The Attitudes and Behavior of the German Non-Jews - Essay Example

? Part A The attitudes and behavior of the German non-Jews has been recorded by various testimonies. The witnesses of the war against the Jews gave different accounts depending on their location during the war. In Jadwabne, Poland, the Jews were tortured, beaten, persecuted in the hand of the Poles. The Polish population carried out the German’s order to destroy the Jew with great brutality. It is recorded that they humiliated the Jews that lived in Jadwabne before they burnt them in a barn. On the other hand, Bulgarians acted in a manner preserving the lives of the Jews. They persecuted, tortured and harassed the Jews living in Bulgaria, but they never killed them. There are various testimonies recorded that portray the brutality of the Polish community. On 5th April 1945, Wasersztajn recorded a testimony before the Jewish History Commission reporting on the war against the Jews living in Jedwabne (Zimmermann 70). According to Wesersztajn, about 1,600 Jew lived in Jedwabne before the war. After the war, only about seven Jews survived because they were saved by a Polish woman who resided in the vicinity. According to Wesersztajn, the Germans entered Jedwabne on the 23rd June, 1941. Two days later, local bandits, composed of Polish population started an anti-Jew pogrom. The following day, the local priest requested the Polish population to stop the pogrom as the German fight against the Jews was not for the Polish population. Although this stopped the pogrom, the local Poles did not sell foodstuffs to the Jews. On 10th July 1941, the Germans issued an order for the destruction of the Jews (Zimmermann 71). However, although the Germans gave the order, the Polish hooligans carried out this order using horrifying methods. On the same day, a meeting was held to deliberate on how the Jews would be murdered. With the support of the mayor Karolak, they decided to destroy all the Jews in Jadwabne. According to other witnesses, the war begun on the 10th of July, following the convocation of the adult Polish males in Jedwabne town hall. Mayor Karolak and Sabuta ordered the Jews along with the Poles to gather at the town hall for some cleaning duty (Zimmermann 73). Although she did not gather with the other Jews at the town hall, she had screams of a young boy who was beaten to death. The Poles gathered with clubs, knifes and other tools of war while Jewish took brooms and other tools used for cleaning. In addition, the Polish vigilant groups ensured that the Jews were not able to escape from Jadwabne. On the other hand, Bulgarians were not willing to bend to the evils of the Nazi Germans. Majority of the Jews living in Bulgaria survived as the Bulgarians refused to surrender the Jews to the German Death camps. However, they lost property and many of the Jews were imprisoned. In the Bulgarian labor camps, the Jews were tortured, maimed, persecuted and harassed. Despite this hostility, the Bulgarians did not murder the Jews. However, in 1941 the Bulgarian parliament passed a bill that had numerous restrictions on the Jews living in Bulgaria. They were not allowed to vie for any office in parliament, serve in the military, work in government offices, own rural land and marry or cohabit with Bulgarians. In addition, they had limited access to education and medical facilities. In spite of these, the Bulgarians did not participate in the killings of the Jews. Before the war against the Jews, the Jewish community significantly dominated various regions in terms of religion, culture and economic welfare. A majority of the Polish population supported the Nazi Germans on their hatred towards the Jews. The Germans ordered for the preservation of one family member in the Jewish family (Zimmermann 73). However, the Poles decided to kill all the Jews that lived in Poland. Although the Bulgarians looked at the Jews with suspicion, they did not fully support the Germans on the issue concerning the Jews. Therefore, the Jews in Poland were persecuted and killed while those in Bulgaria were preserved. Part B A plurality of attitudes directed towards the Jews existed across various sections in the German Society. Several factors determined how different sections among the German society responded to the Nazi’s decision to exterminate the Jews (Kershaw 211). These factors include class, geography, religion and political background. There existed indifference in the mass of the German population. There were some sections that exhibited sympathy and solidarity towards the Jew’s. These sections responded by offering material support to the Jews. They were not supportive of the Nazi’s actions. These included catholic and Protestants. Other sections within the German society exhibited pure hate for the Jews. This section responded with active support for the Nazi actions. This section also responded with aggressive acts against the Jews. This section comprised the anti-Semitic radicals (Kershaw 213). Overall, there was a small section of Jews sympathizers and a large section of violent radicals. In between these two sections, there was the apathetic section of the German society. This section was indifferent in the activities of Nazi and continued with their day to day work as a routine. Different sections among the German society had a different understanding in the Jews killing. Overall, they understood that the Nazi’s actions were geared at restoring law and order. The section comprising the anti-Semitic radicals understood that the Nazi’s actions were justified and that the policy to exterminate the Jews was imperative. Most of this group understood that the Jews belonged to another race. They felt that the Jews deserved any decree that had been taken so as to counteract their influence. They understood that it was necessary to exclude the “outcasts” (Kershaw 216). Several motives existed in explaining why the German civilians and soldiers were unable to stop the extermination of Jews. For the Einsatzgruppen soldiers, several reasons were cited as to why they allowed the atrocities to be conducted. Others did not want to be labelled as cowards; therefore, they continued to facilitate the killings. Among these soldiers, others wanted promotion. Soldiers of lower cadres sought promotion; therefore, they facilitated the decisions of Nazi leaders. Anti-Semitism was also a motivating factor among some of the soldiers. Others were keen to follow orders imposed on them by their seniors. This explains why a section of the soldiers did not act to stop the massacre (Langer 104). There were also several reasons as to why German civilians did not intervene in these atrocities. Most of the Civilians maintained a profound indifference to the suffering of the Jews. This subsection maintained a clear sense of their own interest. Other Civilians felt at an economical disadvantage, attributed to the Jews circles. Therefore, did not want to sympathize with the Jews. Works Cited Kershaw, Ian. Hitler, the Germans and the final solution. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2008. Print. Langer, Lawrence. From the Ashes: Holocaust Anthology. New York: Oxford University Press, 1995. Print. Zimmermann, Joshua. Contested Memories, Poles and Jews during the Holocaust and its Aftermath. London: Rutgers University Press, 2003. Print. Read More