Who Was Responsible for the Holocaust? Imagine the fear one had as they were taken from their own residents, put on a train, and taken to camp that only leads to death. That is what a mass genocide targeting European Jews did. Between the years of 1941 and 1945 around 6 million Jews were murdered with the motive to eliminate them out of racism and hate. Hitler was the individual who started the most hateful ideas and plans about every Jewish human being. While he began the original intention, many groups were responsible for carrying it out. Besides Adolf Hitler, Nazi soldiers and the German Army, and other countries were the most responsible for the Holocaust. The Nazi Soldiers and the German army saw Hitler as a leader and contributed to …show more content…
Many countries knew what was happening from the beginning and printed newspaper to spread awareness to the cause but did not do anything to stop the mass murder. Some may say other countries were too frightened to get involved and wanted to protect their own citizen’s first, but that still doesn’t deny the fact to other countries simply letting millions of innocent people die. For example, “American diplomats in Germany were well aware of the Nazi persecution of Jews and political opponents… and (were) hesitant to aid those being targeted,”(ushmm #6). Many people with high rank in America and other countries were aware of the extreme rate actions in Germany were taking place but had no plan to stop it. While many common citizens read about the Holocaust in the newspaper, their power wasn’t strong enough to make the most significant impact. Later, 32 nations attended the Evian Conference discussed the Refugee Crisis and what the next footstep in the process. While many civilians were prepared to help, “participants expressed sympathy for the refuges, but little assistance,” (ushmm #8). Countries pronounced taking in immigrants will only hurt their own economy. Therefore, victims of the Holocaust had little to no way to seek safety and other countries were to blame. Although the ghastly actions were taken place in Germany, other nations around the world were to also …show more content…
For example, “Some citizens of European countries hid Jews on their own or worked with nongovernmental organizations.” It took time, but allied countries began to secretly help in small ways to aid the Jewish refugees. Although the actions made weren’t a complete turning point in the Holocaust, thousands of Jews were saved. While allied countries took some assistance to the mass murder, “the German military participated in many aspects of the Holocaust in supporting Hitler, in the forced labor, and in the mass murder of Jews,” (ushmm #2). They cooperated with the Aaryan supremacy ideas Hitler had brought to attention. If an individual wasn’t German with a tall body, blonde hair, and blue eyes; Hitler didn’t see them as worthy enough to live peacefully. The army took the racism to the extreme in many different occurrences. Adding on to that, SS officers also took a large blame in the Holocaust and that is very understandable. SS officers, “took to the streets to beat up and kill some opponents,” (ushmm #2). These people used to be each other’s next-door neighbors at one point, but now treat each other with hate and fear. Humankind turned on each other and the SS officers clearly demonstrated that with their ruthless mindset. Other allied countries may not be completely guilty with the events taken place during the holocaust, but other groups took