Upstanders In The 20th Century

During World War II from 1933 to 1945 in Europe, horrifying systematic events took place were millions of innocent people were tortured and killed based on their religious views, culture, and sexual orientation. The Nazi’s under the command of Adolf Hitler committed these crimes. These horrifying systematic events that took place are known as the Holocaust. The following texts Elie Wiesel’s Night, Eve Bunting’s Terrible Things, and Martin Niemoller First They Came all convey how the surrounding public during World War II stayed silent and didn't stand up for the people who were being oppressed. All three of these texts explains why it is highly important to stop indifference and inaction. Indifference can lead to horrific actions; those actions can probably lead to the genocide of an entire group, furthermore the inaction of a bystander can not only affect and hurt the victim but can also strongly affect the bystander, and finally inaction against oppression can harm and devastate many lives.

The Holocaust was a period approximately in the same period of the Nazi Party’s power in Germany, and around the length of World War II. It began with just a simple persecution of a minority, but eventually in the later stages of the war it became something much more horrific and detestable. The Nazi Party sent Jews from all of Europe that it controlled into brutal death camps to be exterminated in one of the most bone-chillingly effective attempts at exterminating a people in all of human history. The dehumanized people in those camps died en masse, and the Jewish people are still recovering from the effects of this genocide. In the utterly grave situation during the Holocaust that people found themselves in, it is ironic that this was how

Elie Wiesel once said, “Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.” An image of the holocaust may make it appear that many people living in Europe at the time took very little effort to try to help protect the innocent from captivity, but does it really hurt the people?Elie Wiesel’s statement is correct; staying silent does not stop suffering or keep problems from happening. In the first place, speaking out against mistreatment can prevent the injury of other people. Giving a warning might just be able to save someone’s life.

Even though they felt ashamed, that influence stopped them from intervening. Another example of this is because many in Germany were in a time of poverty and need, and the risk of intervening was too high, “...by far the largest number of people, the bystanders, who witnessed the Holocaust ravage Europe. They did not object to the horrors that occurred to their neighbors. They swore their denial of events. Others would claim that the risk of resistance was too high” (Goldberg).

People can be cruel, malicious, and awful to each other, that is a fact, consequently, blame may be pinned on these people for the catastrophic events in history, but sometimes the bystanders are just as guilty. This is clear in the horrible event known as the Holocaust, the Nazis were terrible, murdering as many as 6 million innocent people, clearly the blame is on them. This tragic event lasted an astounding 12 years from 1933-1945, but could the Holocaust have ended sooner if the US had intervened earlier on? Bringing into account the idea of indifference. The dictionary definition of indifference is “lack of concern, interest, or empathy.”

The year is 1943, you’re walking in the streets of Nazi Germany. The streets are covered in anti-semitic propaganda. While walking you see a Jewish family with the Star of David on their chests, they look like they would be going into hiding. You want to speak up and help them, you really do, but can you? You have a family, you have friends, you have your own life. You want to help them, but can you risk it? In the documentary, Witness to the Holocaust, Miles Lehrman, a Holocaust survivor, says “A perpetrator is not the most dangerous enemy. The most dangerous part is the bystander because neutrality always helps the killer.” While this quote is viable it does not acknowledge that speaking up in such difficult and dangerous situations is far

Many people stood by and did nothing while Adolf Hitler killed millions. Some people might have not done anything because of the pure fact that they were scared for their lives, and for the lives of their families. Others may not have done anything because they agreed with Hitler. Some may of just of not cared what was going on as long as it did not affect theme.

Thomas More was a great saint because of his trust in God and because of the virtues he developed.

The Holocaust Encyclopedia states that bystanders in the Holocaust are a “...a group [that] have often been characterized as ‘passive’ or ‘indifferent.’ They included those, for example, who did not speak out when they witnessed the persecution of individuals targeted simply because they were Jewish” (United States Holocaust Memorial Museum). This exhibits how bystanders benefit the oppressor because if a civilization watches, others will likely follow, Consequently enabling the perpetrator to continue their persecution with a sense of security. Additionally, In the Book Thief by Markus Zusak, vividly illustrates this when Liesel witnesses the death marches for Jews she notices that, “Others pleaded for someone, anyone, to step forward and catch them in their arms. No one did.

During the Holocaust, German citizens residing near concentration camps were fully aware of the atrocities being committed so close to their homes. Though they hopefully realized that the mass slaughter of innocent Jews was horrific and inhumane, no one stood up for the Jews’ violated human rights or made an effort to save Jewish lives. King Jr. writes that if he had “lived in Germany at the time, [he] would have aided and comforted [his] Jewish brothers” (King Jr. 1350). By not siding against the Nazis, German citizens essentially showed that they supported the Final Solution. Had they taken direct action, even by simply petitioning to the government or by voicing their disagreement, countless Jewish lives could have been

The Holocaust was a dark time in humanity’s history; a time that should be looked back on in shame. People lost their compassion and empathy towards one another. These emotions are essential in keeping peace and harmony throughout the world, and give mankind a natural kindheartedness towards one another. Having the innate sense to feel for one another and understand the trials and tribulations others go through is what truly makes us human. This is what was lost during the Holocaust. The inherent good that humans are born with, was taken away by Adolf Hitler and his Third Reich. It led to the deaths of entire cultures and millions of innocent peoples’ lives were changed for the worse. However, the Nazis did not carry out the mass killings of

“Half of a million have been killed in the Holocaust and over 4 million have fled.” according to haaretz.com. Its horrible that no one spoke out during this tragic event. People of Europe, the Germans, and any other people should have spoken out during this time but Jews did nothing wrong. They were everyone's scapegoat and the Jews were crucially hurt mentally and physically in the Holocaust by no other than the man Hitler and his men, the Nazis.

The Holocaust is something that we must never forget. Its occurrence relied only “upon the indifference of bystanders in every land” (Zukier). Even today we stand by while innocent lives are taken. The recent conflicts in Rwanda or Bosnia, or past conflicts in Cambodia, are merely three examples. Wherever genocide occurs one thing is sure to happen– individual lives become lost in massive numbers and the tolls are so large

Jews began to immigrate to different countries all over Europe but they soon found out that they weren’t welcomed anywhere. In the summer of 1938 delegates from thirty-two countries met in France at the Evian resort. The purpose of this conference was to discuss what was going to happen with all the Jewish Refuges that were coming out of Europe. While everyone was disapproving of Hitler’s treatment of the Jews it concluded with no one willing to accept any more refugees except for the Dominican Republic.

During World War II, the Holocaust has been a major point of the topic, being a bar that set how brutal we could be to fellow humans. With Hitler’s idea of the total annihilation of the Jewish faith in Europe. But, the Jews weren’t the only victims. Millions of other people added up, to make up even more deaths than the Jews themselves. Though the Jews were the most impacted, others quickly added up to make up millions.