Ib Extended Essay The Special Conditions And Situations In PreEssay -world War Ii Germany That Led To The Creation And Acceptance Of The Idea Of The Holocaust Essay - 969 words

... rganization needed to destroy the Jews (Mazian 226-8). Lack of awareness also proved to be a control that failed the Jews. The Jews did not realize the Nazis ultimate goal. Without that information, the Jews did not understand the need to fight back. Why then, did the Jews not understand that they were to be killed? First, they felt, as all people do, that it is not normal for people to be killed for no reason.


They had done nothing wrong, so why should they worry about being killed? Second, the Nazis tricked the Jews into thinking that they were "winning" battles when some of their petitions against the cruel treatment they were receiving were approved. Third, the Jews used denial to ignore what was happening. When faced with the gruesome reality of the Holocaust, the normal reaction would be to turn away and deny it, and this is exactly what they did. By not realizing the danger that they were in, the Jews did not comprehend that they should fight back, thus allowing the Holocaust to occur unchecked (Mazian 228-32). After the Jews finally realized the danger of their situation, their last method of control, physical control, failed them. As a result of the Holocaust, many Jews were left sick or dead. This severe lack in number of individuals that could retaliate doomed the remaining Jews to the same fate as the others. Without the physical ability to fight the Nazis, the Jews were forced to submit and accept their genocide (Mazian 232-5).


The Holocaust was not simply a random act that could have happened in any set of situations. The destruction of an entire population cannot occur without structure. The specific conditions and situations in pre-World War II Germany gave this structure to the practice of genocide. Through the creation of outsiders, brought about by blaming one group of people for societys problems thereby excluding them from the larger society, German citizens identified Jews as a non-human group and therefore did not view the mass murders of Jews to be wrong. Internal strife, the strain on society that leads to hostile outbursts directed towards the outsiders, gave Germans a target on which to release their frustration with the current economical problems. Powerful leadership, a person with the power to harness the hostility of the masses and use it to attain their own goals, provided Germany with the idea of genocide and the direction with which to proceed. Propaganda, devices used to make citizens believe in a movement or goal, persuaded the Germans into believing the necessity and correctness of genocide. Extreme organization, necessary to attain a goal quickly and neatly, provided the method by which to carry out the Holocaust. Lastly, the failure of social controls contributed to the security that nothing would happen to thwart the achievement of the goal of the Holocaust.


All of the conditions found in pre-World War II Germany created a situation in which genocide was a logical and acceptable action. Works Cited Bauer, Yehuda. The Holocaust in Historical Perspective. University of Washington Press: Seattle, 1978. Dawidowicz, Lucy S. The War Against the Jews.


New York: Bantam Books, 1975. Dawidowicz, Lucy S. The War Against the Jews. New York: Bantam Books, 1975. ...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

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Essay Tags: germany, holocaust, historical context, new york, outsiders

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