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Could the Holocaust have been avoided and how?
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The Holocaust might have been avoided if international and German leaders had acted decisively against Adolf Hitler's rise in the 1920s and 1930s. Hitler's anti-Semitic ideology was clearly outlined in Mein Kampf, yet it was largely ignored. Germany's post-WWI turmoil allowed Hitler to gain support. Had global leaders exerted pressure to prevent his ascent to power, or later focused military efforts on liberating concentration camps, the Holocaust's devastating impact could have been lessened.
Yes, the Holocaust could have been avoided, or at the very least, ended with international cooperation before 1945.
In order to understand the history of the Holocaust, one must study the writings of Adolf Hitler in Mein Kampf, as well as the history of Germany before and after World War I. While Germany was reeling from its losses of World War I, a veteran named Adolf Hitler was gaining notoriety for his passionate speeches about how Germany could once again return to its former glory as a powerful European nation. As Hitler gained a following and became a political voice to be reckoned with, he penned and declared his support for national socialism (Nazism), as well as his hatred and prejudiced views of Jews. His plans for the future of both Germany and Jews were clearly outlined in Mein Kampf ; however, far too many Germans and international leaders...
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failed to read, nor take seriously, Hitler's mad claims.
If German social, political, and religious leaders had stopped the rise of Hitler as a legitimate political candidate during the 1920s and early 1930s, Hitler would not have had the opportunity to seize more and more power, culminating with his tyrannical control during the 1930s. Unfortunately, Hitler was an incredibly effective, impassioned speaker, and he moved crowds to emotional frenzies, which resulted in unbridled loyalty to the leader and his party. Therefore, the impetus was upon the German leaders of the 1920s to shut him down and dispel his message of violence, racism, and pure hatred of a group of people. However, as Germany was in economic despair and ruin after World War I and facing stiff penalties under the Treaty of Versailles, Hitler seized the opportunity to gain momentum as a rising leader who offered hope to many (non-Jewish) Germans.
One must understand that Hitler's vision for a world without Jews was clear and was not hidden. Therefore, all world leaders of the 1920s and early 30s were should have placed pressure on Germany to keep Hitler from any powerful political position. However, world leaders were also distracted by putting measures in place in Europe, specifically in Germany, to keep peace and put Europe back together again after WWI. Therefore, many leaders did not take Hitler's rise to power seriously as it occurred, nor did they take decisive action to quell his increasing loyal following.
Once World War II began, the systematic procedure of discrimination, pogroms, and mass murder of Jews began in Germany and in camps outside Germany. Again, once world leaders could have united to stop the Holocaust by concentrating military campains around destroying these camps and freeing its captives, as many camps did not have overwhelming German forces protecting each one. While easier said than done, if Allied forces had united and concentrated focus upon stopping the Holocaust, many more generations of Jews would be alive today.