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Can the Holocaust be forgiven? Can the Holocaust be forgiven?
The Holocaust cannot be forgiven The Holocaust cannot be forgiven
The Holocaust can be forgiven The Holocaust can be forgiven
The Holocaust cannot be forgiven because everyone has a conscience The Holocaust cannot be forgiven because everyone has a conscience
The Holocaust cannot be forgiven unless the perpetrators repent The Holocaust cannot be forgiven unless the perpetrators repent
The Holocaust cannot be forgiven because perpetrators have not faced justice for their actions The Holocaust cannot be forgiven because perpetrators have not faced justice for their actions
The Holocaust cannot be forgiven because it is not our place to forgive The Holocaust cannot be forgiven because it is not our place to forgive
Normal people were simply following orders during the Holocaust Normal people were simply following orders during the Holocaust
Holocaust perpetrators were brainwashed so they can be forgiven Holocaust perpetrators were brainwashed so they can be forgiven
Refusing to forgive the Holocaust gives more power to the oppressor Refusing to forgive the Holocaust gives more power to the oppressor
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Can the Holocaust be forgiven?
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The Holocaust can be forgiven

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Holocaust perpetrators were brainwashed so they can be forgiven

Soldiers and impressionable children were undoubtedly a target of the Nazi regime. They were brainwashed into believing that what they were doing was for the good of Germany.
Ethics Genocide History Holocaust WWII
Olivia B. Waxman
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The Argument

After Hitler came to power in 1933, the Hitler Youth had acquired over 50,000 members. By 1936, all other scouting and youth groups were banned in Germany.[1] Children were lured in by a life of comradeship and being a part of something bigger than themselves. The Reich forced young men to join the Hitler Youth to be trained as loyal followers of Hitler and join the Reich when they were old enough. They became loyal soldiers, believing that they were doing the right thing. Children were forced into the doctrine of the Nazi regime without a choice. They were specifically targeted by Nazi propaganda for the purpose of being brainwashed into believing a flawed ideology. Through every facet of entertainment, children were indoctrinated to believe it was their duty to serve the Reich. The Nazis infiltrated public schooling as well, flooding the curriculum with the views of Nazi scholars. Boys as young as 17 from the Hitler Youth were forced to serve in the military. [2] These boys were subjected to strict obedience to follow the Reich as they had been taught most of their life. Therefore, these young children should not be held accountable for their loyalty to the Reich and should be forgiven.

Counter arguments

Not all children joined the Hitler Youth. Groups of children decided to reject the Hitler Youth and create secret youth groups. One of the most notable underground groups was the Edelweiss Pirates. This group outwardly defied the Hitler Youth by attacking them and vandalizing their property. [1]Their resistance shows that children followed the Hitler Youth or defied the organization out of their own volition. Therefore, while children may have been a major target of propaganda, they had a choice in following it.

Proponents

Premises

[P1] Children are impressionable and don’t know better. [P2] The Hitler Youth targeted children to make them into soldiers. [P3] Children were lured into the Hitler Youth by indoctrination. [P4] They should be forgiven for not knowing that what they were doing was wrong.

Rejecting the premises

References

  1. https://www.history.com/news/how-the-hitler-youth-turned-a-generation-of-kids-into-nazis
  2. https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/indoctrinating-youth
This page was last edited on Wednesday, 11 Nov 2020 at 15:21 UTC

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