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Are Bystanders Really To Blame For The Holocaust

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Are Bystanders Really To Blame For The Holocaust
Who do you think the Holocaust is truly to blame for? As many people would say, the true guilty one is Adolf Hitler, the man who commanded the death of millions. However, bystanders were just as guilty as the perpetrators for not helping the victims in times of need. This is because the moment you become a bystander, you are immediately taking responsibility for what the perpetrators do. As Elie Wiesel himself said, “To forget the dead would be akin to killing them a second time.” As you may know Hitler mainly focused on killing and torturing people who weren’t arians. Arians were the german race in which Hitler believed was superior than the Jews. Of course, not all Germans agreed to Hitler’s brutal methods, however most people refused …show more content…
The bullies in this case are the perpetrators, their job is to make the victim feel bad about themselves, making the victim feel worthless. The other classmates who utterly watch the kid get bullied don’t help at all. Factors such as fear of the bully going after you later can make the bystanders feel as if they don’t have a voice. It is important to be brave in cases like these, simply because bystanders are the victim’s only chance of survival. According to Hannah Arendt on her book The Banality of Evil, she mentions a man called Adolf Eichmann, who followed Hitler’s orders. Eichmann was a lot like a bystander, refusing to contradict Hitler. Hannah Arendt does consider him partially responsible for what happened to the Jews, and Eichmann was even sentenced to death. On the book Night, Elie Wiesel solidly affirms that “those who kept silent yesterday will remain silent tomorrow” this quote can be applied in two ways, both blaming bystanders. One way to interpret this quote is by having it viewed as the bystanders who were once quiet today, won’t have a chance to speak up tomorrow. We can also view this quote in the shape that if a bystander doesn’t speak up today, he will definetly not speak up tomorrow, possibly because in terms will get harder to fight off.
In conclusion, if a bystander doesn’t make any efforts to help the victims, he will take part on the perpetrator’s

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