What is your opinion about the Holocaust?

Question

Some people were doubting God, do you think that this challenges traditional Western ideas about God?
Who do you feel is responsible for the killings?
Where do you think God was?
What challenges might it make to traditional ideas about humanity and the progress of the 20th century?

Answer 1

The Holocaust in Europe, the Cambodian autogenocide, the purges and social experiments of China and Russia, and the machete massacres that have plagued central and western Africa all shake people's belief in a God that is capable of intervention in world events. Perhaps God's giving us free will and responsibility meant that he was leaving his creation, including ourselves, in our stewardship.

The responsibility and complicity for the actions of the Nazis can be centered on the inner echelons of the SS and the NDSP, but you could also attribute it to the financiers and supporters of the NDSP. As the war went on, awareness started spreading out from the SS into the ranks, and by the end, many Wermacht were aware of what what going on, and even thought they were not directly involved, they shared complicity.

Young Germans are confused by the calls of men like Marian Marcynzki for Germas to carry "guilt" for the holocaust.They say that guilt requires causality or volition, and that the sins of the father cannot be passed on, or that requiring recently born Germans to consider themselves responsible for someone elses acts amounts to a suggestion that German culture is inherently evil, inferior, or dangerous.

Young Germans have suggested that "shame" is a more accurate description of what they feel in response to the Holocaust, and indeed, a sense of national shame and a moral duty to affirm and recognize the Holocaust and its causes pervades the consciousness of some middle age Germans. However, many younger Germans have little or no knowledge of the holocaust. There also continue to be neo-nazi groups in Germany.

I think that humanity's secular and religious movements have all shifted toward a belief in personal autonomy rather than divine intervention over worldly affairs. Nobody has seen a burning bush recently, and it seems that we are either being challenged to evolve as people (religious objectivists might think this) or that we are entirely alone and insignificant in this universe (atheists and nihilists might think this). Some others (religionists) think that humans live in a spiritual world and that earth is a disposable gift from God that will be destroyed in the rapture anyway, so they are opposed to things like environmentalism.

My opinion about the future? I think that religions will continue to examine themselves, converge, fracture throughout the 21st century, with a re-orientation toward the human spirit within, and perhaps the collective God within, rather than the forces outside of us. Such a view might accomodate science and reality and still be is compatible with religion (such as a belief that God created it all, we are just describing it and working with it through the stewardship that he charged us with).

I think the biggest problems of the 21st Century will come from religion and spirituality being twisted into political tools, for that is exactly what Hitler did- twisted the ancient and religious beliefs of a war-stricken and vulnerable populace into a ideological cult, destroying that country's identity after it inevitably slipped down the slippery slope of bigotry and nationalism. Even fourth generation German-Americans feel rightly ashamed that "their people" allowed such a thing to happen.

As for those still living who are guilty of either direct involvement or serious complicity in the holocaust, I believe that they should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law regardless of their age. Young people in every part of the world should study history and learn its lessons.

Answer 2

I feel the Holocaust was an extremely sad experience. All those people being treated that way at the direction of some evil minded leader just because they are a certain color or culture...it's sad and senseless.

Who was responsible for the killings ? Hitler and his solders.

Where was God ?. . . Same place God is now . . . within and around us. God does not do those things or let those things happen...We are children of God and of free will and we have free will to allow our mind to behave one way or another.

I feel that when God sees experiences as that happen that God is greatly " disappointed and saddened ". In our lives between lives. . . there is some serious 'conversations' and awareness's going on of what we did while experiencing our human life.

The Holocaust is one experience of many that humankind has been experiencing. Think about cold hearted rulers of lands from centuries past, various wars, etc. . . something somewhere always seems to have taken place. What you're speaking of happened just decades ago. I feel sad that humans behaved that way just as humans behaved a certain way centuries past.

The world IS ' waking ' up though. There is a definate ' shift ' that has been and is being felt that enlightenment is about...I have confident hope. These times seems to be the storm before the calm.

Answer 3

Well I dont really believe in god - not the western version at least - so when **** things happens it doesnt really change my world view.
Obviously Hitler & the Nazi's were directly responsible but you could easily argue inaction/slow action by the rest of the modern world at that time clearly aided the sitution and let it get as far as it did.
I have seen many interviews w camp survivors and many of them questioned thier religous beliefs or cast them off all together based on thier experiences in the camps.

Answer 4

It was caused by (Godless) Hitler with his perpetual brainwashing.He was a wicked person and full of hate and greed.His victims were doomed because everyone feared him.It is hard to believe the victims didn't fight,back.Modern day research has concluded that the Era of War was a sign of Power Struggles and Battles of consequences.The Holocaust was created to empower the German Race,but Hitler even killed his own countrymen.We need to learn this lesson in case it happens again.Every country is entitled to its own culture and the away they live.

Answer 5

Holocaust=BAD

Nazis are responsible for the killings, duhh.

God was in heaven. He can't control people's every move. What? Did you honestly expect him to send a huge tidal wave to kill all the Gestapo?

It makes people feel sorry for Jews.

Answer 6

i thought it was extremely horrific disturbing shocking evil and a complete abomination

i think Hitler and his Nazis were responsible

i think God was watching and i think he hated what he saw the Nazis do to His people but i know that they are NOT going to get away with what they did in fact no one is with ANYTHING