Fascism to Genocide -

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The Wave, by Todd Strasser, illustrates how easily one can plummet into autocratic behaviors. In the book, Strasser depicts an experiment conducted by a history teacher. The experiment was conducted in order to enlighten the students on the Holocaust (Strasser 26). During the Holocaust, the German dictator, Adolf Hitler, was lured in by the power that an autocratic society provides. He and his group, the Nazi Party, captured and executed millions of Jews in order to benefit Germany with ethnic cleansing. The Holocaust is one of the most infamous genocides in history. “Genocide” is defined as “the deliberate killing of people who belong to a particular racial, political, or cultural group” (“Genocide”). According to Lila Perl, author of Genocide: Stand by or Intervene, “genocide differs from civil and political wars, in which great numbers of both combatants and civilians die, in that genocide has a particular intention” (6). There have been multiple cases of genocide throughout the world, despite people saying “never again.” Genocide is always intentional and, regardless of the fear it causes, it can always be prevented. People simply need to stand up for themselves and their fellow civilians in order for things, as atrocious as genocide, not to happen. During the Holocaust the surrounding countries had not intervened soon enough, hence the outcome was far worse than it could have been. Indisputably, Adolf Hitler is to blame for the Holocaust however, had the Allied Powers intervened sooner than they did, millions of lives would have been saved. During World War Two, most of the world was split into two general groups: the Axis Powers and the Allied Powers. The countries which made up the Allied Powers included Great Britain,... ... middle of paper ... ...pedia Britannica. 2013. Web. 18 Feb. 2014. Bennett, Christopher Michael. "Bosnia and Herzegovina." Encyclopedia of Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity. Ed. Dinah L. Shelton. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2005.World History in Context. Web. 20 Feb. 2014. "Bosnian Genocide." The Greenhaven Encyclopedia of Terrorism. Patricia D. Netzley. Ed. Moataz A. Fattah. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2007.World History in Context. Web. 21 Feb. 2014. “Genocide.” Merriam-Webster.com. Merriam-Webster. Web. 13 Feb. 2014. Norton, James. The Holocaust: Jews, Germany, and the National Socialists. New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc., 2009. Print. Perl, Lila. Genocide: Stand by or Intervene?. New York: Michelle Bisson, 2004. Print. Piero, Scaruffi. A Timeline of World War II. 2011. Web. 18 Feb. 2014. Strasser, Todd. The Wave. New York: Dell Publishing. 2005. Print. 13 Feb. 2014

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