Adolf Hitler is blamed for having caused and initiated the Holocaust. Hitler was known to have very strong anti- Semitic views as was seen in his book Mein Kampf. Though a vast majority of the blame can be allocated to Hitler, there are various other people and factors that can be seen as a cause and take responsibility for the Holocaust.
The Nazi’s rise to power is considered the leading cause of the Holocaust. Following Germany’s defeat in WWI, the Treaty of Versailles was introduced and inflicted pressure on Germany. The Treaty forced Germany to accept the blame for instigating the war, accepting responsibility with the consequence of paying huge sums of money to the Allies. At this time, Germany didn’t have the money to pay these sums
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Anti-Semitism in history became common in the late middle ages. An example of anti-Semitism in the middle ages is that on many different occasions Jews were accused of a blood libel, which is the supposed drinking of blood from Christian children in mockery of the Christian Eucharist. Many believed that the Jews, who previously crucified Jesus continued to thirst for more pure and innocent blood and found satisfaction in innocent Christian children. Another example of early anti-Semitism was that the Jews were subject to a variety of legal restrictions, for example the Jews were excluded from many trades in which they found work. The fact that anti-Semitism can be traced back to the Middle Ages and the introductions of certain restrictions can be seen that show similarities with restrictions in Nazi Germany shows that the persecution against the Jews has also been an issue and has always recurred at some point in time. The fact that it’s a recurring issue shows us that when the Nazi’s were to introduce it as part of the Nazi party ideology that it wouldn’t take long for the general public to participate in this racism that later led to the genocide of millions of