The Nazi Regime
This article will address the atrocities committed by the Nazi regime. One of the most commonly questions asked about Nazi Germany is how such an evil figure like Hitler was even appointed in the first place. Other questions include why the Germans didn't say anything against the government and why the Jews were targeted in the first place. To properly understand how the Nazis came into power, one must understand the end of the first World War. There were multiple reasons for the radicalization of Germany.
The Treaty of Versailles
After the first world war, Germany was forced to sign the Treaty of Versailles. Returning of procured land it gained in the war, relinquishing colonies, paying $33 billion as war reparations, and heavy restrictions on the military industry were just some of the crushing demands the Treaty made.
The German population was already humiliated by the defeat. The Treaty added to the wound. The Treaty is often controversial because of this. While the Allies wanted Germany to pay for the devastation, it's a common opinion that they were too harsh in their demands.
The Great Depression
After the stock market crash in 1929, the world plunged into the Great Depression. Many countries saw mass unemployment and poverty. Germany was no exception, and the post-war state it was in made matters worse. The German population was starving and desperate. Hitler exploited this and quickly procured more and more power through the 1930s by promising people glory and riches to Germany.
In 1933, through the Enabling Act, Hitler became Germany's dictator, and its society, Nazified. He had absolute control over Germany and the authority to usher in a very powerful and developed Germany.
Radicalization & Antisemitism
Even though the majority of the Jewish population in Germany were lawful citizens and had lived there for generations, they were viewed as outsiders by many ethnic Germans. It was rather easy for the Nazi party to brainwash these people into becoming antisemites.
The Nazi party popularised a false notion, commonly known as the "stab in the back," to incriminate Jews as the reason for Germany's military defeat (despite the military service of a hundred thousand Jews during the war) in the war.
Identity Politics
Notwithstanding the aforesaid reasons, the main reason for the initiation of the Holocaust is the use of identity politics. Hitler saw that the Jewish population was doing relatively well and held animosity from the ethnic German population. It was easy for the Nazi party to harness this rift and grow a tiny spark into a raging fire of hate. Given the tangle German politics were in, it was like a silver platter for radical ideas to kindle. All things going wrong in Germany were blamed on Jews and all the good was attributed to ethnic Germans. It was a classic play of identity politics to rally more support for the Nazi party by spreading hate towards another community.
The humiliating Treaty of Versailles, the devastating Great Depression, radicalization, and identity politics led to the massacre of 6 million Jews. Hitler and the Nazi party's promises of wealth, power, and glory to Germany evidently gained much traction and favor. While these are sound reasons for a population to change, how did the individual German soldier change? How did he rationalize killing innocent men, women, and children?
Ordinary Men - An account of the ordinary becoming evil
Ordinary Men, a book by American historian, Christopher Browning, recounts the actions and experiences of one of the police battalions responsible for exterminating Jews in Poland after the initial invasion by the German military. It consists of testimonies and quotes from the men in Reserve Police Battalion 101 about how they rationalized and made excuses to justify shooting countless innocent Jews.
The first thing to understand about the men in the battalion is that they were everyday German citizens who led normal lives until the Nazi party came along. These men weren't indoctrinated into the Nazi ideology from their childhood like the 'Hitler Youth.' Here's an excerpt from the book. It's a testimony of a thirty-five-year-old policeman who was a metalworker:
"I made the effort, and it was possible for me, to shoot only children. It so happened that the mothers led the children by the hand. My neighbor then shot the mother and I shot the child that belonged to her because I reasoned with myself that after all, without its mother the child could not live any longer. It was supposed to be, so to speak, soothing my conscience to realize children unable to live without their mothers."
This is how he rationalized killing innocent children. It's a truly appalling how far they went to change their morals to justify their actions. Others said they found no point in refusing to kill as his comrade would do it anyway.
It's also important to note that the 101 battalion's commanding officer, Major Trapp, gave his men an option to back out of the assignment. And yet, barely any men stepped out. They reasoned that they didn't want to leave their comrades to do the dirty work. Later on, those who abstained from the shootings were labeled 'weak' and 'cowardly.' Many of the men took to drinking to deal with the horrors they were committing. Not having been indoctrinated by the Nazi ideology, many of them did not even hate Jews. Such was the state of the policemen responsible for the Holocaust in Poland. They were ordinary men.
Soon, the killings transitioned from shooting the victims in the back of their heads to sending them to gas chambers. This was found to be a much more effective way of systemic killing.
By the end of World War II, over 6 million innocent Jewish men, women, and children were wiped out of Europe in the most organized genocide ever orchestrated.
Remembering the Holocaust
The history of Nazi Germany is widely taught throughout the world. So many books have documented various parts of it. It's a very rare occurrence to find a person who doesn't know who Hitler was. German students are extensively taught about Nazi history and the genocide. Germany has paid war reparations and has apologized for its crimes. Numerous high-ranking members of the Nazi party and the SS were also tried and brought to justice. The Holocaust will not be lightly forgotten by the world.