Causes of the Holocaust

The Holocaust was a very horrific time for the Jewish people of Europe and the world. Adolf Hitler, dictator of Germany at the time of the Holocaust and World War II, started the Holocaust which killed over 10 million people, including almost 6 million Jews. Adolf Hitler was very anti-Semitic, but Hitler alone could not have caused the Holocaust. The causes of the Holocaust are so numerous that they can not all be explained in depth in a limited amount of space, though the surface can be scratched.

The rise of the Nazis is the main cause of the Holocaust. The Nazis took advantage of the bad state of Germany, at the time in order to take control of the country. After World War I, German pride was hurt by the Versailles Treaty which, among other things, forced Germany to accept the blame for starting the First World War. The Versailles Treaty also forced Germany to pay huge amounts of money to the Allies. Germany was forced to take loans from the United States in order to pay this money. Once the Great Depression started in the United States, the banks started demanding that Germany repay their loans, causing the German economy to suffer even more during this difficult period. The Nazis promised to make Germany a great country. This helped the Nazis take control of the government of Germany, as everybody wanted change in the government that would help rebuild their country.

The Holocaust obviously could not be carried out without at least some public support, so propaganda became an important part of Nazi politics. Josef Goebbels, Hitler’s minister of propaganda, became a well known figure in Germany. Goebbels worked hard to convince the German public of the superiority of the Aryan race. He told people that the Jews were the reason the economy was in shambles. He scapegoated everybody who was not of the Aryan race, especially the Jews. Goebbels and Hitler thought that it was very important that the public hear the propaganda because, according to them, lies heard repeatedly gradually gain acceptance. Because they wanted the public to hear their propaganda, they sold radios extremely cheaply. Of course, they controlled all of the radio stations and forbade any treason against the government in the media.

Once propaganda was widespread in Germany, anti-Semitism became common. Hitler believed in racial anti-Semitism rather than religious anti-Semitism. Religious anti-Semitism was the hatred of Jews who would not convert to Christianity. Racial anti-Semitism was the hatred of anybody who could be traced back to a Jewish grandparent, even if he practiced Christianity. Hitler created Jewish ghettos, burned Jewish businesses, and even distributed The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, a book which had not been widely used since the Spanish Inquisition. This book claims that Jews were attempting to take over the world. Hitler’s belief in anti-Semitism was one of his most powerful motivations.

Another problem that led to the execution of so many Jews in the Holocaust was that the other countries of the world were not trying to stop what was happening. The world powers simply stood by and watched. Some of the most powerful countries even signed contracts with Hitler saying that they would never go to war against Germany. At the Evian Conference, which took place before the war, many of the countries of the world, including the United States and Great Britain, met to discuss what was happening in Germany. Germany at that time was still allowing Jews to leave the country if they wanted to. The countries discussed raising the quota of Jews who would be admitted into their countries. At the end of the Evian Conference, only the tiny Dominican Republic opened up its doors for more Jews. Perhaps, if some of the other countries had decided to allow more Jews to come in, Hitler would not have been able to kill the 6 million Jews who died in the Holocaust.

Adolf Hitler wanted everything that he did to the Jews in Germany to be permanent. He wanted the world to continue to hate Jews after he was gone. Hitler thought that the only way to do this was to convince everybody that he was right. Hitler started the process of brainwashing by telling everybody how the destruction of the Jews would help them to live better. He said that the Jews caused all of the economic problems because they were taking all of the money for themselves. To ensure that his beliefs would be passed on to the next generation of Germans, Hitler decided to target children. Children were inclined to believe what they were told, so Hitler told them about the “evils” of the Jews. He told them about the superiority of the Aryan race. He told them everything that he wanted them to believe through textbooks and teachers, all teachers in Germany had to be members of the Nazi party. This way, when the children of Germany became adults, they would all preach hatred of Jews to their own children.

Hitler, of course, did not talk to each child individually. He set up a youth group called “The Hitler Youth.” The leaders of the Hitler Youth told the children what Hitler wanted them to hear. They had rallies, and did fun things to convince the children that what they were doing was right and appropriate. Hitler became like a god to these youth; many would do anything for him. Some might even die for him. Most of the Hitler Youth did not even know about the evils of the Nazi régime until after the war. Some of them still chose not to believe it after the war. This was the extent of the Nazi control over these young people’s minds.

Obviously, there are quite a few causes of the Holocaust. Some of them were outside of the control of many people, while some of them could have been stopped. All of these causes could be repeated if we do not study the Holocaust. Anything that could happen fifty years ago could happen again now, today. In our time, anti-Semitism is on the rise once again, especially in Europe. Propaganda is at an extremely high point currently, and this propaganda could easily turn into brainwashing. At any time, a political party could take over and set up a dictatorship. If all of these discussed causes are repeated, there is a good chance that something resembling the Holocaust will occur once again. This could end up being fatal to the world. Adolf Hitler would consider what he did unsuccessful, even though he killed 1/3 of all the Jews in the world. Hitler would have considered anything that did not kill all of the Jews unsuccessful. So what would happen if this was to happen again, but this time end up being successful? The entire world’s Jewish population could be annihilated. In this modern world, it is our job to prevent the Holocaust from happening again. Studying the Holocaust and learning about what happened is one way to prevent it from happening again, and that is very important!