Holocaust on the Western Hemisphere
Steven Dinov
ENG1A Gomez
Essay 5
December 9, 2012
The Holocaust of the Western Hemisphere
Throughout the history of mankind man has made various attempts to eliminate one another based on race, religion, and personal growth through the use of dehumanization in order to justify genocide. Although many do not have it in them to kill another man, however if they do not believe they are killing a human being they are able to “get the job done”. Through the use of dehumanization a man of high authority has been able to convince large groups of people that a particular race is not even human and instead are animals and or property. One of the most known examples of this was Adolf Hitler and the German Nazi Party’s dehumanization of the Jewish people. In an attempt to eliminate the entire Jewish population from Europe Nazi Germany the Nazis convinced everyday Germans that Jews were rats and that Germany was infested. Many people remember the Nazis and the Holocaust but events like this had been happening long before the mid nineteenth century. The colonists in the early years of the United States forcibly removed the Native Americans from their rightful land by dehumanizing them socially and physically similarly to the Nazis centuries later.
As the impact of World War One took its toll on Europe countries like Russia, Italy and Germany were in dire need of a change. Germany was most impacted by the war and was left in a state where everyday citizens were homeless, jobless, and starving. Looking for someone save Germany, Germans were in a desperate need for change and turned to group of radicals that were rising in power at a rapid rate known as the Nazis. Looking for someone to “save Germany” the Nazi’s unconventional but radical beliefs gave many Germans a strong sense of hope. “One of the reasons the Nazi ideology was so successful in eliciting support for the party and consensus behind its program was that its structure was built central concepts that, in the
ENG1A Gomez
Essay 5
December 9, 2012
The Holocaust of the Western Hemisphere
Throughout the history of mankind man has made various attempts to eliminate one another based on race, religion, and personal growth through the use of dehumanization in order to justify genocide. Although many do not have it in them to kill another man, however if they do not believe they are killing a human being they are able to “get the job done”. Through the use of dehumanization a man of high authority has been able to convince large groups of people that a particular race is not even human and instead are animals and or property. One of the most known examples of this was Adolf Hitler and the German Nazi Party’s dehumanization of the Jewish people. In an attempt to eliminate the entire Jewish population from Europe Nazi Germany the Nazis convinced everyday Germans that Jews were rats and that Germany was infested. Many people remember the Nazis and the Holocaust but events like this had been happening long before the mid nineteenth century. The colonists in the early years of the United States forcibly removed the Native Americans from their rightful land by dehumanizing them socially and physically similarly to the Nazis centuries later.
As the impact of World War One took its toll on Europe countries like Russia, Italy and Germany were in dire need of a change. Germany was most impacted by the war and was left in a state where everyday citizens were homeless, jobless, and starving. Looking for someone save Germany, Germans were in a desperate need for change and turned to group of radicals that were rising in power at a rapid rate known as the Nazis. Looking for someone to “save Germany” the Nazi’s unconventional but radical beliefs gave many Germans a strong sense of hope. “One of the reasons the Nazi ideology was so successful in eliciting support for the party and consensus behind its program was that its structure was built central concepts that, in the
Cited: Cave, Alfred A. "Abuse Of Power: Andrew Jackson And The Indian Removal Act Of 1830." Historian 65.6 (2003): 1330-1353. Academic Search Premier. Web. 27 Nov. 2012. Monroe, Kristen Renwick. "Cracking The Code Of Genocide: The Moral Psychology Of Rescuers, Bystanders, And Nazis During The Holocaust." Political Psychology 29.5 (2008): 699-736. Academic Search Premier. Web. 27 Nov. 2012. Smith, Woodruff D. The Ideological Origins of Nazi Imperialism. New York: Oxford UP, 1986. Print. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. "Holocaust History." Third Reich: An Overview. Holocaust Encyclopedia, 12 May 2012. Web. 27 Nov. 2012. <http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005141>. The West Film Project. "New Perspectives on The West: John M. Chivington." PBS. PBS, 2001. Web. 27 Nov. 2012. <http://www.pbs.org/weta/thewest/people/a_c/chivington.htm>. This source looks specifically into John M