jews to travel to Palestine; however, many elders refused to leave. The task of starting over in a foreign land proved to be overwhelming, and no one believed these conditions would intensify nor continue.

There are many world leaders in different countries and regions on earth who play a significant role in societies. Their role is significant because they have derived their power from their own birthright or from the people who have elected them. The rise of Dictator Adolf Hitler to supreme power in Nazi Germany would prove to be an event in history that was totally inexplicable in any terms. He was an adventurer who desired to conquer the German people and dominate the entire world, reshaping it accordingly to his desires and pleasures. The evidence of his pestiferous acrimony is all around us, making it quite difficult to believe he did it all on his own. Hitler is one who emerges from obscurity to shake the world from its foundations. Hitler’s journey and significant role can be seen through his early life, time in Nazi Germany, and death.

When it comes to issues that arise that can potentially destroy life as we know it, issues like mass genocide, terrorism, and abuse of power, indifference will lead to the ultimate demise our most simple human characteristic, humility. Denoted as the lack of difference or distinction between two or more things, indifference is the worst response. Not only are you empowering the oppressor and giving them the green light by not checking their actions but you are saying to the oppressed, “Your cries of pain are not heard.” Holocaust Survivor, Elie Wiesel graced an audience with his April 12, 1999 White House Millennium Lecture entitled, “The Perils of Indifference.” Many people hide behind the vail of the bystander effect theory, which is commonly

In the world during the time of the Holocaust, there was indifference towards the suffering of millions of Jews. When individuals reflect about the Holocaust, the majority of the time the responsibility of the terrible events is placed upon the perpetrators. However, bystanders and witnesses indirectly affected the victims of the Holocaust as well. The silence of these people played one of the largest roles in the Holocaust, they influenced it by avoiding any type of involvement and by becoming blinded towards the suffering of others. In his Academy Award acceptance speech, Elie Wiesel says, “the opposite of love is not hate, it’s indifference”. This exert from his speech reveals the importance of the role that bystanders played in the

After Germany lost World War I, it was in a national state of humiliation. Their economy was in the drain, and they had their hands full paying for the reparations from the war. Then a man named Adolf Hitler rose to the position of Chancellor and realized his potential to inspire people to follow. Hitler promised the people of Germany a new age; an age of prosperity with the country back as a superpower in Europe. Hitler had a vision, and this vision was that not only the country be dominant in a political sense, but that his ‘perfect race’, the ‘Aryans,’ would be dominant in a cultural sense. His steps to achieving his goal came in the form of the Holocaust. The most well known victims of the Holocaust were of course, the Jews.

The infamous Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel once said, “Being a neutral bystander helps those who are evil; that remaining silent encourages even more evil to happen.” Wiesel was part of the millions of Jews and protesters who Nazis shipped off to numerous concentration camps during the Holocaust. The apprehended and inaccurately claimed convicts had to go through many terrors to survive. Wiesel was one of the few Jews who survived the time Hitler ruled. I agree with Wiesel’s significant quote for many various reasons. To begin, I agree with Wiesel’s statement because victims that could have helped others during the Holocaust ignored that there were evil actions occurring around them during the time Hitler ruled. The victims also ignored

Nobel Peace Prize recipient, Elie Wiesel in his straightforward speech, “The Perils of Indifference,” asserts that the inhumanity of indifference is still relevant today and can have negative effects on humanity unless society acts to abolish indifference. He develops his message through highlighting his experience in the holocaust as well as the multitude of tragedies that had occurred that century and how indifference can be handled; he states “Society was composed of three simple categories: the killer, the victim, and the bystander.”(par 14) which shows how his experience and society today is categorized. He addresses how people in concentration camps were ignored and how the world can learn from this tragic, inhumane event. Wiesel’s

In Elie Wiesel's speech “Perils of Indifference” Elie explains life in war and life of a victim outside of the US. He paints a gut-wrenching picture of almost reaching freedom and almost giving up. Life for Jews was difficult at this time, the point of Elie's speech was to call out people of the world for not picking a side in time of peril. Elie says “In the place, I come from, society was composed of three simple categories: the Killers, The victims, and the bystanders.”(Wiesel, 1999) People just stood by as family and friends were murdered. Not just in Germany, but in Europe and here in the USA. We all saw their pain and yet did nothing. The point of Elie's speech is to show that our doing nothing only aids the other side. (Wiesel, 1999)

A quote from Albert Einstein states “the world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who watch them without doing anything”. As difficult as it is to describe the terrible deeds of those who were part of the Holocaust, it is true that those who did nothing are at fault just as much as those who carried out the actions. When one thinks of the Holocaust today it is difficult to picture that such events were done by human beings. Societies have advanced but it is important to acknowledge the reason as to why many bystanders refused to help or why they were so indifferent to the pain felt by the Jews. “The psychological mechanisms used to come to terms with the suffering of another appear to be very similar, whether the person is standing right before us or is 2,000 miles away. (Barnet:118) Barnett explains that ideological and moral principles also come into play, as do self-interest and the weighing of the possible consequences of our actions. We try to establish what is or is not possible. In the end, our decision will be determined not so much by whether we actually have the power to change a situation, but whether we have the will to do so. (Barnett, 118). In the case of many of the individuals who chose to become bystanders rather than change the situation they were not willing to get involved. Although not every German was a bystander, those who

Throughout history, the world has seen many horrible acts committed against its people, but of all these acts none are as horrendous as the Holocaust. This event led to the prosecution and execution of millions of people just because those from the Nazi Regime felt they were superior. The Nazis invaded Poland because of this assumed superiority over the Jewish population, and since Nazis thought that the Jews were beneath them they sent them to concentration camps to be worked like animals and to die. The entire world saw this as inhumane, but unlike the Polish and German Jews, the entire world did not experience this great atrocity first hand.

The year is 1943, you’re walking in the streets of Nazi Germany. The streets are covered in anti-semitic propaganda. While walking you see a Jewish family with the Star of David on their chests, they look like they would be going into hiding. You want to speak up and help them, you really do, but can you? You have a family, you have friends, you have your own life. You want to help them, but can you risk it? In the documentary, Witness to the Holocaust, Miles Lehrman, a Holocaust survivor, says “A perpetrator is not the most dangerous enemy. The most dangerous part is the bystander because neutrality always helps the killer.” While this quote is viable it does not acknowledge that speaking up in such difficult and dangerous situations is far

Cognitive categorization, varying worldviews and self-image are important subjects that have gained unprecedented momentum in the contemporary study of holocaust. Scholars have increasingly demonstrated devotion into the understanding of the constellation that existed among the Nazis, Church, German professionals, and above all, the non-Jews communities. Most of the academic studies have focused their attention on the psychology of the perpetrator, herein referred to as the Nazis. They have analyzed what drove the Nazi regime to annihilate the Jews community. However, significant gaps still need to be filled with regard to the role played by on-lookers or bystanders in enhancing the holocaust. It was not only a case of the neighbour turning the perpetrator of senseless murder, but one in which the neighbour refused to open the door for fellow neighbours in times of need. This treatise explores the psychology of the bystander with regard to how non-Jews communities, institutions such as the church, and nations reacted to the holocaust.

As much as you all love to hate Hitler, you can’t deny the fact that he did a hell of a good job in restoring Germany before he decided massive genocide was a good idea. I feel like I’m the only one that can really talk about what he ACTUALLY did, because I’ve been learned not to judge a book by it’s cover. I also think I have a better insight into this because I’m not blinded by raging hate. So, here’s my take on pre world war two. Hitler hated seeing his people rot from the inside out after the First World War. He was a man who cared about society, a man who cared about culture, who cared about nature, about moral values and about building and improving as opposed to destroying and degrading. He was a man who had fought for his country. And

The most important thing that can be learned from the Holocaust is that having indifferences can and will lead problems and civil disputes. This can be applied to certain places in the world today where there are still incidents of ethnic cleansing today. I’ve always believed that “Those who kept silent yesterday will remain silent tomorrow” (Wiesel, Night), after all that's what happened to me. But if we find the courage to stop being shy, stop keeping to ourselves, and stop being silent, we could change the world through losing our indifferences. But then again sometimes having indifferences keeps us alive.

After World War I, Germans harbored resentment towards the world. They were angry that power had been taken away from them and now they were limited as to how much they could do. Adolf Hitler uses the public’s feelings to his advantage and is able to gain power this way. Throughout his reign he produced many powerful speeches that were able to attract the masses and ultimately gain himself a following. However, before his rule a man by the name of Hans Litten tried to take him down and show Germany what type of a man he truly was, but because of Germany’s want to become powerful again they disregarded what Litten had to say. This shows just how quickly Hitler was able to come to power. Once in power Hitler invaded Czechoslovakia which later led into the invasion of Poland, according to Cowhurst. The invasion of Poland is what makes the allied powers come together stronger than ever and come up with the idea for the United Nations. Adolf Hitler allowed his pride to cloud his judgement which in turn caused him to fail as a military leader.