Adolph Hitler gassed Jewish people. This was wrong. Was America right for not gassing Nazis after WW2?

Question

Some say because Al Quida beheads Americans we are justified for tortureing captured Al Quida suspects.

We didn't gas the nazis war criminals, we looked at ourselves in the mirror and recognized that we wanted to be something better, granted our better was still humanity at its worse in August 1945 when we dropped the bomb,

its hard to make these sophisticated points here in Yahoo Answers in the form of a question, but I'm trying.

Answer 1

I applaud you for trying.

The answers to your questions can become very complicated.

Yes, we were right for trying alleged Nazi war criminals and not just gassing them after WWII.

Sorry I can't get in to a much longer answer. Good luck - keep asking your questions !

Answer 2

Someone has to be the big boy. Gassing as you put it was wrong, either done by them or us. My uncle was one of the first men in the death camps after the war. People were still there, some being gassed as he walked up. Some being tortured in ways I cannot say on yahoo. The bomb drop was in direct retaliation for Pearl Harbor. It was about time the US stood up for themselves. How many more Americans have to be killed for other countries freedoms. I say let the dumb a**es fight it out themselves. Blow each other up and finance their own clean up. But no, they always come the US for help. I say stay the hell out it. Watch our own borders and protect the citizens in the US. This is an issue that really bother me. I spent hours talking with my Uncle before he passed away about the death camps, the things he told me would make your toes curl, throw up and make you not want to eat for days. The Nazis got off way to easy with Hangings. They should have shot them 1 time every 10 minutes starting at the toes, make them suffer. The horror these people experienced was torture beyond the imagination. God Bless all those that have died.........

Answer 3

A lot of these war criminals are psychopaths/sociopaths with no conscience... so possibly any form of humanity misses the point with them and they neither appreciate kindness nor feel worse about poor treatment.

Your "question" is only germaine to the question of whether the "good guys" feel good about how they live their lives or not. If you spare the life of an evil person and turn them loose on society to continue to do evil some more, then perhaps you are a helper to evil at worst or an misinformed do-gooder at best. The U.S. DID let Nazi war criminals go free after WWII to move to the U.S. , South America, etc and hide under false names. Was that the right thing to do? NO!! The people who were killed and tortured deserved much better justice than no justice!!

Answer 4

The trials held at Nuremberg were presided over by the Allies. All Nazis in custody were tried and found guilty of war crimes, and punishment administered. This punishment was decided by the Allies, not solely the US.

As for dropping the "bombs" on these Japanese cities, it was determined that an invasion would cost over 100,000 American and Allied troops. This was not an easy decision for the President. But the "end" of the war and the sacrifice of American troops out weighed the bombing. Also, nobody knew the destructive capability of Atomic weapons at that time, or radiation poisoning.

Answer 5

This war is still going on and the threat of terrorist attacks is still strong. We have quite a bit of prisoners that are apart of al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups. The difference between WW2 Nazis, after the war, as you say, is that what was the point in doing that? This war against Muslim terrorists is still going on and we need to do anything and everything we can to ensure the safety of our own people and across the world by getting information from them. God forbid should we not rough them up a little bit. It is not like we are chopping their heads off on video camera and sending it to Al-Jazeera telling them to convert to Christianity or we will do a biblical display of destruction to on of your cities.

And we dropped the bomb on Japan. Not Nazis. And after that Japan gave up and did not want to lose anymore.

And you are speaking after the war not during the war. So stop trying to make things -- such as torture DURING A WAR -- look bad because some people might have had missed that little word 'after'.

Answer 6

You know, right after I returned from Iraq, I felt that US soldiers were being crippled by not being allowed to use the same tactics as these terrorists. Then I heard a short history lesson (totally unrelated) about George Washington during the revolutionary war. It seems that British soldiers were torturing and brutally killing American soldiers who surrenderred under the impression they would be given safe quarter. Many Americans believed that we should have returned the favor of brutally torturing and killing British soldiers. George Washington, however, said (paraphrasing) that if we did as the British, we would lose the ideals that we stood for. I now believe that if we fall prey to our anger and act like the savages we fight, then we are no longer the land of the brave and the land of the free. This is what makes America different. I would rather lose our country with decency and integrity than to save it using inhuman means.

Answer 7

Not sure what you're getting at, but yes, America was right for not gasing Nazis after World War II.

And like it or not, beheading innocent people and torturing terrorists are two entirely different matters.

Answer 8

I agree with what you say up to a point. But when a member of Al Quida can save American lives with his knowledge I am not completely against torture or threats of torture...up to a point.

Answer 9

gassing the NAzis would have been revenge, whereas torturing AQ members is for the purpose of gaining information during an active war, to prevent another attack.

So your analogy is just wrong.

Also, the bombS were dropped in August 1945 to save Allied lives that would have been lost during an invasion. The purpose of military leadership is to get the other side to give up with as little loss of life on OUR side (loss of life on THEIR side is only part of the equation for LIBS).

So again your comparison is wrong.

Answer 10

I view it like this: Gassing the nazis would not have saved one victim, wouldn't have accomplished any good result. Trials and executions served justice.

With regards to torturing terrorists, the goal is to save lives by stopping other terrorists. A righteous goal, attainable no other way.

Clearly these are not the same thing.

Also, your question refers to AFTER WWII. We are currently IN a war against terror, with an enemy who does not value life, as demonstrated by the beheadings.

Whose life would you like us to forfeit to be the kinder, gentler army?