Nazi Germany: Truly an Unprecedented Evil.

Throughout history, it is rare to see a power that has both fanatical intentions along with the military might to carry them out on such a large scale. In the past, there have certainly been expanding threats that were insatiable in their appetites for conquest, such as the Greeks, Romans, Muslim caliphates, Mongols, Ottomans and Napoleon’s France. However, even these nations were often no worse (perhaps even better in cases) than the existing regimes they conquered. The main crime was the warfare that ensued between existing regimes and the expansionary threats.

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But once rule had been established, conquered subjects were often assimilated into the political system, even as equals or near-equals in many instances, and with fair to substantial autonomy. Certainly there were atrocities carried out by conquering powers before the Nazi regime, but nothing comparable to the Nazi crimes against humanity, and often nothing above and beyond what the general public faced under the receding regime. Nazi Germany, was truly diabolical in its treatment of conquered peoples, including its own citizens deemed to be “undesirable”. They forced millions into slave camps, systematically exterminating Jewish and even Polish populations, as well as other “undesirables” including religious figures, handicapped, darker races, homosexuals, etc. The Atlantic-African Slave Trade was perhaps greater in its harmful impact (tens of millions enslaved over the course of 4+ centuries), but the Holocaust is unique in the number of people slaughtered with cold calculation in such a short period of time.

How could such an unprecedented evil arise? 1) Technology – deadlier weaponry and more efficient means to rapidly kill large numbers of people. 2) Dense Populations – warfare and atrocities were made much more deadly (in terms of death rates) due to large numbers of victims in comparatively tighter proximities. 3) Mass Media –enabled a cult of personality (such as Hitler), with such extremist ideas, to spread propaganda to an enormous audience. Since television and radio broadcasts were so new, they had a greater persuasive effect than is possible today.

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How were such detestable acts justified? Hatred for the Jewish people existed throughout Europe, and especially in Germany, long before Hitler rose to prominence. With the Germans, the hatred stemmed from perceived religious, social, physical and nationalistic differences. Throughout history, Christian leaders had always stoked the fires of contempt against the people believed to be responsible for the death of their lord Jesus Christ. The Jews were also viewed as a peculiar people, that tended to isolate themselves from the general European community. Through falsified “scientific” studies, Jews were also deemed to be anatomically inferior. This dehumanization made persecution seem morally acceptable. Finally, Jews were wrongfully perceived to be responsible for Germany’s premature surrender in WWI. As a highly prideful people, the Jews served as the perfect scapegoat to explain away their WWI failings and subsequent inter-war predicament.

Hitler: The "right" trigger at the "right" time. Hitler then came along and pulled all of these levers to bring hatred for Jews and other “undesirables” to a boiling point. Despite their defeated disposition after their WWI loss, Germany still sat on a wealth of industrial and military might, along with vast raw and human resources. When Hitler mobilized these resource to their advantage, Germany again began to rise, while the rest of Europe sank during the Global Depression. As a result, Hitler’s political currency rose tremendously, to iconic status, which enabled him to carry out his “Final Solution” with the support of a nation. He was also able to establish himself as politically untouchable and authoritatively secure, which gave him dictatorial powers, making opposition to his plans a life-threatening proposition.

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