HOW THE HOLOCAUST OCCURED

REBECCA WHATLEY

HISTORY 1100 YC
Dr. T.M.S. KAIPO
MARCH 14, 2014

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The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil, is for good men to do nothing. These
words, spoken by English philosopher Edmund Birk, remind us of the root cause of one of
historys greatest tragedies: the Holocaust. Normally, history isnt thought to be shaped by
silence; however, in this instance silence encouraged the tormentor, leading to the mass murder
of millions of Jews and other undesirables. The Holocaust was a horrendous event in history,
in which 250,000 Jews in Germany and 6 million Jews in other European states were persecuted
by the Nazis and their associates, in attempts to purify Europe between the years of 1933 and
1945.1 This incident was an extreme form of genocide, and although Jews were the primary
victims, there were other undesirables who were murdered and experimented on alongside the
Jews. These other outcasts included: Gypsies, communists, mentally ill or disabled people,
homosexuals, and some Catholics. Overall, the Holocaust was one of historys worst and
bloodiest crimes, which occurred as a result of individuals and nations choices to either act or not
to act, anti-Semitism and the Nazi desire for an elite society.
Initially, the first step needed in order for the Holocaust to occur was for Hitler and the Nazi
party to rise to power. After Germanys high hopes of winning the First World War were
completely shattered and its empire was wholly destroyed, Germany began to slip into an
economic, political, and cultural downfall. Thus, aiding Hitler in his ascension to higher political
position. Subsequently after the Germans lost WWI a new parliamentary government known as
the Weimar Republic was formed; however, it suffered many imperfections. It provided too
little firm and continuous authority at the top of the governmental structure and too great
instability and dependence upon the shifting ups and downs of political parties.2 It was during
1 Terry Charman, The German Home Front 1939-45, (New York: Philosophical Library, 1989), 1.
2 Friedrich Meinecke, The German Catastrophe, (Boston: Harvard University Press, 1950), 32.

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this political crisis that Adolf Hitler, leader of the National Socialist German Workers (Nazi)
party was invited to become chancellor of Germany, on January 30th 1933.3 In the eyes of the
Germans, Hitler was seen as an opportunity to lead Germany out of its economic slump, on an
exciting expedition that would allow it to get even with its First World War enemies.
As a result of Hitler and the Nazi parties rise to power, heavy propaganda was targeted against
the Jews. The Nazis blamed the Jews for the majority of German ills, and Hitler accused the Jews
of generating all of Germanys social and economic problems. Anti-Semitism, defined as merely
an intense dislike of Jews,4 was a notion largely created and infiltrated by the Nazis. Racial AntiSemitism was ingrained into many German citizens by Hitler, and it became his lifework to
exterminate all Jews. This view was readily accepted by the majority of the population due to the
traditional hostility towards Jews (which) was deeply rooted in almost every section of the
population.5 Deep feelings of strong hostility towards the Jews began thousands of years prior
to this period, and in order to justify racist ideas and the mistreatment of Jews, many people
resorted to dehumanizing or demonizing them. In order to condone their actions, the Germans
dehumanized the Jews by labeling them as devil(s) who must be killed.6 Even though Jews
were defenceless victims of Anti-Jewish propaganda and were threatened because of their
genetic makeup, they were the individuals who were viewed as the attackers or the menace to
3 Terry Charman, The German Home Front 1939-45, (New York: Philosophical Library, 1989), 1.

4 Randolph Braham, The Origins of The Holocaust: Christian Anti-Semitism, (Boston: Kluwer-Nijhoff
Publishing, 1986), 1.
5 Michael Burleigh, Confronting the Nazi Past: New Debates on Modern German History, (New York:
St.Martin's Press, 1996), 85.
6 Henry Dicks, Licensed Mass Murder: A Socio-Psychological Study of some SS Killers, (New York:
Basic Books Inc, 1972), 244.

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society. Jews were believed to have had carried all that was bad,7 and the Nazis felt that it was
their obligation to rid society of this low and evil race.
Due to the level of anti-Semitism within Germany, the Nazis were able to pass laws which
removed all Jewish rights. These laws, otherwise known as the Nuremburg laws, prohibited
German Jews from: marrying or having sexual relations with persons of German blood, going
to German schools or universities, running businesses, using sporting facilities, and voting.
These laws deprived Jews of basic human rights; thus making them desperate to leave Germany.
Although there was a strong desire to leave, this process was remarkably complex for German
Jews to achieve. Becoming accepted into another country was tremendously difficult at the time,
and if a Jew left Germany, their property was removed from under their feet. Behind these laws,
Hitler and the Nazis party had a destructive millennial dream of a world entirely dominated by
Nordic, Teutonic Supermen and forever freed from all rival races and noxious influences.8
Hitler fantasized of a master race, and believed that it was his duty to erase the Jews from history
in order to purify society and create a nation of elites. Hitler demonstrates this mentality in his
discussion with Rauschning, former National Socialist President of the Danzig Senate, saying
Nature is cruel, therefore we too may be cruel I have naturally the right to destroy millions of
men of inferior races who increase like vermin.9 Consequently, as a result of this mindset the
Holocaust was led to its bloodiest hour: The Final Solution.

7 Henry Dicks, Licensed Mass Murder: A Socio-Psychological Study of some SS Killers, (New York:
Basic Books Inc, 1972), 244.
8 Ibid., 231
9 Nora Levin, The Holocaust: The Destruction of European Jewry 1933-1945, (New York: Thomas Y.
Crowell Company, 1968), 297.

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The term Final Solution was used by the Nazis to refer to their plan to annihilate the Jewish
population. The initial step of the Final Solution was to concentrate all Jews in ghettos of the
cities of Poland where they would slowly die of hunger and disease.10 This notion of deporting
Jews to overcrowded and unsanitary ghettos first surfaced during the middle of 1941.11 This led
to massive killing operations aimed at entire Jewish communities, which began during the early
months of 1942. At the time of these ongoing shooting operations, gas vans were produced in
order to compliment the shooting of the Jews.12 These gas vans were boarded buses with
closed windows. As they were driven off, carbon monoxide from the exhaust pipes was
conducted into the buses,13 killing thousands of Jews who were enclosed in these poisonous
sealed spaces. Eventually, Jewish persecution escalated to its peak when SS General, Reinhard
Heydrich, was authorized to implement The Final Solution of the Jewish question, otherwise
known as Jewish killing centres. Due to its distance from the western world and its easy railway
access, Auschwitz was selected as the destination for a monstrous death camp. This camp
became the largest death center the world has ever had, and approximately one million
European Jews were murdered at this site alone.14 Overall, The Final Solution called for the
murder of all European Jews by any means necessary, and was a historic act like no other.

10 Nora Levin, The Holocaust: The Destruction of European Jewry 1933-1945, (New
York: Thomas Y. Crowell Company, 1968), 290.
11 Raul Hilberg, Documents of Destruction: Germany and Jewry 1933-1945, (Chicago: Quadrangle
Books Inc, 1971), 85.
12 Ibid., 86.
13 Nora Levin, The Holocaust: The Destruction of European Jewry 1933-1945, (New York: Thomas Y.
Crowell Company, 1968), 292.
14 Ibid., 292

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Despite the fact that there were many people who were involved in the process of murdering the
Jews, the main perpetrator of the violent crimes committed against the Jews during the Holocaust
were the Nazis. The Jews were powerless victims of the atrocities at hand, and the gross numbers
of people who stood by and witnessed the maltreatment of the Jews were considered the
bystanders. Although many people in Germany did not support the ideas of the Nazis, they chose
to stand by and do nothing. Typically, resisters lost their lives; nevertheless, the majority of the
population took little to no action. Even though, monsters such as Hitler and the Nazis exist,
they are too few in numbers to truly be dangerous. More dangerous are the functionaries
ready to believe and act without asking (Primo Levi). Though the Nazis were the perpetrators of
the Holocaust, the rest of the world was just as guilty of the crimes being committed, for turning
a blind eye to the evil that was taking place. Those who chose to sit back and witness the
horrendous crimes taking place only fanned the flames, and permitted the persecution of millions
of defenseless Jews.
In conclusion, the Holocaust was a historic act beyond measure or comparison. It halted
before no consequences, and impacted its victims for many generations to come. The Holocaust
is possibly one of the most evil events of the twentieth century, and is a perfect demonstration of
the capabilities of men without reason. Irrevocably, the Holocaust occurred as a result of the
intense hatred of the Jews, Hitlers dream of a master race which needed to be freed from Jewish
filth, and of the worlds silence. The Holocaust is a truly scary event that demonstrates how
playing the quiet bystander, blindly following authority, and exhibiting a lack of human
sympathy can affect others on such a large scale.

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Bibliography
Randolph Braham, The Origins of The Holocaust: Christian Anti-Semitism, (Boston: KluwerNijhoff Publishing, 1986), 1.
Michael Burleigh, Confronting the Nazi Past: New Debates on Modern German History, (New
York: St.Martin's Press, 1996), 85.
Terry Charman, The German Home Front 1939-45, (New York: Philosophical Library, 1989), 1.
Henry Dicks, Licensed Mass Murder: A Socio-Psychological Study of some SS Killers, (New
York: Basic Books Inc, 1972), 231-244.
Raul Hilberg, Documents of Destruction: Germany and Jewry 1933-1945, (Chicago: Quadrangle
Books Inc, 1971), 85-86.
Nora Levin, The Holocaust: The Destruction of European Jewry 1933-1945, (New York:
Thomas Y. Crowell Company, 1968), 290-297.
Friedrich Meinecke, The German Catastrophe, (Boston: Harvard University Press, 1950), 32.