During the 1920's and 1930's Germany was in a deep depression. Germany had to pay huge war reparations to the Allied countries of Britain and France. They had lots of problems. The only people that were making a somewhat respectable living in Germany were the Jews. These people were well educated and very skilled in the professions of banking, entrepreneurship, and business. Once Adolph Hitler seized power of Germany, his anger of the Jews was spread to others who readily accepted a scapegoat for their problems. The Jews were mostly well off. Poverty stricken Germans loathed their wealth. The Nazi's assembled on September 10, 1935 to discuss their problems with the Jews. Their agenda consisted of three things:
1) To clarify the requirements of citizenship in the Third Reich.
2) To assure the purity of German blood and German honor.
3)To clarify the position of Jews in the Third Reich.
On September 15, 1935 the assemblage convened. It unveiled a series of laws named the Nuremberg Laws. This spelled the beginning of the end for Jews in Europe. Jewish stores and businesses were ransacked and ruined. The Jews no longer had any protection. Eventually every Jew in Germany and its occupied territories was rounded up and sent to concentration camps. Over six million people were slaughtered by the Nazi Machine. All because angry, poor Germans needed a way to get out of their pain and strife.
After all of this pain and suffering, all the death and destruction, and all of the atrocious effects of war, we can look in hindsight. Was The Holocaust inevitable? Or, Was it preventable?
Historically there was no more ideal time for a crazed lunatic to snatch office and order the genocide of an entire people. Germans needed a strong and willful leader. They found these qualities in Adolph Hitler. When Hitler seized office he immediately ordered everyone to work. Every factory became a German War Machine producing tanks, airplanes, trucks, guns, boats, and other supplies in preparation of war. Hitler wanted to avenge the Treaty of Versailles which prevented Germany of having a military of any kind. Hitler guessed right that the weak League of Nations would do nothing. Every country soon developed a policy of appeasement, meaning that they would stay out of Hitler's affairs and let him do enough to keep them out of war. Appeasement started a chain of events that led to the eventual German invasion of Poland on September 1st, 1939, and the start of WWII.
By the time Germany invaded Poland in 1939, Hitler was well established as the Fuhrer of the German people, Commander-in-Chief of the German Army, Navy and Air Force, and Chancellor of the Third Reich. He had complete control. Hitler also had the answer to the Jewish question. He would eliminate every Jew from Europe, then the rest of the world as it was conquered by the Reich. There was only one way this fanatical barbarian could be stopped. The Allies had to conquer and not be conquered. Once this was accomplished all of the atrocities were revealed. Hitler and his command were held accountable.
Today there are precautions set up throughout the world to prevent another genocide of this extent. We now have a powerful United Nations with a strong ruling hand on the world. No leader as uncontrolled as Hitler could ever rule again. The possible inklings of another global war sends shivers up every human's spine.
There is no way a genocide could go unnoticed. Today's spy techniques and technologies are vastly improved. The eye in the sky is always there. Any average Joe could post a message on the Internet telling of atrocities or war crimes committed in their own nation. The world has no stomach for crimes of that magnitude. It would be impossible to accomplish another Holocaust.
Schindler's List appeals to every person in some way. There is much to be learned from this blockbuster movie. It was meant to teach a generation far removed from The Holocaust to feel feelings it could never know. Schindler's List was also meant to incite the World War II generation to remember what happened. Schindler's List was most importantly produced to make sure the human race never forgets the stories of its greatest heroes. It was meant to teach humans to learn from their mistakes, and never let them happen again. It is a record for future generations so no one, no matter how far removed from its tragic losses, can ever forget.
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Schindlers list essay