 A
Sample Research Paper
for English 1302
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(Note: The following essay was completed as a
project for dual credit in Sociology 1306: Social Problems and English
1302 through the Mountain View College Writing Across the Curriculum
initiative.)
Edgar Overstreet
English 1302:203
Spring, 1998
The Price of Silence: The Allies’ Role in
the Holocaust
The former
Allies of the two world wars are guilty of being compliant to Nazi Germany
before the Holocaust. This is partially due to ignorance and unawareness.
The Allied nations have had the tendency to blame only Hitler and Germany
for the Holocaust, a horrible mistake, we helped create.  Perhaps,
World War II and the Holocaust could have been avoided if the Allies had
the foresight to have been more understanding and lenient of Germany after
World War I. Instead of preventing a second world war, or attempts at stopping
Nazism in its early stages, the United States, Great Britain and France
were indifferent. The Allies helped to create the environment for, and
eventually allowed, Hitler to rise to power. No longer should the blame
be laid only on Hitler and Germany. The Holocaust was the result of the
apathetic complacency and delayed action of a preoccupied world towards
Nazi domination and the near annihilation of the World’s Jewish population.
The Holocaust
and the other catastrophic tragedies of World War II actually had their
beginning shortly after the first World War. It was the destruction and
ruin of Europe, and especially Germany, that helped form the environment
of the tyranny of Totalitarianism.
After World
War I , Germany felt, understandably, that their defeat was an unjust and
undeserved misfortune. The first underlying causes of Hitler’s rise to
power was the Allied creation of the Treaty of Versailles. It was the outcome
of thoughtlessness and the lack of regard the victorious Allies had for
their conquered enemy. Horst von Maltitz’s The Evolution of Hitler’s Germany
illustrates how this was magnified by the Treaty of Versailles (392). This
was the first mistake on the part of the Allies.
The Germans
were shackled into the chains of an unreasonably harsh set of ultimatums
by the victorious Allies. This was in retribution for a war that the allies
of Germany, and not actually Germany itself, initiated.1
The once strong and powerful German monarchy was destroyed and the people
were humiliated. After years of having a solid government, Germans were
faced with political uncertainty.
The vindictiveness
of the Treaty of Versailles is especially evident since it was dictated
rather than negotiated by the victors (von Maltitz 410). On top of this
was the huge reparation payments of about 132 billion gold marks. This
was expected of a nation that was in no position to pay them (von Maltitz
410). Germany was even under an indefinite blockade after the war, which
increased the adverse affects on their economy (von Maltitz 393).
Insult
was added to injury when a demonized Germany was shunned and excluded from
world affairs. When prohibited from the League of Nations, Germany’s status
as world outcast was confirmed. Any hope the Germans had, for receiving
Woodrow Wilson’s “fourteen points,” were shattered when the Allies rejected
them (von Maltitz 410).2 In the aftermath of World War I Germany’s
power was unwisely and unjustly taken by the Allies.
Germany
was forced to take on the blame and burden for the war. Very stern, one-sided
terms were given to the German people. From Nazi Germany by Klaus
P. Fischer, Article 231 from the Treaty of Versailles states:
| The Allies and Associated Governments affirm
and Germany accepts the responsibility of Germany and her allies for causing
all the loss and damage to which the Allies and Associated Governments
and their nationals have been subjected as a consequence of the war imposed
upon them by the aggression of Germany and her allies. (63) |
To
the Germans the embodiment of their nationalism was their Kaiser Wilhelm
II. After World War I and the exile of the Kaiser, Field Marshall Paul
von Hindenburg was elected president during the years of the Weimer Republic.
Richard Grunberger’s The 12-Year Reich tells how Hindenburg was described
as a “ Zero paving the way for a Nero (3).” The German people yearned for
some kind of dynamic person to lead them.
The Weimer
Constitution was the second major factor that precipitated totalitarian
domination. This constitution was designed to regulate the political climate
and the military behavior in Germany. However, Despite the possible good
that could have arisen from this government, there were no great improvements
for the frustrated Germans. The Weimer Constitution itself was a democratic
one. It was one of the most democratic ones in the world at that time (Fischer
54). But, just as the Treaty of Versailles, the Weimer Republic was unacceptable
to the Germans. According to The 12-Year Reich by Richard Grunberger, certain
Jews were held to be the prominent initiators and planners of the Weimer
government (15).
To the
average German, the Weimer Republic embodied the very ones who defeated
them. This burden was more than they could bare. Even though this experiment
in democracy had relative tolerance and freedom of expression, most Germans
were dissatisfied and disillusioned.3 However, there were exceptions.
And to many of the Germans it obviously seemed that the minorities, the
outsiders, were the exception (von Maltitz 123).
Neither
England, France or the United States realized the future vacuum of power
that was created by the terms in the Treaty of Versailles. No one took
into account the void left by the absence of the once strong and stable
monarchy of Kaiser Wilhelm II. The vacancy was temporarily filled by the
experiment in democracy, the Weimer Republic (Fischer 54).
At this
point in time, the Jewish population of Germany was doing rather well.
This contrasted sharply with the embittered situation of the majority or
average individual (von Maltitz 123). Besides this, the Jews all over Europe
were already wrongfully despised as “ Christ-killers ” and also for being
shrewd money-lenders (von Maltitz 123). Richard Grunberger, mentions how
the Jews, in Germany, were successful doctors, lawyers and bankers, people
who had risen to prominence between the wars (Grunberger 456). In Lucy
S. Dawidowicz’s The War Against the Jews 1933-1945 , she tells how many
disenfranchised Germans, the “Aryans,” blamed their defeat and humiliation,
in the first World War, on the Jews and other “inferior” people (14).
Both the
Treaty of Versailles and the failing Weimer Republic helped to mistakenly
reaffirm the Germans in their blame of the Jews. This was at the foundation
of the basis for German anti-Semitism.4 The demented Hitler
took advantage of the circumstances. Hitler, enthusiastically pronounced,
“ For a people, it is particularly necessary to indicate one sole enemy,
to march against one sole enemy (von Maltitz 129).” This perceived enemy
was the Jewish population, of not only Germany but, all over Europe. The
void left in the wake of World War I, and the unreasonable terms of the
Treaty of Versailles were about to be filled with a new, dangerous form
of nationalism. At the very front of this new nationalistic movement was
the disillusioned, disenfranchised Austrian, Adolf Hitler. It was easy
for him to identify himself with, and therefore relate to, the citizens
of Germany. Once Hitler came to power and Germany began to rearm itself,
the Western Powers made no objection and offered no opposition.5
In further
violation to the treaty of Versailles, Hitler annexed Austria and parts
of Czechoslovakia (von Maltitz 413). Still, the Allied Powers made no move
to enforce the restrictions that they had placed on Germany (von Maltitz
413). Hitler was captivating and almost hypnotic, a mesmerizing leader
of the movement that intended to restore the former grandeur of Germany.
At the
same time Nazi Germany was preparing to free itself from the presence of
“inferior,” alien influences. Anti-Semitism and Aryan supremacy were the
main ideologies that were promoted by this group, the National Socialistic
Party. In this hostile, post-war environment, the void was filled. In the
absence of a strong government and a healthy economy, the alienated Germans
looked to the dynamic and manipulative leadership of Hitler (von Maltitz
290).
There was
never any effort, by Hitler, to hide his plans for the Jews or any other
“inferior” race. According to Martin Gilbert’s Auschwitz And The Allies,
Mein Kampf declared Hitler’s intentions before any concentration camp was
built (13). Despite this, however, few in the Allied nations believed Hitler
until it was all reality. The world allowed Hitler to gain power as he
arrogantly railed against the Jews.
In Mein
Kampf, Hitler proclaimed that, “If we pass all the causes of the German
collapse in review, the ultimate and most decisive remains the failure
to recognize the racial problem and especially the Jewish menace (327).”
The topic of race, racial stereotypes and differences were given inordinate
importance in Nazi culture. All of these factors and circumstances lead
up to the arrival of Hitler and the Holocaust. Hitler’s threats against
the Jews were well documented. Hitler’s anti-Semitic policies affected
the German’s neighbors, coworkers and fellow countrymen who just so happened
to be Jewish.
The basic,
deep-rooted lack of tolerance, for the Jews, was manipulated into hate.
In the fervor of extreme nationalism the German people forsook all the
kindness for humanity and even reason itself. In cold, calculated steps
the German citizens followed the orchestrated demise of innocent humans.
Hitler rationalized, to the Germans, the boycott of Jewish business (Dawidowicz
52). At Hitler’s command the Jews were rounded-up and sent to the concentration
camps.
Hitler
was a man of the times and he represented, to the Germans, much of what
was perceived to be the cause of their quagmire. From the end of the first
World War to the beginning of the second, Hitler advocated a form of strong
nationalism which the Germans were eagerly anticipating. Hitler’s Nazi
party advocated and emphasized the blame of their misfortune on, the “visible
enemy,” the Jews (von Maltitz 129). The post World War I period was volatile
because the Germans were susceptible to any form of alternative leadership.
Hitler
did not fashion the environment of hopelessness and despair which engulfed
the proud, unbending German people. This is very much like how a weed does
not fashion the environment in which it takes root. Hitler merely took
advantage of the resentment, the environment, of World War I. Again, this
was partially due to the Allies’ lack of foresight.
If the
Allies would not have been so callused in their dealings with Germany,
then perhaps Hitler would have remained just another obscure leader of
a small group of misfit malcontents. The Allies were haughty and aloof
to the position of the Germans and did not anticipate the possibility for
another conflict.
In 1933,
Hitler came to power unimpeded and legally (Dawidowicz 49). The opposition
Hitler had in, and out of, Germany was minimal and obviously ineffective
(Dawidowicz 50)6. As the parliamentary government of the Weimer
Republic collapsed the Nazi party positioned itself to take its place.
In Nazi Germany, it describes how after Hitler assumed power, as chancellor,
he had three kinds of supporters (Fischer 260).
The first
kind were those who completely embraced Nazism and who revered Hitler to
the point of idolatry (Fischer 260). The majority of this first group were
males who had previous military experience but were displaced and alienated
after their defeat of World War I. Hitler closely identified with and related
to these supporters. Hitler’s supporters could not come to grips in dealing
with the changes during the time of the Weimer Republic.
The second
kind Nazi supporters were associated with the movement purely for self-interest
and socioeconomic reasons (Fischer 260). The final kind of Nazi supporters
were merely opportunistic, “bandwagon” types who were swept into the frenzy
of nationalism (Fischer 260).
It was
easy for all of these supporters to grasp the insane ideas, projected by
Hitler, blaming the Jews for the cause of their problems. There was also
a fear of the Jews as a Communist threat. There was some soviet-type influence
in the Jewish community. The anti-Jewish sentiment of the Germans was often
aroused by Jewish-Communist leaders (von Maltitz 142). Hitler made the
Jews the scapegoat for everything wrong in or with Germany.7
Most Germans believed it.
All of
the supporters of Nazism were not just participants or witnesses to the
Holocaust, but were symptoms due to their treatment after World War I and
the blotched diplomacy of the Allies. The new revival of German national
pride, the fierce nationalism, combined with Christian anti-Semitism was
reinforced into becoming full-blown hate (Dawidowicz 23). Hitler amplified
the racial tension and made it increasingly more violent. The warnings
of this new, full-fledged hatred of the Jews were apparent from the onset
of the Nazi movement. In Germany, the Jews had already been somewhat despised,
but never to the point of being considered scapegoats. All it took to incite
the violence of the Holocaust was the powerfully, misleading personality
of someone like Hitler. He took advantage of an explosive situation.
The German
people, even though they were wronged by World War I, still have a certain
degree of implication concerning the Holocaust. They knew what was really
taking place before the rest of the world did. In their silence, they denied
what was happening to the Jews. But, how could they?
The blame
and responsibility of the Holocaust belongs not only to the Germans, but
to the Western Powers as well. The signs and warnings went unheeded and
ignored, by the rest of the world, until the Nazi movement was full-blown
and plans for the Holocaust were already underway. The world powers relaxed
their vigilance at the most decisive point earlier this century. The time
of shifting the blame must end. The world must not let tyranny go unchecked
because of their apathy and indifference to the welfare of others.
The former
Allied nations are guilty, although indirectly, of their unawareness and
unconcern for the condition of the Jews. The slowness in which the Allies
came to the aide of the Jews, for what were often diplomatic reasons, cost
many innocent lives.
The intent
in the writing of this paper is not to exonerate the Germans, and certainly
not Hitler. However, the intention is to relate the involvement in the
creation and prolonging of the Holocaust by the Western Powers.
Germany’s
people either directly participated in the murders or were involved indirectly
by their complacency. It was German citizens who helped prepare the materials
and the means for the genocide of the Jews. The Holocaust is an example
of the cost, in human life, of the unawareness and unconcern for others
who are different.
Hitler
and his Nazism were created by the post-World War I environment. The Allies,
the Western Powers, helped create the environment that allowed Hitler to
come to power and that saw the occurrence of the Holocaust. 8 Hitler took
advantage of the Germans and most of them blindly followed.
The Holocaust
was not merely a German crime. It was a crime of mass-murder in which the
Allies allowed to happen. The Allies were compliant and complacent to the
Holocaust. Those who silently and passively participated in the Holocaust
are guilty of being accessories to the murders. By their lack of concern
they allowed tyranny to reign free.
In blaming
Hitler and Germany for the terror of the Holocaust, we must not forget
that these occurrences were preceded by actions and conditions which helped
allow these things to happen. The vigilance against despotism must not
wane. Horrific crimes against humanity still have the opportunity of occurring.
Since the Holocaust there have been subsequent crimes of genocide, such
as Pol Pot’s slaughter of his fellow Cambodians during the late 1970’s.
The world
cannot afford to lapse into a state of unawareness and apathy. Despite
the distractions of everyday life, economic and culturally, we must keep
constant guard and vigilance against the rise of tyranny in other nations
of the world. We must all maintain an active interest and concern for the
condition of humanity.
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Notes
1 In fact,
the assassination of Archduke Francis Ferdinand of Austria, by a Serbian,
initiated the conflict of W.W.I. Austria-Hungary’s declaring war on Serbia
caused a domino-effect of the alliances of the world.
2 Von Maltitz
refers to President Wilson’s terms of peace that the Germans thought they
would receive. Unfortunately they did not (410).
3 Von Maltitz
makes the point that after World War I, during the Weimer years, the racial
tension had root in the Germans envy of the Jew’s financial success (122).
4 Fischer
tells how, after W.W.I, Hitler did all he could to blame the Jews for the
“stab-in-the-back” that caused the Germans to lose the war (34).
5 Von Maltitz
writes how the Allies were passive while Hitler rearmed Germany clearly
violating the Treaty of Versailles. The effort used in order to appease
Hitler could have been used to, resuscitate the Weimer Republic, preventing
his taking of power (413).
6 The major
world powers, according to Dawidowicz, were confident that Hitler’s power
would be very short-lived. They did not take him seriously (49).
7 Von Maltitz’s
“ scapegoat theory” traces the origin of German anti-Semitism as being
a cycle of placing the blame, for almost anything, on the Jews (130).
8 The Allies are credited, by von Maltitz, in
creating “stepping stones,” such as the Treaty of Versailles, for Hitler’s
accession to power (415).
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Works Cited
Dawidowicz, Lucy S. The War Against The Jews.
New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 1975.
Fischer, Klaus P. Nazi Germany. New York:
Continuum, 1995.
Gilbert, Martin. Auschwitz And The Allies.
New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 1981.
Grunberger, Richard. The 12-Year Reich.
New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 1971.
Hitler, Adolf. Mein Kampf. Boston: Houghton
Mifflin Company, 1943.
Maltitz, Horst von. The Evolution Of Hitler’s
Germany. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1973.
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