Holocaust
Introduction
Many people relate the holocaust period as the time when millions of people were massacred by the Nazi government which was led by Adolf Hitler. Historians have revealed that approximately 6 million people ended up losing their lives between the years 1939 and 1945 (Fitzgerald 122). The holocaust mainly focused on race and prejudice. For instance, the Jewish race was mainly targeted and at the same time individuals who were considered as undesirable such as the homosexuals, physically and mentally handicapped, and Communists among many other individuals were killed. These people were killed through gassing while others were shot to death by the Nazi police. It was not possible to do more to stop the Holocaust from taking place because Hitler had developed a strong influence on the people.
Research questions
- Could the world have done more to stop the holocaust from taking place?
- Hitler influence
Hitler had a strong influence on the Germans. He had over 500, 000 followers in the nation who did everything that he commanded United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. (United States Holocaust Memorial Museum 1). In this regard, it was not easy for the world to do more to stop the war with the strong influence that Hitler had in the nation. The number of resistance among the people could have been high and this could have made the situation worse in case the world tried to intervene.
- Hitler’s proper plan
Hitler had planned everything in advance especially the concentration camps that were not known to the world. The concentration camps appeared more like prisons where people were kept, but in real sense they acted as the death camps.
- Hitler’s military strength
Hitler had a strong military strength that was not easy to defeat without a proper plan and strategy. It would have been next to impossible to destroy the Nazis without killing the innocent people in the nation thus majority of the nations avoided retaliation (Wachsmann and Caplan 127).
- Why did United State not fully involved in stopping the war?
- Roosevelt poor attitude
President Roosevelt did not have a welcoming attitude towards confronting Hitler and the Nazis people regardless of the Jewish appeals that were made to him. He mainly claimed that economic impact in the nation especially the lack of jobs would not allow the country to get involved.
- Lack of proper agenda
The United States did not have an agenda to fight the Nazis or destroy the concentration camps, a reality that they came to know about after some period of time (Montague 142). Roosevelt was not willing to release his military people to go fight them.
- Propaganda gains
The United States feared that Hitler would divert his resources to attack the US for propaganda gains. However, the government of United States was not prepared for such a fight because of the poor financial state of the nation.
- Was it possible that the holocaust could have been prevented?
It was not possible for the holocaust to be prevent because:
- Lack of interest
The Western great powers such as the Britain, France, and United States were not interested in rescuing the Jewish people from the Nazis. At the same time, there were no perceived interests that these powers had on the Jewish community that could have prevented them from the terrible destruction.
- Political considerations
When the holocaust took place, there was tension across the world with each nation seeking support and allies from the other nations (Murray and Millett 102). No nation wanted to be on the bad side of the other because they needed each other for strength to fight World War II.
- Difficulty to divert military means
It was impossible to rescue the Jewish because of the poor diversions of the military cause. Every nation wanted their military team to remain strong to fight for their good rather than getting involved in unnecessary fights.
In conclusion, it was not possible to do more to stop the holocaust from occurring because Hitler had a strong influence on the Germans. On the other hand, the United States did not show any interest in saving the Jewish while other nations did not want to put their nation and military at a risk of fighting unnecessary fights.
Works Cited
Fitzgerald, Stephanie. Children of the Holocaust. Compass Point Books, 2011.
Montague, Patrick. Chelmno and the Holocaust: A History of Hitler’s First Death Camp. I.B.Tauris, 2012.
Murray, Williamson and Millett, Allan R. A War To Be Won. Harvard University Press, 2000.
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Online, accessed October 15, 2014. http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005182
Wachsmann, Nikolaus and Caplan, Jane. Concentration Camps in Nazi Germany: The New Histories. Routledge, 2010.