Overview
The Holocaust required millions and millions of people to look the other way in order to make the genocide of 6 million people a reality. The gradual societal stereotypes and racism encouraged by the German government created a cascading effect that got systematically more evil over time. Jews were forced to wear a Star of David identifying them apart from German citizens. During Kristallnacht, Jewish businesses and livelihoods were broken, dismantled, and taken over. People fled the country; shootings and hangings began on the streets, in the forests, in people’s homes and bedrooms. Neighbors, friends, and even family turned Jews into the Reich as enemies of the state who were targeted for deportation. Human bodies were scavenged for blood, clothing, valuables, and medical experimentation. Finally, people were gassed in extermination chambers and their remains burned in factory-like efficient kilns that pumped human smoke and ash into the air around the concentration camps. These actions were perpetuated by Nazis and the German government who sought to tackle the “Jewish Question” and had the power and resources to make it a reality. However, there was another contributor: the average German citizen, a bystander, who watched the mass persecution of people and chose to remain silent.
Martin Niemöller
First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out–because I was not a socialist.
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out–because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out–because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me–and there was no one left to speak for me.
–Martin Niemöller
Action
What is Courage?
Acting in spite of fear and death through courageous deeds also saved many lives during the Holocaust. Neighbors and strangers hid persecuted individuals while rebellions aided the chances of escape. Meanwhile, “in rare cases, would-be Bystanders banded together to reject complicity with the Holocaust as immoral, and as a result, Jews were saved – as in Denmark, or in the Protestant hamlet of Chambon sur Lignon in France” though this is a marked exception in terms of heroism (Meron 1018). Historically, many rescuers and heroes faced the same fate as Jews and were taken to execution camps.
Saving Lives
In spite of this, there were still thousands of hidden Jews saved by rescuers as a result of the action and kindness of a few. Thus, there still remains “an argument for action against injustice out of morality and shared humanity – even if we come to recognize our shared humanity most readily through shared suffering” (Meron 1020). These courageous individuals chose to engage in acts of heroism and did so at great personal risk, showcasing communal support and the survival of a moral righteousness.
"Never Again" and the US Holocaust Memorial Museum
Inaction
A bystander is recognized by their inaction in societal moral downfall. These bystanders vary from perpetrators and victims in that they are “passive” or “indifferent” (“Bystanders”). An example of the nature of a bystander is showcased through Martin Niemöller’s quote: “First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out… Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me” (“Martin Niemöller”). The quote indicates how people only consider a situation as wrong when it directly affects their person or their families. Niemöller’s words were directed towards individual Germans, who he felt needed to “accept personal responsibility for complicity in the Nazi regime,” “German atrocities in German-occupied countries, and the Holocaust” rather than “passing the blame onto their neighbors, superiors, or Nazi organizations like the Gestapo” (“Martin Niemöller”). The nature of slow persecution towards people who were Jewish provided German citizens with an abundance of time in order to become complacent with moral wrongdoings encouraged by German leadership. While Jewish individuals were slowly being “dehumanized,” “many people became ‘bystanders’ to [the] ever-radicalizing [Holocaust] long before the mass roundups and killings began” (“Bystanders”). This idea recognizes that a bystander’s silence, especially when taken in large numbers of the population, results in strong leadership and radicalism taking advantage of a majority’s inaction.
The slow progression of persecution during the Holocaust often led bystanders to believe that their silence was a societal norm. “For the bystander/ordinary person, the term normal is not a concern for mental health so much as for social fit and social status” where “average equates to social acceptance (not deviating very much from what is expected) and being able to predict and anticipate their world” (Baum 162). When the slow dehumanization of people is seen as a societal good, people can consider genocide an everyday or “normal” concept. As persecution and racism escalate in radicalized societies, “dehumanized group members are excluded from the moral community; one feels no obligation to apply moral standards that are reserved for the fully human to them” (Baum 172). Society during the Holocaust represents an era in which the minorities were deprived of governmental rights and the majority failed to strive towards a communal good. Researcher Dan Bar-On proposed that “behind each Nazi perpetrator there must have been at least 10 bystanders who enabled the perpetrators to commit their evildoing (138). He goes on by stating:
"In order not to decontextualize the sequence of events as they unfolded during the Holocaust, we should remember that the Nazis were very sophisticated in handling this process. They conducted a great deal of daily indoctrination,fragmentation, and manipulation of language and images, in addition to the use of the fear, threat, and violence accessible to a totalitarian regime. All these aspects cannot easily be understood by people who have grown up and lived all their lives in a free and democratic society. Still, the Nazis relied on human indifference no less than on… hatred and fear” (138).
In this way, Bar-On holds bystanders as morally responsible. Many individuals took a role of indifference that perpetuated the wrongful desires of the majority.
In the case of inaction, societal structure might also be to blame. During the World War II time period, “there was the tradition of respect for and obedience to authority and leadership, even to manifestly unjust and brutal laws” (Meron 1019). In many cases, people recognized that Jewish individuals being persecuted used to be neighbors and friends. Those who were not polarized by German Nazi racism most likely remained silent not only out of indifference, but also for fear for their personal and family’s well being. Theodore Meron argues that “each case varies based on “every person’s situational circumstances, such as their knowledge, proximity and ability to help” which “must be taken into account in order to assess responsibility,” but “as a collective, bystanders bear a heavy moral responsibility” (1018). As showcased by Niemöller, the oppression of people does not stop when the “problem” group has been exterminated. Rather, genocide escalates to present a danger to all people and citizens.
Conclusion
The nature of bystanders/inaction compared to heroism/action in the Holocaust can be reduced to be a matter of life or death. Genocides are a product of societal degradation when people fail to protect each other or are bystanders to evil. Jewish individuals faced horrific persecution and terror while average citizens stood by on the sidelines. Though the nature of the average citizen's struggle cannot be contextualized simply as a guilty party based on modern standards, there is an argument that any action from one person could have saved additional lives. In looking back on the Holocaust, individuals living in the present must determine whether or not they will choose action or inaction to prevent history from repeating.
