The Bystander's Role In The Holocaust

976 Words2 Pages

The Jewish Holocaust has to be one of the most famous and tragic genocides reported. We are taught that the reason we learn all about it is so tragic historical events like this won’t repeat in the future, but they do and they are. What many people don’t realize is that bystanders play a huge role in the events of the holocaust. Yes, the Germans played an obviously enormous part, and it wouldn’t have happened if it weren’t for them, but there were many other situations where others could have helped stop the tragedy and the deaths of millions of people. People wonder why other countries stayed silent for so long. They could have prevented millions of deaths! Much like the Syrian refugee problem happening today, countries did not want to become …show more content…

Most countries just assumed that if they didn’t do anything, some other country would. This is called the bystander effect. The bystander effect is a psychological phenomenon in which an individual does not offer means to help a victim because they assume that …show more content…

Maybe they don’t notice, maybe they don’t care, but for the most part people never think things will go as far as they do. So as more and more Syrian refugees try to escape their country, and ISIS becomes more and more powerful, we start realizing that things are beginning tog et seriously out of hand. We can help put an end to this now. Learn from our mistakes and do what we know is the humane thing to do. They say that the United States regretted not letting Jewish refugees in sooner. By the time they did, it was too late for millions of people. If we put aside our fears, we can help save so many people. They’re lives depend on these decisions. Their lives and the American citizens’ lives are at risk. It’s all about taking chances and trying to see the best in people. Ye, there might be one terrorist among the million refugees we accept, but are we not willing to take that chance for those millions of people for something that might or might not happen. The refugees will die without us. Terrorist are already a threat to America, so why not take a chance on a minimal to risk to save what could’ve been millions of

Show More
Related

  • Intolerance In The Book Thief

    986 Words  | 2 Pages

    Not even the most powerful Germans could keep up with the deaths of so many people, and to this day there is no single wartime document that contains the numbers of all the deaths during the Holocaust. Although people always look at the numbers of people that were directly killed throughout the Holocaust, there were so many more that were affected because of lost family. Assuming that 11 million people died in the Holocaust, and half of those people had a family of 3, 16.5 million people were affected by the Holocaust. Throughout the books and documentaries that we have watched, these key factors of hate and intolerance are overcome. The cause of the Holocaust was hate and intolerance, and many people fighting against it overcame this hate

    Read More

  • The Hangman versus The Terrible Things

    645 Words  | 2 Pages

    During World War II, six million Jews were brutally massacred by Adolph Hitler's Nazi regime. Several authors have written about the actions of bystanders in the Holocaust. In a poem, "The Hangman," and an allegory, The Terrible Things, Maurice Odgen and Eve Bunting described how bystanders could cause problems through their inactions.

    Read More

  • History: Upstanders during the Holocaust

    561 Words  | 2 Pages

    Anti-Semitism, hatred or prejudice of Jews, has tormented the world for a long time, particularly during the Holocaust. The Holocaust was a critical disaster that happened in the early 1940s and will forever be remembered. Also known as the genocide of approximately six million European Jews during World War II, an assassination by the German Nazis lead by Adolf Hitler.

    Read More

  • To What Extent Was Hitler Responsible For The Holocaust

    878 Words  | 2 Pages

    Most can agree that one of the biggest catastrophes in the world. Though no one bothers to ask who was responsible. The most common response is that Hitler was the perpetrator, which is true to a degree but the responsibility isn't his and only his. There were many chances for people to help Jewish people in their time of need but nothing was done. It’s easy to say that measures should have been taken to protects the Jews though when it came to act on them many were bystanders. Many of these bystanders unfortunately included Americans, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Jewish people themselves and lastly the Germans.

    Read More

  • Father and Son Relationship in Elie Wiesel´s Night

    798 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Holocaust will forever be known as one of the largest genocides ever recorded in history. 11 million perished, and 6 million of the departed were Jewish. The concentration camps where the prisoners were held were considered to be the closest one could get to a living hell. There is no surprise that the men, women, and children there were afraid. One is considered blessed to have a family member alongside oneself.

    Read More

  • Different Perspectives of The Jewish Holocaust

    1631 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Holocaust tends to be a bitter memory and an unpleasant subject to discuss. Although this event took place many years ago, repercussions are still present in the twenty first century. Especially in Germany, the Holocaust not only influences patriotism, but it also influences education and immigration policies. In contrast to other countries where nationalism is common, Germany has been forced to lessen the sense of nationalism in order to dispose false beliefs some individuals have of German racism. By allowing people from other countries to become German citizens, Germany avoids transmitting the sense of being a better and a cleaner race. A further sector influenced by the Holocaust is the education system. Approaches to teach about this event are difficult since the Holocaust is a sensitive issue and continues having vital importance in numerous families. Although the Holocaust continues conveying negative influences, the Holocaust also led to positive medical and technological improvements. In fact, numerous improvements are unknowingly implemented in societies today. Therefore, the Holocaust is one of the most horrific and influencing events in history whose repercussions are still felt in Germany today. However, in spite of the horrific occurrences, the associated medical findings and technological improvements make it intricate to look at the Holocaust as plainly evil. Thus, societies should view the Holocaust with a broader perspective.

    Read More

  • Holocaust Denial and Distortion

    2232 Words  | 5 Pages

    As early as age thirteen, we start learning about the Holocaust in classrooms and in textbooks. We learn that in the 1940s, the German Nazi party (led by Adolph Hitler) intentionally performed a mass genocide in order to try to breed a perfect population of human beings. Jews were the first peoples to be put into ghettos and eventually sent by train to concentration camps like Auschwitz and Buchenwald. At these places, each person was separated from their families and given a number. In essence, these people were no longer people at all; they were machines. An estimation of six million deaths resulting from the Holocaust has been recorded and is mourned by descendants of these people every day. There are, however, some individuals who claim that this horrific event never took place.

    Read More

  • Taha Muhammad Ali's Argument, Critical Thinking And Rationality '?

    1176 Words  | 3 Pages

    Empathy is not always easy to achieve. Currently as a nation we are debating whether or not we should allow the Syrian refugees into our country. After the attack on Paris and the ISIS threat against America next, it is easy to see why Americans would not want to let Syrian refugees into our country. It is a difficult decision to make, especially since most of the refugees are women and children. These refugees are trying to escape the terrors and wars that are going on in their home country. However, United States officials must remain cautious with who we are letting into our country at this time. Many citizens are nervous to let so many people into our country. The challenge that the United States officials face is if we

    Read More

  • Miles Lehrman's Witness to the Holocaust Argues Whether Bystanders Affirm Perpetrators

    834 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Miles Lehrman's documentary, Witness to the Holocaust, he argues, “A perpetrator is not the most dangerous enemy. The most dangerous part is the bystander because neutrality always helps the killer”, This is not a logical claim because bystanders merely witness it; however, they are not committing any crimes against laws or humanity. They may want to help the victim, but they may not do so because being a bystander is simply not illegal. Since forcing someone to be an upstander is illegal, people choose to not be an upstander because it puts them in an undesirable position. After all, standing up for the victim may put the upstander in danger along with the victim. Additionally, becoming an upstander does not guarantee that the victim will be safe and sound afterwards; the perpetrator may continue, perhaps with the upstander as another victim.

    Read More

  • The Presidency of Bill Clinton

    3548 Words  | 8 Pages

    One could begin with the issue of genocide. In 1994, between half a million and a million members of the Tutsi tribe were slaughtered by Hutu tribal militias. Even though this massacre was widely covered by the news, the United States did nothing to help stop the killing. President Clinton offered an explanation to survivors in Kilagi for this. He said that he ?did not fully appreciate the depth and the speed with which [the survivors] were being engulfed by this unimaginable terror.? (Kelly)

    Read More

  • The Power and Influence of Nazi Propaganda

    1871 Words  | 4 Pages

    The senseless massacre of millions upon millions of innocent people all started by a man named Adolf Hitler who came to power in 1933. The Nazis brought terrible fatalities and chaos in Europe beginning with a purified race and ending with the Final Solution in a maniacal plot to exterminate Jews. The holocaust is a awful incident that should have never happened in the first place, but I believe that this made me more aware of the fundamental causes and vast implications involved in how a genocide can occur. I also learned how this changed the future I live in today. I believe that the holocaust still plays an important role in current times, history contributes to moral understanding, and it helps us understand people and societies, and makes an impact in our own lives as well. Examples of this would be how tactical we start and finish wars, if we let propaganda get to us, or how we don’t let just one person reign. By studying the past and different societies in the past, a broad viewpoint can help us change and improve the future. This moment in history is much better than before more rights and freedoms, better technology, and more education to help prevent any future genocide. From the holocaust people can learn not to do this again. The world would be a better place if all races and creeds developed tolerance and respect for each other - but all sides have to make the effort. Hitler’s perfect

    Read More

  • The Holocaust: The Most Significant Cause Of The Holocaust

    1994 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Holocaust, the mass killing of the Jewish people in Europe, is the largest genocide in history to this date. Over the course of the Holocaust nearly six million Jewish people were killed by the Nazi Party and Germany led by Adolf Hitler. There are multiple contributing factors to the Holocaust that made it so large in scope. Historians argue which of these factors were most significant. The most significant contributing factor is the source of the Holocaust, the reason it occurred. This source is Adolf Hitler and his hatred for Jewish people. In comparison to the choices of the Allies to not accept Jewish refugees and to not take direct military action to end the Holocaust, the most significant contributing factor of the Holocaust is that Adolf Hitler was able to easily rise to power with the support of the German people and rule Germany.

    Read More

  • A Bystander’s Role in the Holocaust

    1680 Words  | 4 Pages

    At what point does personal interest become more important than the safety of others? During the Holocaust, the Nazis were not the only group that advanced the Holocaust, and then the Final Solution. Bystanders, witnesses, passersby, and many other groups indirectly affected the victims of the Holocaust. The silence of these groups held the Jews in more jeopardy than their Nazi captors.

    Read More

  • Argumentative Essay On Humanitarian Intervention

    1319 Words  | 3 Pages

    One of most crucial aspects of humanitarian intervention is the lack of proper motives. As noted by Bush, Martiniello, and Mercer, in the case of Libya and Côte d’Ivoire the Western nations were pursuing their own economic imperial interests under the guise of humanitarian intervention (Bush). The lack of pure motives to help decrease crimes against humanity resulted in an increased number of human rights violations in both Libya and Côte d’Ivoire (Bush). In order

    Read More

  • Argumentative Essay About Syrian Refugees

    747 Words  | 2 Pages

    While Syrian refugees are often labeled as terrorists, they are actually the opposite. Through research, - Lauren Gambino, Patrick Kingsley, and Alberto Nardelli - three writers from an English Newspaper, “The Guardian”, have found interesting results. They admit, “Syrian refugees are generally afraid of exactly the same thing that Americans are: Islamist terrorism” (Gambino 3). Considering that the Syrians are seeking an escape from the same exact thing that Americans are, why have they not been accepted into America? Like many of the 70,000 refugees who are accepted into the United States every year, Syrian refugees search for shelter from wars and hope of a prosperous future (Welsh 1). Teresa Welsh, a writer for the “U.S. News and World Report”, describes in her article “Why the U.S. Can’t Resettle Syrian Refugees” that “the U.S. should be doing more to help resettle those fleeing conflict and repressive governments in the Middle East and Asia” (Welsh 1). The Syrians desire escape from a repressive government with no chance of rebuilding a better future; therefore, they seek support from outside countries, like the United States and other European

    Read More

More about The Bystander's Role In The Holocaust

Open Document