Monday, May 2, 2011
Holocaust Dehuminzation
After reading Ordinary Men, I couldn't help but sit and think. How were people so able to treat other human beings so disgustingly? The racial separation created under Nazi ideals seems to truly only be a small part of the unfolding of the Holocaust. These Nazi participants has absolutely been brainwashed with tons of propaganda, but even under that breath, how were some able to have small human interactions with the Jews. I believe once the psyche has been attacked by a particular idea or mindset, there will be times of overlapping thought. Not all of these Holocaust participants started out racist. Their circumstance, and the propaganda, led them to believe that it was ok to be that way. What happens is that some people absolutely escape who they once were. It eases the pain of knowing what they have become and allows for a better execution of their daily duties. The process of the Holocaust seems to also have a lot to do with how horrific the human interactions were. It was a gradual unfolding, that seems almost quite blinding. The Jews were treated as a diseased species of mankind. One would think initially, that removing them from the society into their own societies was enough. No, they were starved, beaten, etc. They were treated like maggots. Unfortunately, after some time, the brainwashed begin to see their victims as maggots - dehumanized. The sad part of this all are the lives lost to racist and crazy leaders like Hitler. As guilty as all of the participants are, this reading made me blame him the most. He created the monster. He planted the seeds of evil and hatred. He alone is responsible for the unfolding of such horror. He saw a nation of followers - dehumanized - available to carry out his terrorist attacks on the Jewish people.
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I agree that Hitler planted the seed and the people followed. However, the fact that all of these people were so readily capable of committing these viscous immoral crimes makes me very angry. My brother is visiting the concentration camps this week for Holocaust remembrance day. He said that the survivor on his trip told them not to be angry but to feel lucky that they are alive and free today. It is hard to feel thankful when so many people murdered so many others. The people were brainwashed but am I supposed to feel sorry for them or make excuses as to how it is possible for such an inhumane tragedy to occur? As much as I feel "lucky" for being alive, I cannot say that I am not angry and that luck crosses my mind for anything having to do with the Holocaust. As separated and inhuman the Jews were seen the fact that this happened and that people were able to treat other people this way angers me and confuses me.
ReplyDeleteI definitely feel that Hitler put this concept in people's heads about killing the Jews and was the motivation for these army men to carry out these terrible deeds. What I think is really interesting about this is the fact that it appears that in many accounts, the men really do seem to be disgusted and have problems carrying out the task. However, it is hard to tell how many people this actually applied to and whether it was the sight and smell of the dead bodies which bothered them or the deep immorality of the crimes which they were committing. Reading this book has definitely made me think about what armies and army personnel are capable of, and how it seems that all bets are off when fighting a "political enemy."
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