I have read all books about the holocaust I can get my hands on, i try to find the answer....?

Question

How is it that 6 million Jews were murdered? How could so many soldiers murder and so many civilians look the other way? Are there really that many evil people on this earth? I am a gentile, my heart breaks for the jews of the holocaust and for those that still suffer today all over the world. Also, how did the european Jews become so docile? Why not stand and fight, scream...young and old. How were they fooled so easily? Could this happen to any group of people?? My library is full of Biographies shared by those who suffered during WWII and also stories of gentiles who have helped to save and hide Jews. Any suggestions of a Bio to read or comments to my questions, preferably from a Hebrew or person of Jewish faith.

So far, most of the worlds problems are because of crass comments like Granreals and the pathetic "hail and brimstone" preaching from the likes of Mr. Mr.......i do find it of interest however that most are responding with religion (christianity) as the answer to my questions. I dont believe my question has anything to do with God. Really just ask those that prayed to HIM every night in the 40's. Thanks for the book insights, have read the "meaning of man" and it was VERY interesting.........yet, my answer still not found. And wrong to another reply....People can be "evil and mean" and correction, Hilter was anti-human"ity".

Answer 1

You may want to read about Dietrich Bonhoeffer and his works - especially Letter and Papers from Prison (available in most librairies, I think and easy to buy); also his collegue Eberhard Bethge wrote the best biography because he was there! There is a new edition but you should be able to get an older edition for very cheap or in a library.

Bonhoeffer, a Lutheran theologian and pastor might have found safety in the US or England (or even Switzerland)where he had job offers. He chose instead to return to Germany and fight Hitler and was hung for having been involved in a plot to assassinate Hitler.

And, it wasn't just the Jews who perished - the Roma people (gypsies); communists, socialists, and anyone else opposed to the regime perished in concentration camps. And, so sure there was apathy. How many people are ever willing to die for their convictions like Bonhoeffer did?

Also, the Nazis first went after other groups:
Do you know Martin Niemoller's quote?
"When the Nazis came for the communists,
I remained silent;
I was not a communist.
When they locked up the social democrats,
I remained silent;
I was not a social democrat.
When they came for the trade unionists,
I did not speak out;
I was not a trade unionist.
When they came for the Jews,
I did not speak out;
I was not a Jew.
When they came for me,
there was no one left to speak out."

So, in short, the Nazis went after anyone interested in opposing fascism and organized enough to oppose fascism before they went after the Jews, if this quote is accurate. As Niemoller was there, went to jail and it is a self-criticism I assume it is true. And, by the way, this is how the Iranian clerics consolidated their power in what had originally been a broad-based social revolution - they destroyed all serious, organized opposition.

You may also find some clues in Abram Leon's book "The Jewish Question" written by a socialist Jew who perished in Auschwitz.

Recently I read that in the post World War I period many rich people in Germany fled to Switzerland to hide their money to avoid paying reparations in the post-war period. While this was in a historical novel I suspect it true. Switzerland continues to play this role today. And, this not only made Germany more unable to pay post-war reparations and exacerbated economic crisis through loss of capital, but perhaps made many small Jewish merchants appear wealthier than they actually were. Wealth and poverty is often relative - compared to one's own state.

And, remember too that Fascism occurs when capitalism is in crisis so many people would not oppose it for that reason.

I recently read that the American pilot Linbergh admired Hilter's regime because he said that in the period after the 1929 crash that it was only in Germany that people were working and had jobs. Since Eisenhower coined the word around 1960 we call this the military-industrial complex in the US. So, Hitler created industrial jobs for his military machine and most people are more concerned with supporting themselves and their family than ideology. Bonhoeffer was well to do and unmarried which made it easier. Hitler also promised each family a "people's car" the Volkswagen made by his friend Porshe. He failed to deliver on this because of the war. But, it was a promise.

Also, of course there is the issue of Hitler and what sociogists call charismatic personality. And, although Hitler could only arise in a certain socio-economic context of capitalism in crisis this may be an angle worth examining.

Some sociologists- especially refugees of Nazi Germany- talked of mass hypnosis in the 1950s- in an attempt to explain what happened.

Although this fell into disfavor in sociology I think you might see what elements of this might be true and how by looking at the Trance Research web site at www.trance.edu

And, what are we doing to stop atrocities small and large these days? How easy is it for us? Are we willing to die matyred over what is right?

Answer 2

A lot of it was because after world war 1 Germany was a horrible place to live and the Germans were convinced by Hitler that the Jewish ppl were the ones to blame. A lot of ppl didn't know what happened to the Jews during the war, some just didn't care, it had been drilled into their heads for so long that the Jews were horrible and inferior they started believing it. Some was also to do with fear, the SS encouraged neighbors to spy on each other, if u were caught saying anything bad about the Nazi party or Hitler and his ideals then u would be sent away as well. As for the Jewish ppl not fighting back, who knows, it is fine in hindsight to say u would have fought back, but the fear for ur life and your family, of what they would do to u would be so over powering who knows what u would do in that situation. Some ppl however did fight back. In Sobibor (i don't know if that is the correct spelling) the entire camp revolted and broke out, 600+ prisoners tried to escape, 300+ made it. In Autswitch/Birkenau they blew up one of the crematorium's, I'm pretty sure there was a revolt in the Warsaw ghetto as well. There is a book called Autswitch written by a Jewish doctor who was made to help with the experiments on the Jews, i can't remember his name (It began with an N), it's really graphic though.

Answer 3

Six million Jews were fooled into thinking the "showers" were really showers..... not gas chambers. That the trains were taking them to freedom..... not concentration camps. That doctors were going to treat their illnesses and injuries..... not use them for experiments. The rest of the world was fooled into thinking the holocaust wasn't really happening.

How can so many people be fooled by a book called the bible. Three billion people have been fooled into thinking there's an after life. Nobody has any proof of that. What's the difference? The holocaust was real.

And once again, Mr. Mister's anti-semitism comes shining through! Such a xtian attitude.

Answer 4

It is heartbreaking isnt it? Hitler was a great orator(speaker). While he was an evil evil man, he was also very smart and a people person (no lie). He knew what he had to do to get that many people to follow/fear him. He was a great leader and used his smarts and power to serve evil instead of good.

Indifference is why the Holocaust went on for so long and to the extent that it did. Elie Weisel, famouse Holocaust survivor and author once said that Indifference is the worst thing we can do. It means to not care, or do nohting at all. He said that in some ways anger or evil are better to have than indifference because it is with not caring and doing nothing to help someone is when we start to not be human anymore.

Think about it, we have all had times where we walk passed someone who needs help, or keep driving if we see someone on the road who needs help. Its the worst possible characteristic we can possess. At least in my opinion.

I hope this helps.

Answer 5

Its not hard, once you have an Assembly line.
For instance, to start the oven you only need about 2 gal of fuel, then the remaining human body fat will keep the ovens running, at a rate of about 100 to 200 bodies a day per oven and 10 ovens you can dispose of maybe 3000-6000 bodies a month the burning is not the problem it is 3 full, one how to have an orderly procedure to execute, two a constant uninterrupted supply of xclone B, and three removal of the bodies to the ovens.

I'm sure you can find on the web many eye witness accounts (from both sides).

Answer 6

Gets your hands on the Bible and witness' for Christ. Change lives in the future not past.

The holocaust is exactly a perfect example of how people are going to be deceived by the Antichrist. You ask HOW?

It happened to the Jews and Hitler. You think this was a mere coincidence?

It may have been. There is a lesson to be learned, by Christians. It is going to happen with Jews again and the Messiah. They saw Jesus Christ and rejected Him as the Messiah.

The JEWS BETTER WAKE UP AND SMELL THE COFFEE.

Answer 7

I think it could happen again. As you must know, Hitler was a very charismatic leader who used the German people's fears against them. If you had a clear reason for all of your problems, wouldn't you want to get rid of that reason? Hitler convinved the Germans that the Jews were their problem! The source of their hardships. By the time people there realized things weren't quite right, it was too late. Anyone who dared to speak out or not fit in was shipped off to concentration camps. It could happen to us all.

Answer 8

Toni it appears that most jewish people don't understand why persecution keeps occuring to them,maybe you should ask a non jewish person these questions. I find that history repeats itself until we learn the spiritual lessons involved.If you understand the laws of karma or cause and effect you can see what is happening more clearly.If you forgive your enemies all past transgressions,Find unconditional LOVE in your own heart,then give that love to your enemy with the prayer that he may find that same LOVE and peace of God that you have found. One caution, you can not give it away until you have it.I pray that everyone in this world who suffers from racial and ethnic hatred have it displaced by the unconditional LOVE of God that I have found ,my peace I give to all of you.

Answer 9

You need to read.

The Holocaust Industry: Reflections on the Exploitation of Jewish Suffering, by Norman C. Finkelstein.

What this guy is saying is backed up by a lot of Jewish intellectuals.

Answer 10

Read "Man's Search for Meaning" by Victor Frankel. He was a psychatrist who was in a concentration camp and reflects back on the human experience of that event.