Essay Comparing The Holocaust And Bullying

Back in the 1940s, a horrendous event occurred, the Holocaust. But even though the Holocaust ended many years ago, the destructive spirit still hangs in the air. It’s an event that ended the lives of millions, and left many more scarred. Unfortunately, bullying exists today and has many parallels to the Holocaust. Bullying is an act of using superior strength to intimidate others. The Holocaust itself embodies many themes of bullying. Both the Holocaust and bullying begins when people target certain victims, act as bystanders, and feel the need to put others down, or a need for power.
A common aspect of bullying is an oppressor targeting people with similar characteristics such as sexual orientation, religion, or race. Hitler targeted people of the Jewish religion, viewing them as the inferior race. He was able to do this since Germany was vulnerable and facing economic issues, and people wanted someone to blame. Thus, the Jews became the Germans’ scapegoats, “Hitler and his Nazi party made use of anti-Jewish
When people stand by and watch unjust actions, everyone only prolongs injustice. In both cases of the Holocaust and bullying, prosecutors would be almost powerless without bystanders, “From the latter perspectives, the single victimizers could not inflict evil on the victims without the silent support of many who stand by” (Bar-On 7). So, even though people at the time of the Holocaust weren’t aware of the concentration camps, they still should have taken action against the Nazis. Also, many people didn’t want to be punished for supporting or protecting the Jews. People commonly put their own life first, and have no interest in risking their lives for a chance to help the Jews. This aspect, almost selfish, exists in bullying for similar reasons, though not nearly as dire, makes them just as cruel as the bully. Bystanders only reinforce what a bully wants, to feel superior to