Why The World Kept Silent Regarding The Holocaust

Many countries around the world saw or experienced the Holocaust during 1941-1945. The Holocaust was the persecution and murder of millions of Jews, Romani people, blacks, homosexuals, and disabled people by the German Nazi party. Adolf Hitler was the Chancellor of Germany at the time and believed in Germany gaining more Lebensraum (Living space). He believed that the most superior person was of pure Aryan blood and that the diverse types of people listed above were of no value. During the Holocaust, the world was also going through the Great Depression. Germany was not only experiencing this, but also the effects of the Treaty of Versailles. Hitler used Germany’s vulnerable state to speak to the German people and gain support for his horrendous

The world kept silent regarding the Holocaust because the people in power were fearful, willingly ignorant, Anti-Semitic, racist, isolationist, and it caused them to not take the necessary actions to put a stop to the genocide as demonstrated by the countless times America, France, and Russia failed to stand up against the German Nazi party. The United States Government was very reluctant to take any type of action against the Nazi party for many reasons. During the Holocaust, the American government and its citizens were well aware of the human rights violations going on in Europe. During the Holocaust, the United States was also going through the Great Depression. The Great Depression and prejudice against immigrants made Americans unwilling to help. The United States and the Holocaust Many Americans believed that welcoming Jewish refugees would make it even harder for them to find any kind of job. They did not want foreign people to get jobs over them. America also made it harder for immigrants to enter the United States. Many Americans were racist and antisemitic and didn’t care how the Nazi party continuously violated the human rights of many

government failed to stop the Genocide but also turned away Jewish refugees because of racism and antisemitism, showing that the lack of action was as though many were fine with millions of innocent people dying. France was directly affected by the Nazis. In May 1940, Germany invaded France and forced them to abandon their capital, Paris. The Vichy government arose and was based in a small southern town called Vichy, France. France became very antisemitic, and prejudice against Jews became a normal policy. The Vichy regime decided they wanted to create antisemitic legislation and proceeded to strip Jews of their civil rights. The French used a census to identify who was Jewish so they could be deported from France to internment or death camps. Facing History & Ourselves Not only did France not stick up for Jews or try to put an end to the Holocaust, but they were also active participants. Many Jews were taken from their homes because of discrimination. Many people were not ok with the treatment of Jews, but weren’t upset enough to do anything about it. Many French people were ok with becoming intentionally or blissfully ignorant of the atrocities going on. According to the video, in March 1942, the first convoy of Jews left