Can someone explain to me how the holocaust was allowed to happen?

Next time you're in DC...

http://www.ushmm.org/visit/

It wasn't so simple as Nazi vs Jews. The camps worked on a hierarchical process - each of the different prisoner "classes" (Jews, other races, murderers, thieves, political prisoners, homosexuals, etc etc) ruled over those below. If a homosexual, for example, rebelled both the homosexual prisoners and the prisoner class responsible for disciplining the homosexuals would be punished. This ultimately meant that the guards only needed to control a small proportion of the total prisoners.

Many of those conducting executions, or burning bodies were prisoners themselves trying to be spared death for another few weeks.

Tragic.

what's interesting is that when people today try to point out disturbing actions by the fed govt - i.e. non-military agencies buying billions of rounds of hollow point ammo & semi-auto rifles when we're the brokest nation in history - they're ridiculed as being paranoid or gullible. Yet we have plenty of historical precedent - like the holocaust - of the abuse & horrific brutality committed by centralized govts..

Perhaps naivete & ignorance of history & cowardice were contributing factors to Hitler & the holocaust..

We can see a loose facsimile of the German death camps today in Gaza, West Bank, and Israel.

The Ashkanis sp? brought their barbaric traditions from Europe to Israel.

The US and Europe had always kept Jews in ghettos until after WWII.

My wife's grandfather grew up in the Rome Ghetto where Jews since the Roman times had no rights, were murdered, raped, beaten, enslaved, property stolen, etc.

My wife's father grew up in Boyle Height in Los Angeles. L.A. Jews had to live in segregated neighborhoods reserved for minorities before WWII.

neanderthal dream wrote:

Only a few people knew about the gas chambers.

bu11sh1t

Read Mein Kampf. It is very interesting. you go through pages of very well written arguments, that are clear, balanced, outlining the history of Germany leading to the collapse of the Mark in 1923, and the conclusion is always....the Jews did it. This goes on for hundreds of pages like this. Rudolph Hess was obviously a very smart guy.

Demonizing a minority is always politically expedient.

RunningHigh wrote:

It wasn't so simple as Nazi vs Jews. The camps worked on a hierarchical process - each of the different prisoner "classes" (Jews, other races, murderers, thieves, political prisoners, homosexuals, etc etc) ruled over those below. If a homosexual, for example, rebelled both the homosexual prisoners and the prisoner class responsible for disciplining the homosexuals would be punished. This ultimately meant that the guards only needed to control a small proportion of the total prisoners.

Many of those conducting executions, or burning bodies were prisoners themselves trying to be spared death for another few weeks.

Tragic.

Doing my best not to sound like an Occupy Wall Street nut, but this is how the corporate structure works, replacing the threat of death with the threat of firing. One prisoner killing another? When's the last time a CEO fired a Walmart worker? No, he has his level 2 guy do that.

It's a good system for the people on top. All the responsibility falls on the people who absolutely depend on the system to get by (in the holocaust, to stay alive - in modern times, to pay the rent.)

Guess what I'm saying is, this system is not a rare system. Others mentioned modern holocausts going on in less photogenic nations, is there any doubt that the system being used is similar?

The Nazis played on rampant antisemitism. They didn't have to do much to get people to play along, either -- many of the countries they conquered, particularly in Eastern Europe, have a long history of killing and oppressing Jews. Even the United States had a fairly popular Nazi party in the years before WWII, and people here didn't particularly care if Jews were mistreated in Europe.

Germany tends to get most of the blame for antisemitism because of the holocaust, but they were hardly the first. Good background:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pogrom

My name is Lance wrote:

what's interesting is that when people today try to point out disturbing actions by the fed govt - i.e. non-military agencies buying billions of rounds of hollow point ammo & semi-auto rifles when we're the brokest nation in history - they're ridiculed as being paranoid or gullible.

Yes, yes they are. But it's not "interesting", it's just logical and normal when lunatic paranoid freaks are labeled as paranoid and gullible. Sorry your feelings are hurt. Now get back in that bunker.

My name is Lance wrote:Yet we have plenty of historical precedent - like the holocaust - of the abuse & horrific brutality committed by centralized govts..

Perhaps naivete & ignorance of history & cowardice were contributing factors to Hitler & the holocaust..

Yes, Obama and the US in 2013 are almost eerily similar to Hitler and German in the 1930's. The parallels are striking! Thank you for waking me up to this fact!! Before you know it, good Christian, white , straight conservatives will be lined up to the gas chamber by that evil, liberal black man. It's a good thing you are in hiding with all of your weapons and ammo. They are coming to get you any minute. And don't trust the Post Office, they are loading your mail with poison and wire taps.

My name is Lance wrote:

what's interesting is that when people today try to point out disturbing actions by the fed govt - i.e. non-military agencies buying billions of rounds of hollow point ammo & semi-auto rifles when we're the brokest nation in history - they're ridiculed as being paranoid or gullible. Yet we have plenty of historical precedent - like the holocaust - of the abuse & horrific brutality committed by centralized govts..

Perhaps naivete & ignorance of history & cowardice were contributing factors to Hitler & the holocaust..

We have plenty of Holocaust deniers on this forum, especially the lefties who mock the concern over the actions of Obama and his cronies. DHS doesn't need that much ammo for practice, so they apparently are expecting some massive civil disobedience somewhere down the road. Anyone to the right of Obama is smeared as being a "potential domestic terrorist", making it easier to stomach a potential reinactment of Rugy Ridge/Waco/etc. Obama and the libtards still blame conservatives/patriots for the fact that his economic policies are failing miserably.

It all adds up to some eerie similarities:

1. Hitler supported gun control to take firearms away from his domestic opponents - Obama supports gun control to take firearms away from his domestic opponents.

2. Hitler demonized the Jews as scapegoats for his progressivist failures. Obama blames conservatives as scapegoats for his progressivist failures.

3. Hitler first militarized to strengthen his domestic positions. Obama is apparently militarizing DHS to strengthen his domestic positions.

4. Hitler used children as props to support his radical agenda. Obama uses children as props to support his radical agenda (watch his next State of the Union address if you doubt me on this).

5. Hitler ran roughshod over the German Constitution to get his way. Obama runs roughshod over the US Constitution to get his way.

There's more, but you get the point. That's not to say Obama will continue to follow his Hitleresque trend, but it would be wise for his opponents to keep their guard up.

So back to the Holocaust - the fact is that once the German Jews gave up their firearms per gun control, it was all but over for them at that point as they were rendered defenseless against the horrors that awaited them.

Learn from history, folks.

So last year I took AP US History, and when discussing the 1940's and World War 2, we went over this topic. How could this just happen? Why would we not come to their aid? The truth hurts, and may surprise you.

The facts are that the US DID know of what was taking place over in Europe (With the millions of Jews dying). No one felt like they wanted to become involved in the ordeal. So no one really spoke up in America. INCLUDING Jews from the United States. They didn't want to damage their own reputation by asking others to help those in Europe.

Really, I wish I had the documents with me that we went over in class, but the US knew what was going on (in one instance the US had a chance to free many Jews - their bombers were right nearby, it wouldn't have been out of their way AT ALL - but chose to avoid the mission altogether) and nobody did anything about it. They just let it happen. Fear wasn't the reason I think. Neither was propaganda (for US people). I don't know. No one felt like helping or reaching out their hands for others. (Obviously many helped but MOST did NOTHING and knew what was going on).

Sorry for the long post.

ha ha ha....thanks for the laugh you lunatic! Even if you were trolling, you would still be a lunatic, because who would spend so much time writing such absurd nonsense.And these were some classics:"There's more, but you get the point. " Yes, we DEFINITELY get the point, and it is: YOU ARE INSANE.Another beaut: "once the German Jews gave up their firearms per gun control, it was all but over for them at that point". Yes, gun control is to blame for the Holocaust! LOL!

How would bombers free Jews? We came to their aid. It was called WW2. Realistically there was nothing else the western allies could have done for Jews taken to Poland.

athiest2013 wrote:

I can't wrap my head around it. What factors led to the holocaust not being prevented? Was it a global brainwash of eastern Europe or something? How did something on this SCALE not reach the allied troops news lines? How did none of the german soldiers begin to defect? The sheer ratio of jewish:germans in concentration camps screams revolt and uprising.

Someone please explain the factors that permitted the holocaust to take place...

The same f*cking way it's happening in America today. That's how.

ryan foreman wrote:

How would bombers free Jews? We came to their aid. It was called WW2. Realistically there was nothing else the western allies could have done for Jews taken to Poland.

total horsesh!t

the US knew. They didn't care. They turned the St. Louis back in 1939. They knew as they were preparing to bomb Europe, invade etc. It was low on the priority list.

Many would say it was a reaction to what the Bolsheviks did to the Russian and Ukranian Christians..

Because people are b@stards

trying to wade past your 3rd grade playground name-calling & see if you answered the question about why non-military fed agencies would need billions of rounds of cop killer ammo & 'assault' rifles.

Nope, you didn't. What a surpise. Another T-Rex hissy-fit with no attempt to argue or debate - basically just 'your mama is ugly and dresses you funny, yuk, yuk...'

How does pointing out the historical precedent of centralized govts slaughtering millions of innocent civilians in the 20th century make one a paranoid lunatic??

ah the eloquent, classy voice of liberalism..