King Leopold The Holocaust Comparison
King Leopold II was one man, one man who gained support for Belgium, one man who imperialized the Congo, one man who supported the brutal murders of the Congolese people, and one man who set precedents and laid the foundation for anti-semitic death camps, Communist purges, and Soviet work camps that would arise in the near future. King Leopold II of Belgium was a precursor to the malevolent leaders who created Nazi death camps, Soviet work camps, and purges. King Leopold can be viewed as a precursor because he was in the same state of mind psychologically, socially, politically, and economically, as the malevolent leaders who came after him, and it can be seen through similarities in state-building, expansion, and conflict. King Leopold
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These death camps, work camps, purges, and mass murders were similar in their leaders. All three leaders, Hitler, Leopold, and Stalin shared similar ideas psychologically, economically, politically, and socially. The death camps were first introduced in the 1940’s during the Holocaust. The Holocaust is the term used to describe the state sponsored mass murder of millions of Jews by the Nazis and their collaborators (Berenbaum). The Nazis called this “the Final Solution” to the jewish question. The goal of this was to discard all Jews, homosexuals, and disabled people from the earth, starting in Germany. At first, the Nazis had planned to move Jews into confined living spaces and then to starve them slowly, but the results were not showing quick enough and the Nazis had to resort to mass murder. These events were going on during the same time as World War II and Germany was starting to gain power. As Germany took over many neighboring countries, the Nazis gained territory, and they gained authority over more Jews. The systematic killing of Jews did not begin until the German invasion of the Soviet Union (Berenbaum). The first method of killing was the use of mobile killers who were sent to small groups of Jews, and then killed them. A terribly more effective way of killing was invented soon after and was thoroughly used. This was the use of trains to transport large groups of Jews to work camps at first and then later in the war, to death camps. At work camps the persecuted population was harshly treated, poorly fed, and worked to death. At Death camps, mean, women, and children were sometimes shot and killed on scene (Kramer). But most times they were forced to line up, certain people were picked out of line ups and sent to gas
These death camps, work camps, purges, and mass murders were similar in their leaders. All three leaders, Hitler, Leopold, and Stalin shared similar ideas psychologically, economically, politically, and socially. The death camps were first introduced in the 1940’s during the Holocaust. The Holocaust is the term used to describe the state sponsored mass murder of millions of Jews by the Nazis and their collaborators (Berenbaum). The Nazis called this “the Final Solution” to the jewish question. The goal of this was to discard all Jews, homosexuals, and disabled people from the earth, starting in Germany. At first, the Nazis had planned to move Jews into confined living spaces and then to starve them slowly, but the results were not showing quick enough and the Nazis had to resort to mass murder. These events were going on during the same time as World War II and Germany was starting to gain power. As Germany took over many neighboring countries, the Nazis gained territory, and they gained authority over more Jews. The systematic killing of Jews did not begin until the German invasion of the Soviet Union (Berenbaum). The first method of killing was the use of mobile killers who were sent to small groups of Jews, and then killed them. A terribly more effective way of killing was invented soon after and was thoroughly used. This was the use of trains to transport large groups of Jews to work camps at first and then later in the war, to death camps. At work camps the persecuted population was harshly treated, poorly fed, and worked to death. At Death camps, mean, women, and children were sometimes shot and killed on scene (Kramer). But most times they were forced to line up, certain people were picked out of line ups and sent to gas