HIST-410N Week 4 Discussion: World War II (Option 2: Examine the Nazi Ideology) | GRADED A

Week 4 Discussion: World War II Initial Post Instructions For the initial post, select and respond to one of the following options:  Option 1: Examine one or more major battles, including both the Axis and Allies strategies, the outcome of the battles, and the subsequent effects of the victory/defeat. Include an examination of the technologies that were crucial factors in the battle.  Option 2: Examine the Nazi ideology in wiping out an entire ethnic group. o How could any modern and so-called advanced and evolved nation like Germany go along so willingly with the mass murder of at least 11 million civilians? o How were the Germans able to construct the facilities they built for their "Final Solution to the Jewish Question" so as to commit genocide on an industrial scale? Option 2: Examine the Nazi ideology in wiping out an entire ethnic group. The Nazis were not the first group to subject Jews to violence and persecution. At first, they were subjected to living in the ghettos and had restricted rights. During the 19th century, Jews had become prominent in both Germany and Austria-Hungary, where they held professions such as lawyers, scientists, scholars, and performers. However, multiple groups felt threatened by the rise of their success, especially German nationalists. Their portrayal of German people as successors of the "Aryan" race put groups such as the Jews on the forefront of political and social assault (Duiker, 2015). Hitler played on these persecutory feelings by transforming this nationalism into a justification for a revolution. This revolution involved the theory of Social Darwinism, where people viewed nations as "races" who competed for survival; therefore, the Aryans were competing with the Jews for the restoration of Germany. The Nazi party targeted Jews by removing them from their positions, removing any teachings by them, and threatening death with persecution and concentration camps (Brower & Sanders, 2014). The "final solution" was established by several Nazi leaders such as SS General Reinhard Heydrich under Hitler's orders; this solution was the establishment of camps and centers where Jews (along with other persecuted groups) were sent to be killed, either by asphyxiation, gas chambers, or shooting (United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, 2006).