The Holocaust: Following the Nazi Orders or Fighting Back?

Question

Here's a question for the masses. This is just a question which I do not know the answer to. Please don't jump to conclusions.

In the beginning of the Nazi regime and the Third Reich when Hitler established the Nurenberg Laws stripping the Jews of all their rights, property, etc., why didn't the Jews of Germany unite and fight back? Why did they go along with what Hitler and the rest of his party were demanding?

Furthermore, when the Jews were demanded to go to the work camps, extermination camps, concentration camps why didn't they fight back before the departure process began or during the process? Why would you give up all your possessions, your home, get separated from your children and family based on orders of someone else? Rumors had to have been floating around as to what was transpiring at these camps, and if not still stand up for yourself and your family and put up a fight. If you're going to die, wouldn't you rather go down fighting?

John B...

How do you figure there weren't enough of them? If 6 million died throughout the entire holocaust you would have to think that at some time there was a large enough group to put up some kind of a fight. And even for arguments sake, if there weren't enough of them....that plan of not fighting really worked out to their advantage...(I apologize for the sarcasim but it just doesn't make sense to me). If you go down fighting at least you died with some pride and dignity in standing up for who you are and what you believe in..(again not trying to be disrespectful to those who died during that horrible and atrocious event).

Ok...point made about not being able to organize anything on a large scale because they were scattered throughout Europe. They were lied to and didn't know where they were being taken.."Point Taken." But at some time they had to know what was going on and even if they had limited weapons and were out numbered, why go to your death at the hands of someone else and at their orders rather than die fighting back?

Answer 1

There were Jewish partisans that fought the Nazis. But you have to remember that the German Army was a professional army. Thus, they were better organized, better equipment and professional officers at the helm of the units. So saying that the Jewish people took lying down is not true. They resisted as much as they could and even those in ghettos did all they could to resist the Nazi's, the Warsaw ghetto fought back, but since they were surrounded, they could not prevail. You also have to remember that going down fighting as you say does not accomplishes anything if you know that your actions at the time of your resistance are futile. Better to survive and bring those bastards to justice, which is what the Jewish people have done with all the Nazis that they could capture after the end of the war. In my opinion, the Jewish people are heroes. I am not of Jewish heritage, but admire their resilence, perseverance and dignity by which they endured the genocide. So, we as humans, must not forget and say it out loud: We can never allow something like that to happen again. Unfortunately, genocide still happens and our leaders do not do anything to stop it.

Answer 2

These things happened relatively gradually. It's not like the Nazis suddenly announced to the public they were going to exterminate all the jews, so please hand them over.

The Nuremburg laws only applied to Germany at the time, so there weren't that many Jews that were willing to rise up and fight. Especially when the Nazis already had a powerful secret police in place. It was not easy to resist at all, especially in an organized manner.

The 6 million that eventually were killed were from all over Europe, they were never a concentrated, organized force. Also, they weren't told they were being sent to a death camp. That didn't become known until after the war. They were told they were being relocated. And once you're on the train, or in the camp, how do you resist? You're unarmed, and if you fight, they kill you and your family.

Don't forget, in any population only a small percentage will stand up and fight. So if you can keep control, that small portion will never be able to organize enough to be a threat.

Answer 3

It was done in carefully choreographed steps that took into account human nature and utilised the bureaucracy of every day life to achieve evil ends. In any situation none of us want to think things are as bad as they are. We also like to believe things can only get better. And most people are conditioned to obey the law - even bad ones. German Jews under Nazi rule were no different.

Why didn't the Jews fight back? Because the Nazis neutralised and liquidated all political opposition within days of taking power - "unofficial" concentration camps and torture centres were established by the SA and the SS in almost every suburb and town in Germany even before the first official camp was set up at Dachau.

Unarmed civilians against armed thugs sanctioned by the state is just not feasible. For most people the leap from law-abiding citizen to active resistance fighter is not possible. Fears for family and children take precedence. Would you leave your family to fight or would you stay and try and keep them alive and together? None of us can know what we would do until we ourselves have to make those choices.

Answer 4

The six million Jews weren't exactly living in a single neighborhood; they weren't all even in a single COUNTRY. They were scattered throughout Europe, and without an existing organizational structure, mobilizing that many untrained people would have been all but impossible. That number also included women, children, and the elderly; possibly a quarter of this number was actually capable of fighting. Add to this the fact that they had few weapons, and the Nazis had guns. If somebody with a gun tells you what to do and you DON'T have a gun, what are YOU going to do - rush the guy??? We've been accused of many things over the centuries, but stupidity isn't one of them.

Answer 5

It's a hard question to answer. I suppose there were a few who did want to stand up and fight but before they could get a following behind them they were slaughtered. Of course many did not fight because they had the hope that they would be released or escape so they decided it was better to just wait. As for the camps they were weakened from hunger and most had given up hope of ever getting out so they saw no need to fight. There is also the fact that many had their children and families and were afraid if they did try anything their families would pay. Now it's easy to say that they should've fought, but at the time they were scared and confused.

Answer 6

Throughout the history of Christianity, Jews and Muslims suffered many pogroms and discriminations.

History had proven that the easiest way to survive all of that was to simply endure it until the leaders got tired of targeting them.

It was not known by the Jews, or any of the other people targeted by a 'final solution' (eleven million people were killed, including 5 million Poles, various old, sick, retarded, gypsy, gay, and disabled people) that the nazis were determined to completely exterminate them.

Most people thought it was going to be like American slavery, where the people were being exploited through mistreatment and unpaid labor. They had NO IDEA that they were going to be worked to death, or that if they didn't die from overwork, they'd be summarily shot or gassed.

Hindsight is great, whether it's used in football games on Monday morning or today, after we found out what the nazis were up to. At the time, they kept their true purpose a secret, and we all found out later what truly happened.

Answer 7

There are many things we ignore about the Holocaust and WWII, for example why did USA refuse to accep many of the Jews that were trying to emigrate?, why was a ship ( Saint Louis) full of jews turned back to Germany from USA?.Why was Henry Ford decorated in 1938 by the German Nazy Party? Why did USA refuse to help the elected govt of Spain against the coup done by the fascist General Franco ?
And at last but not least,do you know what happened during the Conference of Evian ( 1938), it was about the problem of Jewish refugees.In my view Zionist didnt want the emigration of Jews, as they had other plans, that is ,the colonization of Palestina.

Answer 8

The Jews were scattered all over Germany (and elsewhere in Europe). Remember that this was before instant communications, so even if they had wanted to organize, it would have been difficult. And this wasn't new. For centuries Jews had been periodically rounded up and herded off somewhere else or even expelled from the country. They didn't know about the death camps. Nobody had any idea what was going to happen.

Put yourself in their place: Suddenly, in the middle of the night, armed soldiers pound on your door. They round up you, your wife and kids, and put you in a car. Later, they load you on a train, going you know not where. You can fight, and they'll kill you. Or you can stay alive and try to protect your family.

If you want to know whatthe Jews would do if they knew, look at modern Israel. Anyone who messes with them gets stomped hard. They take **** from nobody and the whole world knows it. Lesson learned.

Answer 9

They didn't fight back because there weren't enough of them, they had no arms nor means of self-defense and that was the surest way to be totally annihilated. Plus, they were in the mind-set that this was just a temporary issue and it would all blow over. They could not have predicted what would happen. Thousands did leave, however. It wasn't that they were completely powerless, but by the time they realized what was happening, it was too late. Who could have predicted that in the next half-decade six millions Jews were going to be killed? It was something that no one could ever have dreamed of.

Answer 10

The reason they didnt fight back is because it was impossible, first the nazis lied to them so that they didnt know where they were going, and they were at gunpoint. Most of the Jews had no idea of deathcamps and labor camps until much later. There were times where they did fight back like the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising.