History of Sorts

I know this blog will probably stir some controversy, and I will more than likely be criticized for it. However, I hope you will read it with an open mind. If you do, you may realize that the question, “Who was responsible for the Holocaust?” is a valid one.

Believe it or not, that question came to my mind while watching something that could not be further removed from World War II and the Holocaust. I was watching the TV show My 600-lb Life. I’m completely hooked on the show because I’m fascinated by how people reach such extreme weights. Each episode reveals a similar pattern: the individuals involved often have people around them who enable their behavior. Family members and friends, rather than helping them address the underlying causes or encouraging healthier habits, often give them the food they want simply to keep the peace.

While watching, a thought occurred to me: enablers who want to keep the peace. That idea can be summed up in a single word—appeasement.

No one in their right mind would deny that the Nazis were responsible for the Holocaust. However, their actions were also enabled by others who chose to ignore what was happening.

As early as 1925, Adolf Hitler had already outlined his views about Jews in Mein Kampf. He made little effort to hide his ideology. At that time he had not yet become the leader of Germany, but the warning signs were there.

Ten years later, on September 15, 1935, the Nazis introduced the Nuremberg Laws. By then it was becoming clear where Germany was heading. At that stage the Nazi regime might still have been stopped. Their actions violated both the Treaty of Versailles and the Treaty of Saint-Germain.

On March 7, 1936, Germany reoccupied and remilitarized the Rhineland. The international community did nothing.

In 1937, German forces were actively involved in the Spanish Civil War. Again, the world did nothing.

In 1938, Germany annexed Austria and then moved into Czechoslovakia (although many Austrians initially welcomed the annexation). Once again, the world failed to act. In fact, British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain pursued a policy of appeasement toward Hitler.

However, it would be unfair to single out Neville Chamberlain alone. The entire League of Nations largely stood by and failed to act. Even as persecution of Jews intensified, the international community continued to look on without taking meaningful action.

Between July 6 and July 15, 1938, the Évian Conference was held in Évian-les-Bains, France. The conference was organized to address the growing refugee crisis as increasing numbers of Jews attempted to flee persecution in Nazi Germany. Delegates from many nations attended to discuss possible solutions.

Adolf Hitler responded to the conference with open cynicism:

“I can only hope and expect that the other world, which has such deep sympathy for these criminals [Jews], will at least be generous enough to convert this sympathy into practical aid. We, on our part, are ready to put all these criminals at the disposal of these countries—for all I care, even on luxury ships.”

In the end, the conference failed to produce meaningful commitments. Most countries were unwilling to significantly increase their immigration quotas. It has often been argued that if the nations represented at Évian had each agreed to accept approximately 17,000 Jewish refugees, every Jew then living in the German Reich could have been saved.

Some people argue that no one could have imagined the scale of the Holocaust. But in reality, the warning signs were already there. Evidence of the regime’s brutality was becoming increasingly visible.

The image at the beginning of this blog was taken on August 25, 1944, at Auschwitz-Birkenau.

Earlier, on September 19, 1940, a Polish resistance fighter named Witold Pilecki deliberately allowed himself to be captured during a Warsaw street roundup. Along with around 2,000 civilians, he was arrested by the Germans. After two days of detention in the Light Horse Guards Barracks—where prisoners were beaten with rubber batons—Pilecki was transported to Auschwitz, where he was registered as prisoner number 4859.

While in the camp, Witold Pilecki organized a resistance network and began sending reports to the outside world. As early as 1941, he was informing the Western Allies about the atrocities being committed by Nazi Germany at Auschwitz.

That same year, the Polish government-in-exile published a series of detailed reports documenting the brutality of the German occupation. These reports were compiled under the title The Polish White Book, providing further evidence of the persecution and violence taking place under Nazi rule.

The Mass Extermination of Jews in German-Occupied Poland was a report published by the Polish government-in-exile on December 10, 1942. It was distributed to the foreign ministers of the Allied nations and represented one of the first official documents to inform the Western world about the systematic extermination of Jews in German-occupied Poland.

From April 1942 to February 1943, British intelligence intercepted and decoded radio messages sent by the German Order Police. These messages included daily prisoner counts and death tolls from ten concentration camps, including Auschwitz.

There were also many other reports published throughout the 1930s and during World War II that pointed to the escalating persecution of Jews. Even the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin should have served as a warning sign, yet the international community largely chose to ignore what was happening.

It is, of course, true that the Nazi regime bears responsibility for the deaths of millions. They were the perpetrators and must remain fully accountable for those crimes.

However, the world had been warned repeatedly about what was coming. As early as 1925, the intentions of the Nazi movement were openly expressed. Yet instead of taking decisive action, the international community largely limited itself to condemnation and criticism. Very little was done to place real obstacles in the path of the Nazi regime.

The Nazis were the perpetrators—but the inaction of other governments helped enable them.

 

 

Sources

CIA

USHMM

WikiPedia

NY Times