An interesting topic from my holocaust class...what do you think?

[florida-again]

My lecturer argues that it is simply not possible for someone to be so evil that they just 'decide' to kill 6 million jews in a cruel and systematic way.

I don't agree, I think that there are still plenty of people in the world who are evil enough to do something like this without a conscience.

My lecturer and I can't agree on this, I think, give any nutcase power and they are capable of terrible things. Lecturer doesn't think anyone could do something like Hitler did simply based on hatred and evil.

Your thoughts????

 

[CheshireVal]

How does he explain Hitler then?

 

[florida-again]

He talks about how it is possible Hitler never planned or wanted the holocaust.

There are theories that he had nothing to do with the systematic killings.

There are other theories that Hitler was driven by 'circumstance' and had only wanted to remove the jews from Germany and then only killed them because he couldn't get rid of them. Like it was a 'last resort' rather than something he really wanted to do.

I think he was evil and that's that....

 

[s&k'smom]

OK I would be very concerned about this teacher. As someone who has only the highest regard for teachers this sounds very upsetting. Ask him about what's happening in North Korea or the Sudan. Maybe he should speak to a Holocause survivor or visit the Musuem. Wow this has really made me mad.

 

[Alicnwondrln]

He talks about how it is possible Hitler never planned or wanted the holocaust.

There are theories that he had nothing to do with the systematic killings.

There are other theories that Hitler was driven by 'circumstance' and had only wanted to remove the jews from Germany and then only killed them because he couldn't get rid of them. Like it was a 'last resort' rather than something he really wanted to do.

I think he was evil and that's that....

is this person a teacher? if so as a parent i would be calling this school
asap what they are "teaching" is wrong it doesnt matter to me why he did it but that he did and allowed it to be done
the holocaust happened and killed 6 million people its irresponsible to suggest anything else

 

[florida-again]

OK I would be very concerned about this teacher. As someone who has only the highest regard for teachers this sounds very upsetting. Ask him about what's happening in North Korea or the Sudan. Maybe he should speak to a Holocause survivor or visit the Musuem. Wow this has really made me mad.

I know! I'm jewish so it's really hard for me to hear. I've visited the museums and met holocaust survivors. I wonder if he'd be more tactful if he realised I was Jewish? It's very unusual for there to be any Jewish people at the university I study at, so there's a chance he might not have taught the class to anyone Jewish before.

 

[florida-again]

is this person a teacher? if so as a parent i would be calling this school
asap what they are "teaching" is wrong it doesnt matter to me why he did it but that he did and allowed it to be done
the holocaust happened and killed 6 million people its irresponsible to suggest anything else

In his defence, the class is on different interpretations of the holocaust. We mainly discuss other historian's points of view, although it is clear it is also his own. It's a very interesting class but I don't understand why he can't fathom that anyone could be so evil

 

[s&k'smom]

Anyone so evil? how many parents do we hear on the news that have harmed their own children? What does he think pedophile's are? God bless you for keeping your temper I'd be all over him like a cheap suit.

 

[CheshireVal]

Well, it's a university, and college classes are supposed to be kind of thought-provoking. Professors sometimes have stubborn ideas about things, but you don't have to believe what they believe.

 

[Virgo10]

This person needs a reality slap. Hitler? Hey I've got a million of them!

Pol Pot
Stalin
Mao Zedong

I think this guy needs to be reported to the dean. I had heard there are people out there that don't believe in the holocaust. He doesn't seem to have a problem with that just that Hitler was misunderstood? Unbelievable.

 

[helenabear]

Some people choose to think that all people are inherintly good... that they are drawn to bad things by factors that they cannot control. I kind of like to think that deep inside everyone there is some good. So I can halfway get that kind of a thought. However, some people I do believe, are the epitome of evil... that any good inside is more or less lost.

So maybe your teacher just cannot get the rose colored glasses off to see that Hitler was evil or at least severely disturbed.

Sounds like it could be an interesting class to take though... even though the focus is on things that the majority of people (including me) couldn't agree with.

 

[Frantasmic]

I think his point is that laying the blame on one individual is difficult to do since it is difficult to believe that one person could harbor so much hatred.

The flaw in his logic is that Hitler bears sole responsibility for the atrocity. Like any bureaucracy, it was the idea and goals of many.

There are still and have been since evidences of this same type of group thinking. It is self-perservation gone amuck.

So, I think his logic is flawed. The Holocaust was not the sole idea of Hitler and based on his hatred of Jewish people. It had to have been a design of a group of evil people, where evil can abound in numbers.

 

[canwegosoon]

Some people choose to think that all people are inherintly good... that they are drawn to bad things by factors that they cannot control. I kind of like to think that deep inside everyone there is some good. So I can halfway get that kind of a thought. However, some people I do believe, are the epitome of evil... that any good inside is more or less lost.

So maybe your teacher just cannot get the rose colored glasses off to see that Hitler was evil or at least severely disturbed.

Sounds like it could be an interesting class to take though... even though the focus is on things that the majority of people (including me) couldn't agree with.

I agree..I was going to post there are plenty of people we know that have a "god complex" where they can justify killing people...murderers, dictators etc., but Hitler and others mentioned I think get backed into a corner where they can do no wrong (in their mind) and there is no stoping them...and once you start, how do you justify in your mind stopping? When your mind is telling you you are god?

Evil doesn't exist??? On a small scale how does your professor explain serial killers like Dammer? And I guess he thinks it's ok for Sadam Hussain to also kill thousands of people too ? There's plenty of evil out there trust me!!!

 

[golfgal]

Well, I can kind of see his point, Hitler THOUGHT he was doing the right thing and didn't have evil intent. He THOUGHT what he was doing was for the good of mankind. Stupid and evil aren't necessarily the same thing, although what he did was evil. You don't build concentration camps and gas chambers as a "last resort" though.

 

[Disney Doll]

I am not sure why anyone would report this college professor to the dean???? While I may not agree with this particular interpretation, the course is about the Holocaust and examining it from all sides, all theories etc. This is one theory...there are others.

I believe Hitler was eveil, probably mentally ill as well. His type of behavior can be seen in many other regimes...heck...it can be seen in today's Mafias, on a smaller scale. I mean, thnk about it. The Mafias have guys whose job it is to kill people who go against what the Boss thinks. Same principle, smaller scale.

College is supposed to teach you to think.

 

[CheshireVal]

College is supposed to teach you to think.

Exactly!

I took a really interesting religion class in college. We spent a couple of days talking about the question of "If God is all-good and all-powerful, how can He allow evil to exist?"

Our professor wasn't advocating the idea that there was no God or trying to make us question our beliefs, but really trying to make us *think* about the issues. In a way, it really helped me firm up my own beliefs.

Probably one of the most interesting classes I took!

 

[Virgo10]

I am not sure why anyone would report this college professor to the dean???? While I may not agree with this particular interpretation, the course is about the Holocaust and examining it from all sides, all theories etc. This is one theory...there are others.

I believe Hitler was eveil, probably mentally ill as well. His type of behavior can be seen in many other regimes...heck...it can be seen in today's Mafias, on a smaller scale. I mean, thnk about it. The Mafias have guys whose job it is to kill people who go against what the Boss thinks. Same principle, smaller scale.

College is supposed to teach you to think.

I stand corrected on the examining the holocaust from all sides issue. When I responded, I had only read the first post which does not mention that.

One might argue that all murderers are mentally ill but I would hate to see Hitler's actions get wrapped into a neat little package in our oh so PC world. He had planned to exterminate all the Jews for years and when he got his opportunity, that's exactly what he tried to do.

Mentally ill? Maybe. Pure unadulterated evil? Absolutely!

 

[Alicnwondrln]

In his defence, the class is on different interpretations of the holocaust. We mainly discuss other historian's points of view, although it is clear it is also his own. It's a very interesting class but I don't understand why he can't fathom that anyone could be so evil

im not jewish
and i still dont think there is a defense for this
why have a class like this ?????

 

[SugarBear]

Okay, this upsets me every time I hear it. There were 11 million people killed in the holocaust. Everyone mentions the 6 million Jews and totally ignores the other 5 million people. That's 5 million - 5,000,000 - people who are generally ignored and forgotten about.

 

[florida-again]

Okay, this upsets me every time I hear it. There were 11 million people killed in the holocaust. Everyone mentions the 6 million Jews and totally ignores the other 5 million people. That's 5 million - 5,000,000 - people who are generally ignored and forgotten about.

Sorry if I upset you. Actually I added that into one of my posts but then deleted it because it was too lengthy. But you're right. There was a huge number of others killed.

Strangely enough my class only concentrates on the Jews that Hitler killed. I'm not really sure why.....