Atrocities against the Germans - Report Example

Atrocities against the Germans Introduction The period leading up to the First World War was characterized by major world powers exerting pressure on those countries that were perceived as an enemy (Heberer and Matthäus 1). Many countries including Germany were severely affected. After World War one (WW1), violence against the Germans increased, especially in areas under the control of Poland. During this time, atrocities committed against other minorities such as the Ukrainians. This paper will discuss the atrocities committed against the Germans in the 1930s and the period after the Second World War (WWII). Before, the issue of atrocities is discussed; the paper will look at the Rise of Nazi as the precursor to the problems that faced the Germans. The Rise of Nazi Nazi was a German worker’s party led by Adolf Hitler. Hitler rose to power in 1933, after his party won the highest number of seats in Parliament. But, Hitler was not voted into power. Many conservative politicians convinced the German president to appoint Hitler to the position of chancellor. This, they thought, would help socialists and Communists who were suffering from social distress and massive unemployment. The conservatives thought it was just another brand of politician who would be tamed by power. However, Hitler wanted to restore the German nationalism (Mikaberidze 325). He wanted to build that nationalism based on racial ideologies. He also believed that for German to secure its future, it had to conquer and defeat many countries. He did not have an interest in democracy and legality. In fact, his earliest decision was to suspend the civil rights of the general people; the last democratic election was held in 1933 and He gannered 43 percent. After this, he established a one-party state by inhumanly suppressing rival political movements. Germany Jews In 1933, the Jewish population was less than six hundred thousand, roughly one percent of the entire population. A good percentage of Jews lived in urban areas, although there were Jewish communities that lived in numerous small-town and rural areas. The Jews were largely middle class, highly civilized and proud German citizens. However, they were clustered in particular professions, such as medicine, journalism and law, and also dominated some other important sectors such as retail trade. Generally, non Jews envied the success of the Jewish people coupled with aspects of Judaism, entrenched in Christian polemics. Given that activists and intellectual Jews had been vocal in the establishment of Socialist and Marxism parties in Germany, most conservative Germans also hated the Jews for the emergence of socialism. In fact, they associated communism with Jewish ideology. During that time, it was common for nationalists in German to believe that Jewish people were to blame for defeat and humiliation of their country after the Great War. The Protocols of the Elders of Zion This was a document crafted by anti-Semitic Russians. It was meant to embolden the faith for most of Nazi members and most importantly, to influence them on the fantastical ideas about the Jews. For instance, it wanted to convince Nazi members that Jewish people were strong and engaged in a global conspiracy for international domination. With this, the Nazis were able to fully exploit anti-Jewish sentiments in their propaganda. Soon after taking power, they embarked on a series of violence against Jewish people. Pretense by the Government The New government, under Hitler, was apprehensive on the impact the attacks would have on the image of the country. Thus, the government started to channel some form of misbehavior such as staging a boycott of Jewish shops. Beas a result, many people were upset and the plan was quickly suspended. However, it was apparent that the new German government augured ill for the Jewish people. Alternatively, the German government started to eliminate Jews from the public life and state employment. Extradition of Jews Retaliation against German Jews commenced a watershed in Nazi policy regarding the question of the Jewish. The Jewish were rounded up and dumped at the Polish frontier. This was to anticipate stern measures by the polish government who were anti-Jewish. They would rescind their nationality and inhibit their lawful immigration from Germany. Meanwhile, the German government was inciting loyalists and followers to destroy Jewish-owned property, including; burning of synagogues as a show of dislike against the Jewish and their sympathizers. For instance, Nazi loyalists burnt close to one thousand synagogues, seven thousand businesses were completely destroyed. In addition, over twenty thousand Jews were sent to concentration camps, and over ninety Jewish men were murdered. This happened without consultations with the head of police and other key stakeholders. Though not sympathetic of the Jews, these key government officials were annoyed. Therefore, the head of police and the business community indicated that German Jews would again be forced to pay a fine to atone for the death of any other civilian. In this case, German Jews were compelled to pay for the cost of the damages so that German insurance organizations would not shoulder the burden. Additionally, the Jewish officials agreed to lengthen measures to exclude Jewish people from German social and economic life. With this, most property of the Jews that remained was confiscated by the Nazi loyalists. This was followed by restrictions against the Jewish people from theatres, schools, cinemas, restaurants and concerts. Mercy killing Campaigns Racial-biological thinking and Nazi eugenics resulted in the systematic extermination of people deemed as unworthy of life or useless mouths’; these were persons who were regarded to be of no value or utility to the country. He started by sanctioning the biological killing of a child who was severely disabled. In fact, experts indicate that the case laid the groundwork for the systematic murder of disabled kids in hospitals. With this, euthanasia was made compulsory under Hitlers government. Clinics (code-name T4) were set up across Germany. The government sponsored the construction of gas chambers in T4 clinics to kill patients who were deemed unworthy of life by medical practitioners who, in real sense, were supposed to take good care of them. With this, the government bought many vans to be used for transporting those considered to be sickly or inmates to the killing chambers. They were led by medical staff into sealed gas chambers, disguised as changing rooms. Mostly, carbon monoxide gas was discharged into the chambers under pressure storage points. It is estimated that more than seventy thousand people were murdered this way. For sometime, the program was halted due to mass protests. General public and religious leaders protested against it. Even with this, the government had already murdered the number of people it wanted. However, compulsory euthanasia or mercy killing continued in the concentration camps, under the code name, and in occupied territories. It is estimated that more than three hundred thousand people were killed in this manner. Warsaw atrocities Thousands of Jews were extradited to Poland territory, but they were faced with almost the same situations they faced while in Germany. At the start, there was a policy that allowed the Jews to be admitted into Poland, but it did not last for a long time. On the other hand, the lack of ability to ship more Jews out of the country meant that they were to remain there for some time. Their frustrations resulted to a humanitarian crisis. More than five hundred thousand Jews from Warsaw, as well as those from surrounding areas, were rounded up and herded into a small town. Since they had already been stripped of means of survival, many of them died as a result of starvation, diseases, and malnutrition. In fact, within a few months, many Jews had already died as a result of lack of food. In their imaginary world, the German government thought that they could squeeze the last penny out of the Jews by simply denying them their basic needs. After WWII Shooting prisoners ‘for fun’ After WWII, some Germans were held in British concentration camps. During this time, the British soldiers were guarding suspected Nazi civilians in concentration camps. They were frequently tortured and emaciated highly in concentration camps. Studies indicate that some guards used to bait starving Germany prisoners. The guards could shoot at them whnever they wanted provided they went near the fence. Also, the guards used to throw a cigarette inside the camps and shot anyone who went to pick it. Underfed and Beaten Studies show that most German detainees survived on little food, they went through the harsh winter in tents and slept on the bare ground. Many did not have underclothes and shoes. Moreover, thousands of civilians were hunted down and put together, and taken to the killing fields known as Red Army. They were shot at mercilessly. Enslavement of Germans The British government benefited a lot from the German slaves. They abused human rights and the unlawfulness of its wicked slave-ownership policies. The British Government used to get more than $0.25 Billion annually from slave trade. The government would hire them out to people who needed them. Prisoners, on the other hand, were not given anything in return. German Prisoners were slaughtered Despite observing rules of war convention by German, the American military response was often inhumane. Enslavement occurred mostly in situations where German solders were captured in large numbers. However, whenever they were captured in small numbers, the US army had nothing to do with them, other than killing them altogether. Works Cited Heberer, Patricia and Jürgen Matthäus. Atrocities on trial: historical perspectives on the politics of prosecuting war crimes. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2008. Print. Mikaberidze, Alexander. Atrocities, Massacres, and War Crimes : an Encyclopedia. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, 2013. Print. Read More