The Holocaust and the murder of approximately 6 million Jews by the Nazi Germany during World War II was and is till now one of the few genocide attempts, which were precisely organized and planned for total annihilation of the Jews. Many other plans such as this one were attempted before, taking as an example by Alexander the Great, but first: the idea never occurred to Alexander's mind. Why? Because "the technology of his time did not make such a thought conceivable" (Cargas, 132). So, ethnic violence has not been uncommon in world history, but the Holocaust stands out as the only systematic effort by a modern government to destroy an entire people. Not only Jews were killed by the Nazis but also Slavs, Gypsies, Polish intelligentsia, resistance fighters from all the nations, German opponents of Nazism, homosexuals, Habitual criminals, and the "anti-social" such as beggars, vagrants, and hawkers. Every Jewish community in occupied Europe suffered losses during the Holocaust solely because of the fanatic Nazi belief that they were the carriers of a genetic inheritance that threatened German and Christian values. But how was Adolf Hitler able to convince the German populat

It all began with Hitler's appearance on the scene. Drastic steps against the Jews were taken within a matter of days after he became Chancellor of Germany in 1933. "But the development and execution of the 'Final Solution' under Adolf Eichmann and his fellow executioners came many years later. Consequently, the nagging question remains and recurs: could not the other nations of the earth have done much more than they did to prevent the murder of 6 million Jews?" (Cargas, 18). First of all there is the question of how much knowledge the outside world was permitted to obtain. Once the war began, obtaining information became difficult, but reports, nonetheless, were published regarding the fate of the Jews. Thus, although the Nazis did not publicize the "Final Solution", less than one year after the systematic murder of the Jews was started, details began to reach the West. While these details were neither complete nor wholly accurate, the Allies were aware of most of what the Germans had done to the Jews at a relatively early date. The response of the Allies to the persecution and destruction of European Jewry was inadequate. "Only in January 1944 was an agency, the War Refugee Board, established for the express purpose of saving the victims of Nazi persecution" (Cargas, 18). But the Allies refused to bomb the death camp of Auschwitz or the railway lines leading to the camp, despite the fact that Allied bombers were at that time engaged in bombing factories near the camp and were well aware of its existence. Moreover, in every country the Germans occupied, with the exception of Denmark and Bulgaria, the Nazis found many locals willing to cooperate fully in the murder of Jews. Despite the difficult conditions to which Jews were subjected, many engaged in armed resistance against the Nazis.

There is always the problem of responsibility; "Who is to be held accountable? How widely must the net of accountability be spread? It includes Hitler. It includes Eichmann. Does it include the guards in the camps, the 'good Germans', who only followed orders? Does it include those who knew what was going on and chose to remain silent? Does it include those who feared what was going on and took special pains not to find out? Does it include the Allied high command who, when told what was going on in Auschwitz, still would not give the order to bomb the railroad tracks leading to the death camp?" (Cargas, 84). These questions of responsibility are a major cause for the feeling of guilt that non-Jews have since then.

Cargas, Harry J. ed. "When God and Man Failed." Non-Jewish Views of the

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