Western Civilization II

Professor Kamil

Bethany Burkard

1 May 2020

Will the Nazi Holocaust Happen Again?

I do believe an event resembling the Holocaust could happen again. It seems unbelievable to

most people that such a crime against humanity could ever reoccur-- but the fact that such a crime did,

indeed, occur, and not very long ago, should be a somber warning against being so certain. In the

1940's it was no more acceptable to commit mass murder than it is today. So why did it happen? Why

did a country allow a person with such evil ambitions to rise to power? Why did entire countries choose

to look the other direction as fellow humans were being stolen and carted away? And what does that

say about another crime like the Holocaust happening today?

I think it's important to note that Hitler was elected. He did not seize power from an unwilling

populace. By 1932, the Nazi party had become the largest party in the Reichstag (Spielvogel 643).

However, it must also be noted that he didn't campaign on the basis of Jew-extermination. His racist

views glorifying the 'Aryan' race were not hidden (he had published books discussing them!) but he did

not rise to power because of these views. “Posing as a man of peace in his public speeches, Hitler

emphasized that Germany wished only to revise the unfair provisions of Versailles by peaceful

means…” (Spielvogel 662). Hitler was elected by a tired and weary people who were desperate for

some kind of change-- certainly not an anti-Semitic one, but any kind of change. Hitler promised

difference, retribution for Germany's losses and sufferings in the prior world war. He kept his plans of

world domination—and genocide-- more private.

No country is immune to being preyed on by evil and ambitious men, and thousands of years of

world history proves that. Despite our technology and scientific advancements and improvements in

quality of life, I think people remain largely the same, and human nature has not changed. The evil
ideas of one man—especially a charming, charismatic man--can be absorbed by scared and desperate

people quite easily. In 1936, a teacher recollected her impressions of Hitler after a rally: “How many

look up to him with touching faith! As their helper, their savior, their deliverer from unbearable distress

—” (Spielvogel 646). This isn’t too different from the idealization of politicians today. I would ask

anyone who thinks this event couldn’t reoccur to remember the millions starved during Stalin's

artificial famines in the Soviet Union, or the millions being starved in a similar manner in North Korea

to this day, or the massacre of North Korean Christians in prison camps, or the 1994 genocide in

Rwanda, resulting in the deaths of at least 800,000 people in a mere hundred days. Can the Holocaust

reoccur? In a way, it already has. Not all genocides accompany world wars, and thus they are a little

quieter, but they still exist.

I don’t know if a Nazi Holocaust will ever reoccur, and I certainly hope not. But I don’t believe

humanity has seen its last genocide. For as long as humanity exists, I doubt we will ever be fully free

from ethnic tensions, xenophobia, and racism. But I do believe we can help to minimize it. I think of

this quote by George Santayana: “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”

Variations of this saying have been repeated so many times it's almost a hack-- but it remains true all

the same. We are taught the Holocaust not just because it is history, but because we want to remember

our mistakes, especially our most terrible, to ensure we never repeat them. It is our responsibility as

individuals to remember the past, so that as a community we can create a different future.
 Works Cited

Spielvogel, Jackson J. Western Civilization: A Brief History. Vol. 2, Wadsworth, 2019.