ETHNOCENTRISM

Holocaust
One of the very prominent examples of ethnocentrism in our history is the Holocaust. In
Europe, Jews have been discriminated against and persecuted for hundreds of years, often for
religious reasons. For example, they were held responsible for the death of Christ. In the Middle
Ages, they were often made to live outside the community in separate neighborhoods or ghettos
and were excluded from some professions. In times of unrest, Jews were often singled out as
scapegoats. In 1918, Germany lost the First World War, wherein right-wing extremists blamed
the Jews. They also accused the Jews of being capitalist exploiters who profited at the expense of
others. At the same time, they were accused of being followers of communism who were after
world domination by means of a revolution. The Nazi German, lead by Adolf Hitler, also took so
much pride in their Aryan culture that they deemed other cultures unworthy of inhabiting the
earth. Like this, the Aryans took drastic measures to rid the world of different cultures, starting
with the Jews.

Confucianism
Confucius was a Chinese philosopher and politician of the Spring and Autumn period
who is traditionally considered the paragon of Chinese sages. His teachings and philosophy
underpin East Asian culture and society, remaining influential across China and East Asia to this
day. He was the proponent for the Chinese political philosophy called “Mandate of Heaven”,
where it is said that the appointed Chinese government leaders felt they received divine power
that entitled them to exert heavy rule over their citizens, and that they had power over the rest of
the world. In fact, their emperors were referred to as the "Son of Heaven," exemplifying the
intense control he had over the people. This belief gave them the courage back then to spread
their territories all over the world.