Root Causes of the Holocaust and Wwii

WWII and the Holocaust were two key events of the 20th century. Each had their own causes and historical factors leading up to their development. While the two events occurred close to each other each developed independently and neither was cause for the other. Anti-Jewish prejudice has a long history and was present in Germany long before WWII. The German people elected the Nazi party and it was its rise to power that lead to WWII. The Nazi party had many other strange policies that, while not as extreme as the Jewish policies, were odd and extreme in different way. The roots of WWII are based on the Nazi party’s economic policies and not as a mask for genocide. Therefore WWII was not a cause of the Holocaust and it was not used as a mask for the Holocaust.

Prejudice against Jews has existed from pre B.C. times through the Holocaust to the present day. There are countless examples throughout history of Jewish persecution. One of the earliest references to other nationalities persecuting Jews is told in the Bible’s Book of Exodus. The Exodus of the Israelites (Jews) from Egypt is the theme described in the above-mentioned book after the Egyptians treated them as slaves. In the First Crusade, 1096, communities on the Rhine and the Danube were utterly destroyed. In the Second Crusade, 1147, the Jews in France were subject to frequent massacres. The Jews were also subjected to attacks by the Shepherds’ Crusades of 1251 and 1320. The Crusades were followed by expulsions, including in, 1290, the banishing of all English Jews; in 1396, 100,000 Jews were expelled from France; and, in 1421 thousands were expelled from Austria. These examples show how throughout history Jews have been persecuted and discriminated against by various nations. Several European writers twisted Darwin’s Theory of Evolution to suggest there was a hierarchy of races with Jews at the bottom. “In addition, misuse of the theory of evolution was an important factor in the extreme forms of racism,