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Please watch the video below. It is about 20 minutes. It outlines the growth of the Nazi regime as we have discussed in class with great footage and specific attention to the attitudes towards the Jews. As you watch or after it is finished, please share your thoughts in the comment box at the bottom of the page.
Hitler took the anger and hatred of the Germans and gave easy solutions to their problems. When Germany lost the 1st World War Hitler took the anger and frustration of Germany and created a Germany vs. the world mentality. He also got Germany to blame it all on the Jews saying that the Jews’ racial inferiority was the reason Germany failed. He said that the superior race (Aryan) was going to be corrupted by the inferior race (Jewish) if the inferior race was not exterminated.
Right. Not just ostracism but total removal. It makes me sick to my stomach.
It all began when Hitler tried to overthrow the government in 1923. From that he got more followers and he wrote his book Mein Kampf (my struggles). When Hitler got out of prison The Nazi party made a newspaper to spread its message. When he ran for president, lost, but got the chancellor position. After one month of him being Chancellor a fire happened. He got the power to make any laws he wants. Then after the president dying he gained power and changed the laws so that he had no one beside him for power. Then He made the Laws for the Jews and put them in Concentration Camps. That’s how the holocaust happened.
Nice simple recap. I find it helpful to see the faces of those affected so it isn’t just a subject in a history class.
Hitler had incredible public speaking skills and amazing leadership properties. Not many people can unite an entire nation like he did. He used many of the fallacies we learn about in Logic class, like fear tactics and propaganda to bend the people to his will. He united an entire country just with the sheer power of his voice, and that was good at first, but he was given too much control too quickly. It all went to his head, and he became power hungry. It makes me wonder what he could have accomplished, had his power been controlled and his ambitions checked, like our goverment today. Would the Holocaust still have happened if Hitler had not have become such a crooked, abuser of power? I’m not saying that what Hitler did was good; it was cruel and disgusting. What I’m saying is, he could have used his power and leverage for better things, that would actually have benefitted Germany, or even the world. It’s like what we talked about in leadership class. You have the power of persuasion. Will you use it for good or for bad?
That’s a great thought! What if Hitler wasn’t filled with hatred but used his efforts for the good of all?
I think he could have corrected what the Weimar Republic failed to do, and brought Germany out of poverty in an ethical way.
I agree. There is nothing inherently wrong with a authoritarian leader, however sin tends to lead them to be despots.
The holocaust happened because president Paul von Hindenburg offered Hitler a deal to serve as chancellor in a coalition government. When Hindenburg died Hitler abolished the office of president declaring himself leader of the nation and head of the government.
True. But was there any way that Hindenburg could have known what his appointment would do? Hindenburg should be known for more than one crashing and burning failure. LOL.
Haha get it because the Hindenburg crashed and burned
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWeO1q0gHJE
How did the Holocaust happen? A man named Hitler came to power, promising to solve Germany’s problems. Germany felt stabbed in the back after WW1. In addition, the economy was pretty much broken. Hitler united Germany and wanted to return it to its former glory. So, he increased the size of the army, essentially got rid of democracy, and started saying that the country needed to be racially pure. Jews were seen as outcasts.
It’s crazy how racism was taught in the schools. The Jews were just discriminated from everything. Most things Jews weren’t allowed to be in. Even those with disabilities were looked down upon. Hitler could have done great things for Germany with the power that he had but instead he used his power for evil and wanted everyone to be like him and without differences.
The pseudo science mentality to discriminate against Jews is sickening, but it is the same argument used by the Southern states for keeping Negroes enslaved.
Its crazy to think that people can be this cruel as to kill over 6 million innocent Jews just because they saw them as unequal. I thought putting all the Jews into Ghettos and removing their rights was bad, but the Germans specifically imported them from different countries to work them to death or just to kill them on the spot. Crazy
Hitler said he would solve Germany’s problems. Because of this, he grew a large group of loyal supporters. Then, when he gained power, he could continue what he called “making Germany better”. This included making Germany racially pure. When Hitler said the Jews were outcasts, they believed him. The Holocaust happened because a man with great persuasive skills came to power who believed that Germany had to be racially pure.
Post the Treaty of Versailles, people were desperate. Germans wanted to regain their position in society. Often, desperate times call for desperate measures, which can end up handing power to tyrants. Hitler, and his “man behind the curtain”, Joseph Goebbles, are two beneficiaries of the aforementioned reality. They were allowed to do practically whatever they wanted in order for the majority of Germans to get their quick fix after World War One. Unfortunately, Hitler chose the route of accusation, rather than acceptance of Germany’s situation as a whole. He wasn’t the strong leader people needed; he was the leader people wanted, who bent to the whims of the people (and his own partisan desires). He appointed Joseph Goebbles to aid him in an unethical uniting of Germany on the pretense that Jews were to blame for all their issues.
Desperation, hatred of those more prosperous than themselves (envy), and ignorance led to an entire country either supporting or turning a blind eye to the events of the Holocaust.
Well said.
HItler was bad but No man is Good
That begs the question of whether there are levels of evil. I don’t think there are with God and his standard of perfection, but there is a vast difference between Hitler and the guy who jaywalks because of the impact of their sin on others.
Sorry! I tried to rush rewriting a second comment, because the first one didn’t show as being sent.
No trouble. I had to approve it and I was at church. I’ll delete the duplicate.
Hitler started off by having the entire support of the people. Drafted people from all families to gain more military force. Next he proclaimed that a pure germany is one that is racially pure… Once that was said things started to get more extreme for any non germans, especially the jews. Jews got isolated from almost any german buisness or area, and got kicked out because they were racially weaker. Then the night fell and all Jewish ownerships were destroyed by vandalists. In the next few weeks all Jews were assigned to concentration camps.
There are some that claim that this push to exterminate the “inferior and non-essential” was all about hunger and food production.
No
the thought of a racially pure germany was considered to be the strongest germany could be. By this belief, germans kicked out all jews and isolated them. A while later all Jewish stores were destroyed by vandalists. The final blow was to put all of the Jews into concentration camps to guarantee germany as a pure race nation. But are racially pure countries the strongest?
I would argue the opposite personally, but what do you think?
people where scared because the government told them to be. the fact that the girl hailed accidentally because she forgot it was against her people just shows how much of this was over the peoples head. they used their citizens fear and other negative emotions against them. and it wasn’t just the Jewish who where sent to camps initailly, it was disabled people, it was people who didnt share the same political veiws as the people in control. its terifying to think that people can be driven that far.
Yeah, it wasn’t just Jews. We’re talking Jews, Roma, handicapped, disabled, elderly, homosexual, anyone considered non-essential or inferior.
The Germans were humiliated after the 1919 peace settlement. They felt betrayed when their government accepted the armistice. The new form of government was unknown, there were lines for food and work, people lost their savings, there was a worldwide depression in 1929, and there were violent political protests. It was these conditions that allowed Hitler to come into power and play on people’s fears. Unfortunately the Jewish people became the target and were terrorized in very horrible ways.
Germany was divided, and hitler offered charisma so he was easy to get behind or support. Hitler saw an opening and then exploited it attempting to make the Nazi way, the German way. He gave the people hope of a future with pride in their country and they pledged their obedience to him. He wanted a racially pure Germany. And we all know now that that is nonsense, but Germans were desperate and the people bought it making the thought normal. But then it got even more out of hand. Violence began to occur everywhere and it didn’t stop. Hitler went on a WW1 revenge tour taking over many countries including France. The Nazis were ruthless and all that mattered was their personal agenda. They were willing to do the unthinkable, inhumane things to in their minds cleanse the world.