Nazism today denotes an ideology that radicalized German society to an extent that mass murders of Jews and others seemed ‘normal’ and justified. Ordinary people saw the world through Nazi eyes and spoke their minds in Nazi language. They felt hatred and anger surge inside them when they saw someone who looked like a Jew. People genuinely believed Nazism would bring prosperity and improve general well-being. Although not every German was a Nazi but mostly all others were passive onlookers and apathetic witnesses. 

• Charlotte Beradt secretly recorded people’s dreams in her diary and later published them in a highly disconcerting book called The ‘Third Reich of Dreams’. She describes how Jews themselves began believing in the Nazi stereotypes about them. Jews died many deaths even before they reached the gas chamber.

Stages of Exclusion, Ghettoisation and Annihilation

Stage 1: Exclusion 1933-1939 ‘YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO LIVE AMONG US AS CITIZENS’ 

• The Nuremberg Laws of Citizenship of September 1935: 
  • Only Persons of German or related blood would henceforth be German citizens enjoying the protection of the German empire. 
  • Marriages between Jews and Germans were forbidden. 
  • Extramarital relations between Jews and Germans became a crime. 
  • Jews were forbidden to fly the national flag.
• Other legal measures included: Boycott of Jewish businesses Expulsion from government services Forced selling and confiscation of their properties.
• • Jewish properties were vandalized and looted, houses attacked, synagogues burnt and men arrested in a pogrom in November 1938, remembered as ‘ night of broken glass’.

Stage 2: Ghettoisation 1940 – 1944 ‘YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO LIVE AMONG US’ 

• Identification and Segregation: From September 1941, all Jews had to wear a yellow Star of David on their breasts. This identity mark was stamped on their passport, all legal documents, and houses. 
  • They were kept in Jewish houses in Germany, and ghettos like Lodz and Warsaw in the east. 
• Misery of Ghettos: These became sites of extreme misery and poverty. Jews had to surrender all their wealth before they entered a ghetto. 
  • Soon ghettos were brimming with hunger, starvation, and disease due to deprivation and poor hygiene.

Stage 3: Annihilation 1941 onwards ‘YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO LIVE’

Jews from Jewish houses, concentration camps, and ghettos from different parts of Europe were brought to death factories by goods trains. 

• In Poland and elsewhere in the east, most notably Belzek, Auschwitz, Sobibor, Treblinka, Chelmno, and Majdanek, they were charred in gas chambers. Mass killings took place within minutes with scientific precision.

Retribution for Germany

Fall of Nazi: In May 1945, Germany surrendered to Allies. 

• • Hitler, his propaganda minister Goebbels, and his entire family committed suicide collectively in his Berlin bunker in April. 
• Nuremberg Trials: At the end of war, an International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg was set up to prosecute Nazi war criminals for Crimes against Peace, War Crimes, and Crimes Against Humanity.
• Moral Reckoning: Germany’s conduct during the war, especially the Crimes Against Humanity, raised serious moral and ethical questions and invited worldwide condemnation. 
• The Holocaust: Second World War, Germany waged a genocidal war, which resulted in mass murder of selected groups of innocent civilians in Europe. 
  • The number of people killed included 6 million Jews, 200,000 Gipsies, 1 million Polish civilians, and 70,000 Germans who were considered mentally and physically disabled, besides innumerable political opponents gassing them in various killing centers like Auschwitz. 
• Justice Deferred: Nuremberg Tribunal sentenced only eleven leading Nazis to death. Many others were imprisoned for life. 
  • The retribution did come, yet the punishment of  Nazis was far short of the brutality and extent of their crimes. 

Truth of Holocaust Revealed 

Unveiling Holocaust: Information about Nazi practices trickled out of Germany during the last years of the regime. 

• • But the real truth of the horrific incidents came out after Germany was defeated. 
• Documentation of Holocaust: The Jews wanted the world to remember atrocities and sufferings they had endured during Nazi killing operations – also called Holocaust.
  • But the Nazi leadership made all attempts to destroy all incriminating evidence available in offices. 
• Lasting Legacy: Yet history and the memory of Holocaust live on in memoirs, fiction, documentaries, poetry, memorials, and museums in many parts of the world today. 
  • These are a tribute to those who resisted it, an embarrassing reminder to those who collaborated, and a warning to those who watched in silence. 

Conclusion

Nazism, an extremist ideology rooted in hate, racial superiority, and authoritarianism, led to the unimaginable suffering and loss of millions of lives. It brought about the Holocaust, a genocide that stands as one of the most heinous crimes against humanity. Reflecting on this period serves as a stark warning against the dangers of extremist ideologies, intolerance, and the erosion of democratic values. It highlights the importance of vigilance in safeguarding human rights, promoting inclusivity, and fostering a culture of understanding and empathy.

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