Prejudice In The Holocaust
The Holocaust, the annihilation of millions of Jews and other minorities directed by Adolf Hitler, was a tragedy that overwhelmed Europe during World War II. The Holocaust is still a popular topic in the modern-day classroom and the discussion of hatred, negative stereotypes, and genocide remains as relevant as ever. This horrific historical event continues to teach the world lessons on the importance of respect, the influence of discrimination, prejudice, and obedience, and how, despite World War II appearing as the distant past, the messages and importance of the Holocaust still resonate through the population today.
The Holocaust is seen as the pivotal moment of hatred in human history. The acrimony towards the Jews was not unanimously …show more content…
Prejudice is the “negative attitude towards members of a group”, which shows generalization of members in a group without taking individual characteristics into account (Weiten, Hammer, Dunn, 2014, p. 144). Pum explained that Hitler disregarded individual characteristics and stated the Jewish businesses disrupted financial opportunities for his Aryan race, which caused the economic issues in Germany. Hitler labelled the Jews with a yellow Star of David badge, which emphasizes generalization. Discrimination is the behavior associated with prejudice, meaning a person actually behaves unfairly towards members of a group (Weiten, Hammer, Dunn, 2014, p. 144). Hitler acted unfairly to the Jewish people by shipping them off to concentration camps in overflowing cattle cars, which highlights the dehumanization aspect of Hitler’s plans (Pum, 2016). In the concentration camps, the Jews were either killed upon arrival, the harshest form of discrimination, or made into slaves allowed a measly daily food ration to barely allow survival (Pum, 2016). Obedience, “a form of compliance that occurs when people follow direct commands, usually from an authority figure”, is demonstrated in Hitler’s SS soldiers. The soldiers were prepared to murder concentration camp inmates at any moment under Hitler’s command. They simply obeyed his instructions, adopted his hatred, and worked like robots to fulfill all demands. The final solution, gas chambers to eradicate the Jews, was not questioned, but simply followed (Pum,
The Holocaust is seen as the pivotal moment of hatred in human history. The acrimony towards the Jews was not unanimously …show more content…
Prejudice is the “negative attitude towards members of a group”, which shows generalization of members in a group without taking individual characteristics into account (Weiten, Hammer, Dunn, 2014, p. 144). Pum explained that Hitler disregarded individual characteristics and stated the Jewish businesses disrupted financial opportunities for his Aryan race, which caused the economic issues in Germany. Hitler labelled the Jews with a yellow Star of David badge, which emphasizes generalization. Discrimination is the behavior associated with prejudice, meaning a person actually behaves unfairly towards members of a group (Weiten, Hammer, Dunn, 2014, p. 144). Hitler acted unfairly to the Jewish people by shipping them off to concentration camps in overflowing cattle cars, which highlights the dehumanization aspect of Hitler’s plans (Pum, 2016). In the concentration camps, the Jews were either killed upon arrival, the harshest form of discrimination, or made into slaves allowed a measly daily food ration to barely allow survival (Pum, 2016). Obedience, “a form of compliance that occurs when people follow direct commands, usually from an authority figure”, is demonstrated in Hitler’s SS soldiers. The soldiers were prepared to murder concentration camp inmates at any moment under Hitler’s command. They simply obeyed his instructions, adopted his hatred, and worked like robots to fulfill all demands. The final solution, gas chambers to eradicate the Jews, was not questioned, but simply followed (Pum,