Times of Tragedy
The holocaust was the analytical, systematic, state-sponsored prosecution of approximately six million Jews by a group called the Nazi’s and the other collaborators of these heinous crimes. The Nazi group had believed that the German’s were the superior race and that the Jewish were deemed “Inferior”. In January of 1933 the Nazi group came into power with a leader that had planted an idea in the heads of the German race that the Jewish were not worth anything and should be permanently removed. Hitler had a personal hatred for the Jewish race and had convinced most of Germany and other countries that Jews did not have a reason to live in the same world that they did, that they should be discriminated against, and removed from civilization. Not only did the Jewish get targeted by this Nazi group but also Roma (Gypsies), the disabled, and some of the Slavic peoples (Poles, Russians, and others) got put into concentration camps along with the Jewish because of their “inferiority” to the German race. Through the holocaust one can witness many philosophical theories based on the steps leading up to the holocaust, to the actual implication of the holocaust. The ethical questions that had come from the holocaust were simple. Hitler may or may not have asked the question, was attempting to exterminate the population of Jewish people the right thing to do? Truthfully he would have answered himself with a “yes” and many other of the German population would have agreed with him, but as we live our lives today we see the wrong of his actions taken against the Jewish. Immanuel Kant would have disagreed with the holocaust because he believed that the right thing to do was based on instinct, and to kill almost six million people was not based on instinct. Hitler must have been an egoist because he believed in the “greater good” only for bettering himself and his race even when it was hurting others. The holocaust had many ethical theories within it and many at fault for these heinous crimes should have asked themselves, “Is this the right thing to do?”
During the holocaust many of the Jewish, Roma (Gypsies), the disabled, and some of the Slavic peoples (Poles, Russians, and others) had experienced the horrifying reality of concentration camps. In Auschwitz, prisoners lived in old brick barracks. Several hundred three-tier wooden bunk beds were installed in each building. The overcrowding in Auschwitz forced basements and lofts into use as living quarters, as well. Dampness, leaky roofs, and the fouling of straw and straw mattresses by prisoners suffering from diarrhea made difficult living conditions worse. The barracks swarmed with various sorts of vermin and rats. A constant shortage of water for washing, and the lack of suitable sanitary