Adolf
Hitler is one of the most vicious and despicable human beings in the
history of the world. The atrocities committed by him and the Nazis
during their 26 years of reign rank as the largest genocide ever
recorded. The strong nationalistic and anti-semetic foundations of the
German Workers Party (GWP), created by Anton Drexler, Dietrich Eckhart
and Gottfried Feder in 1919, fascinated Hitler. Shortly after joining
he climbed the ranks to become executive of propaganda. His charisma
and dynamite public speaking skills made him the voice of the Nazi
movement. In 1920, as Hitler had become the leader of the party, a
series of speeches was made outlining the goals and plans of the Nazis.
This was called the 25 point programme. It discussed the necessity for
a unified Germany without Jews and nationalization of corporations as
well as land reform. After a failed attempt to take control of the
Socialist party in 1923 Hitler was lucky to receive a mere nine-month
imprisoned. While there he began to write Mein Kampf, an outline of
Hitler’s life and Nazi ideology. He strategically planned his
movement to be completely legal in order to gain the most success so he
had to rely on the democratic process. The Nazis worked to perfect
their organization and presentation of ideas. Hitler’s
involvement in World War I ended in agonizing defeat, which he felt
crush his world. It created his passionate hatred for Jews, whom he
thought was instigating the communist revolution. Hitler’s
solution for this problem: eliminate the people of “insignificant
race.” The Holocaust killed nearly 6 million Jews in an attempt
to wipe out the race. During World War II the Nazis also targeted
gypsies, physically disabled, homosexuals, and people who opposed their
ideology, whether they were German or not. Any dissenting views from
Hitler’s ideology were sent to concentration camps. Communists,
socialists, and Jehovah’s witnesses are all included as the brave
challenging voice. After Jews, the mentally ill, severely disabled, and
Roma (gypsies) were the next to be annihilated.
As these people were being deprived of basic human rights, the struggle
of keeping one’s identity became nearly impossible because of the
fear the Nazis inflicted on so many communities. This fear mixed with
anti Semitism and complete indifference accounted for all the reasons
why the Jews had little support in resistance movements. Throughout
Europe, a few small movements still did manage to organize. They were
supplied and instructed by the Allies, the countries fighting against
Germany during the war. These movements however had no interest and put
no effort into aiding the Jews. Jews that escaped form the ghettos
joined the Partisan, an anti-Nazi group. It was created with the goal
of preserving Jewish identity. 30,000 Jews from Eastern Europe joined
the movement. In April 1943 a fight broke out in a ghetto in Warsaw.
The revolt resulted in a surplus of deaths. Rebellions broke out in
death camps as well, yet were successful to only a small degree. As
these efforts failed, Jews rebelled by hiding children and discreetly
sending people to the neutral countries of Switzerland and Spain. In
1945 World War II ended and Hitler had committed suicide. It was an
extremely debilitating defeat for the Axis Powers, which included
Germany. The victorious Allies set up an International Military
Tribunal at Nürnberg, Germany where Nazis were put on trial. 22 of
the highest ranked officials were found guilty. Around the world,
hundreds of trials took place in each country. In 1948 crimes against
humanity was established as an international crime by the United
Nations. Occupational governments were set up in Germany that removed
thousands of Nazis from their official positions in the country. The
United States revoked citizenship of Nazi immigrants. Yet even these
victories will never account for the massive genocide done by the
Nazis. The stripping of their lives, the demoting of their ideology,
the dehumanization. It was the most atrocious endeavor in history led
by a disillusioned man with the most impossible goal of all: an Aryan
nation.
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