This week we talked about one of the most devastating events in world History, the Holocaust. Since its occurrence over sixty years ago, many people have asked how the majority of the German population could have been seduced into compliance with the government to go against the Jewish people who had resided in the country for so long. Before the laws began to develop against the Jewish people living in Germany, before the boycotts of their shops and the elimination of kosher meat, many Germans had close relations with Jews. In one of the articles we read for class this week, it discussed how, almost overnight, many Jewish people suffered the loss of their friends and neighbors. Although it is hard to believe how so many individuals could turn their backs on people they had known for so long, the explanation for why it occurred can be quite simple.
In my sociology class, we discussed how strong an individual’s need for conformity is. In one experiment we discussed, a sociologist gathered a group of people into a room together and had them answer a series of relatively simple questions. He implanted a person into the experiment and had him purposely deliver a wrong answer on several of the questions. In many instances, the other people in the group would also give wrong answers after hearing his response. Even though their was only one obvious answer, they felt as though they could possibly have been missing something that this man clearly saw because he gave his answers with such confidence. It was noted that even the people who would give the right answers gave so with an uneasy stature, feeling unsure about going against most of the group.
During the boycott of Jewish stores, many Germans remained loyal to the Jewish owners. However, as the boycott continued and more Germans began to stray away from their involvement with the Jewish residents, even those who had remained loyal in the beginning soon followed suit. Exceptions did of course exist. Some Germans cut ties to keep their Jewish friends safe as well as themselves from the harassment inflicted by other Germans. Despite the exceptions, conformity did lead a large group of human beings away from any sense of humanity. Conformity occurs everyday in our society, but the events that occurred in Germany over sixty years ago can show how dangerous it can become when taken to an extreme.
Interesting experiment and it is easy to understand how people would switch their answers when someone else seemed so sure of another answer. That basic social experiment coupled with the fear the SS instilled, the recovery of the economy and the early successes of the war probably made it seem like turning away from the Jewish population was the right choice. But, when the answer choices involved human rights and life it is impossible to figure how people dealt. It was a sad turn of events, and I don’t know if I will ever be sure how the German population was able to stand back and watch the tyrannical government attempt to destroy an entire group of people.
ReplyDeleteWe see the mindless need to conform all over the place these days. Conformity has become so pervasive that it is used now as a marketing tool. In the context of the Nazi regime in Germany conformity was not only a way to fit in with the progressive nature of the new German economy but also to avoid begin seen as a nonconformist. The nonconformist were seen as little better than Jewish prisoners. We also must consider that with all of the problems that were being solved by the Nazis for the people of Germany the decision to conform was an easy one.
ReplyDeleteKevin, I disagree that the rift between the Germans and the Jews occurred overnight, however the systematic destruction of Jewish culture in Germany could be considered swift and decisive. I also agree that conformity was a large driving force in the persecution. I think that still today conformity is a large part of what drives popular culture. Everyday there is a new fad that takes over and everybody wants to be included or a part of it. If people were more focus on individualism I think that things would be a lot different. However, in Germany, with all the persecution, it was hard to be individualistic...
ReplyDeleteI think that you are correct to point to the power of conformity as part of the reason why Germans accepted the alienation of Jews from the Volksgemeinschaft. Certainly for many people it is easier to just go along, especially with policies that seem to be successful.
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