Immorality In The 20th Century-World War

The word “immoral” is defined by The Cambridge Dictionary as, “Outside [of] society’s standard of acceptable, honest, and moral behavior.” Universal examples of immoral behavior include killing, stealing, lying, cheating, and many more. During the darkest, bloodiest war in the 20th century- World War ll, countless soldiers, prisoners, and common people; fathers, mothers, and children, violated many of these ethics of society. They abandoned and betrayed their family and they stole from stores in times of disaster. These people are not justified in their actions because immorality dehumanizes people and it contributes to the problem. Immoral behavior and actions deprive people of favorable characteristics, such as being sane, selfless, friendly,
and dedicated. In the book Night by Elie Wiesel, Elie’s father becomes very ill, and on his last night, Elie writes, “I did not weep, and it pained me that I could not weep. But I had no tears. And, in the depths of my being, in the recesses of my weakened conscience, could I have searched it, I might perhaps have found something like-free at last!” This excerpt explains how in the aftermath of his father’s death, he is undisturbed, but rather relieved to be away from his father. Elie’s thoughts are very immoral and dehumanized because he does not mourn his father’s death, but looks at it from a positive angle. In the book Hitler Youth, many German children were drawn to Hitler’s youth group, that promised a better life, and they would join even if it meant disobeying their parents. Hitler Youth states, “Despite his father’s warnings, Henry found himself drawn to the Hitler Youth. ‘I was carried away by it all,’ he said. ‘It did not take me long before I wore the striking uniform of the Hitler Youth….I could only promise my father that I would think about what he had told me.’” This shows how some German children were willing to disobey their parents to “hop on the bandwagon”.