The Holocaust

The decade of the 1940's was one of the most destructive in the 20th Century. Yet it is the most forgotten in terms of remembrance. True, we have Veterans Day, the Holocaust Museum, and the World War II Memorial, but the truths and ideas that made the 1940's so destructive have crept back into our society and even into our families. The Holocaust was one of the most publicized mass annihilation of a single race of people.

The Third Reich in Germany, courtesy of Adolf Hitler, began as a social reform movement. Adolf Hitler had bigger plans though. The engines needed for the change he planned were already in place; engines like bias, discontent, poor economy, and big promises of new leaders - sound familiar? Hitler told the people of Germany, who elected him, that the reason life was so difficult was because of 'wrong' people having the majority of the money. They were told these people had gotten this wealth by taking advantage of the German people.

Hitler told the Germans that as a people they needed to unite in this time of need. The bias that existed in their hearts against those better off than they or those who were simply different, began to grow into a sentiment of social isolationism. Out of this came the beginning of this epoch came in the form “Kristal Nacht” - Night of the Broken Glass. This was the first major outward demonstration of violence against the Jewish people. Many Jewish synagogues, shops, and businesses were destroyed, as well as many Jewish people beaten, robbed, and killed. All with the mute consent of the German police and other authorities.

One year later, the mass concentration and destruction of the Jewish people began. While it began small, it blossomed into one of the greatest genocides in history. Yet, the seeds of the genocide are as old as history itself. Frightening as it is, they are appearing again in society.

Bias is an ever existent component of society and has long been the cause of conflict around the globe. In recent time, discontent has merged with a fear of the poor world economy. Big political promises are so common, people won't buy into them unless it is an election year. Even then, they only believe the promises that they want to hear. As in Germany, we today enjoy having a “jew” to blame, because it makes us feel like it is not our fault - as well as allows us to feel like we are helping “fix” the situation.

The men who became the most despicable killers in the holocaust were regular, average people. Store owners, shopkeepers, clerks, bankers, farmers, college students, reserve soldiers, politicians, and religious people. The people of America are prime targets for anything the political leaders of today would ask them to do.

Do I think that the next great genocide will be in America? No. But we are at the stage where we don't think for ourselves but instead believe what we are told and follow along like “we are supposed to”. The patriots that began this country thought about what was being demanded of them, and as a result began one of the most world-changing events in history. Perhaps we should go back to the old ways, and think carefully before we act! Think about that.