Argumentative Essay On History

Choices Make History Argumentative Essay

When people choose to take action, it can greatly impact history. During the Holocaust, a genocide of millions of Jews caused by the Nazis, ordinary citizens and upstanders shaped history through their action or inaction during this period of time. Their decisions were greatly influenced by their understanding of the universe of obligation, which sociologist Helen Fein defines as “the circle of individuals and groups ‘toward whom obligations are owed, to whom rules apply, and whose injuries call for [amends]’ (“We and They” 56). The majority of bystanders chose to protect themselves and the people within their universe of obligations in order to avoid being arrested by the Nazis. However, some brave

In the short film Pigeon, a wealthy German woman saves a Jewish man who has his passport stolen by children. She tells the officer,”he forgets his glasses, he forgets his keys...and now, my idiot husband has forgotten his papers” (Pigeon). By pretending to be his wife, she saved him from being caught and saved his life in the process. Since she was alone, she had no one to worry about but herself, so the only life she had to risk was her own. This made it easier for her to help him. She could have just ignored his dilemma and avoided risking her life, but she chose to become an upstander and to save him. In addition to saving lives, upstanders can also give victims

In “From Bystanders to Resisters”, a German aristocrat names Helmuth von Moltke helped spread information about what was happening to the Jews around Germany. He,” smuggled copies [of the White Rose’s leaflets] to friends in neutral countries…[who] sent them to the Allies who reproduced each leaflet and then dropped thousands of copies over German cities (From Bystanders to Resisters 373). He informed many Germans about what happened, which helped fight against Nazism. Jews were included in his universe of obligations along with his friends and family. He could have ignored the whole situation and been a bystander, but he chose to use his power and influence to bring attention to the situation of the Jews. Upstanders can use their influence to help a