Paradox In Ww2

Mankind is incredibly destructive, but at the same time very innovative. During the time period of World War 2 (WW2), 6 million innocent Jews were murdered in the country of Germany. However at the same time, Germany had also rebuilt its fallen empire. We can see that these facts show a paradox. A paradox is a situation, person, or thing that combines contradictory features or qualities. WW2 can be seen as a paradox, but more specifically we can see the paradox of humanity. Examples of this human paradox can be seen through the events surrounding WW2 and the literature written about it.

To start off, the paradox of humanity exists in the events surrounding WW2. WW2 is well known for the destruction that it caused and the devastation that it

created, but all of that was happening at the same time that countries were advancing and fixing their economies. This can make us wonder if the acts of humanity are both good and evil. During WW2, Hitler was the leader of Germany. Hitler’s reign is an example of how the paradox of humanity existed in the events of WW2. Hitler was the leader of the Nazi party where they had the strong beliefs that German’s were the most superior race. Because of these ideas, Hitler had created laws that deprived anyone who was not German most of their rights. This man had created violence upon the non-Aryan race, and sending those non-Aryans to their deaths. We can all agree that what Hitler had done to those innocent people was a terrible act that a human can do but he also managed to keep a positive thing going in his country. Hitler fixed the broken economy in Germany by putting millions of Germans to work and with that, the unemployment rates dropped (McDougal 479). These acts made by Hitler prove that there is a human paradox found in events during WW2 because we can see acts of demolition but also acts of intelligence. This man was killing off millions of innocent people while saving his country from becoming ruins. This shows us that both good and evil is found in the acts that humans commit, and that's what it means for humanity to be a paradox.
Another event that shows the paradox of humanity during WW2 is the technological advances. For example, countries during warfare had created more advanced technology to defend or to attack other countries. The new technology created included Radars and Bombsights (Foley 2). Radars were used to track incoming airplanes, and bombsights were used to help accurately drop bombs on a target. This technological advancement shows the paradox of humanity because it shows how we humans are improving in making greater technology, but at the same time we are using these new creations for terrible acts. These new gadgets were the causes of thousands of deaths during the war. Humanity seems to be advancing in the way that negatively affects itself.
Also, the paradox of humanity can be seen through literature written about WW2.

The Book Thief is a novel, written by the author Markus, about a young german girl named Liesel who suffers the death of her brother, and the separation from her mother while becoming part of a small town in Germany called Molching. The narrator in The Book Thief, Death, tells Liesel’s story while giving hints that show the paradox of humanity does exist in the context of the main character’s actions during WW2. For example, at the end part 9 when Liesel and her best friend Rudy witnessed a plane crash in the town of Molching after many bomb attacks occurred, both approached the devastating scene. When both of them discovered the man in the plane was still alive, Rudy had reacted, “Carefully, he climbed to the dying man. He placed the smiling teddy bear cautiously onto the pilot’s shoulder. The tip of its ear touched his throat. The dying man breathed it in. He spoke. In English, he said, “Thank you.” (Zusak 490-491). In other words, Rudy had given this suffering man trapped in a crashed airplane a teddy bear, to comfort him in his death. The paradox of humanity can be found in this quote because Rudy, not caring about the fact that this man was probably off to kill people of Germany, gave this man comfort and an act of kindness. We can see two different sides of human behavior in this particular scene. One human showing care to another human that had different intentions of doing good

acts.
Another excerpt from this novel that shows the paradox of humanity is in the middle of part 4 when a major character, Max Vandenburg, a Jew, appears at Liesel's home hoping for that family to allow him to come in and offer him protection from the Nazi’s. The family had generously allowed for the Jew to be hidden in their home. When Rosa, Liesel's mother, made food for Max one morning, the narrator pointed out, “Liesel made her way to the corridor, and what she saw truly amazed her, because Rosa Hubermann was at Max Vandenburg’s shoulder, watching him gulp down her infamous pea soup” (Zusak 197). In other words, Liesel was surprised to see her mother happy being around this newcomer as she fed him and really accepted him into their family. This quote shows the paradox in humanity because Jews at this time were being badly treated by the Germans, but there were still some Germans out there that had a heart and really cared for these poor Jewish people, such as Liesel's family. This is also shows how humans go against their own thoughts and ideas. Humanity shows signs that in general, it's both good and evil, it cannot be fully good nor fully evil.
Humankind is both disastrous and beautiful, and that can be found through the events of WW2 and the literature written about it. Hitler had created an environment in Germany that was no longer terrible and ended people’s worries, but murdered millions of innocent people. Humans advance in technology and become more intelligent, but use those new creations for evil. The Book Thief shows us that acts of kindness can be towards someone who had negative intentions of actions to commit in his life. It also shows us that humans both have a good, accepting mindset, and a ignorant horrid mindset. The paradox of humanity is not only found in the events and literature of WW2, but is also found in the events that occur in our country today. This topic is an important topic to think about because we need to understand that humans are not perfect, and we are hypocrites to ourselves, this pattern will never stop continuing. We are all the same people, but we will always continue to contradict ourselves