Holocaust: Ethnic and Cultural Diversity and the Real Face of Prejudice

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Table of Contents

Introduction
The Holocaust
Examples of Prejudice
Winston Churchill and the Holocaust
Tolerance
Conclusion
Works Cited

Introduction

Society is full of acts of prejudice, social perception and attitudes are guided by nations of prejudice. As a result social is full of cases in which many people are affected by prejudice. Prejudice can be defined as an opinion which is not based on reality. It is a notion that defeats the purpose of truth and reality. Human history has not been without instances where prejudice took the day and acts of inhuman nature were extended to innocent people.

The holocaust is a perfect example of how things can go bad in society when prejudice takes root. The holocaust involved the brutal murder and oppression of the Jews. The main reason for their murder was the fact that they were of Jewish descent. The paper intends to analytically look at the aspect of prejudice and its effect on society. In order to evaluate the issue deeply special reference will be put on the holocaust. Events preceding the holocaust will be analyzed so as to bring out the real face of prejudice. All the aspects that relate to the whole concept of prejudice will be discussed.

The Holocaust

The holocaust refers to the murder of six million European Jews in the course of the Second World War. This was orchestrated by the Nazi Germany at a time when there was military conflict (Miller & Prentice 212). The holocaust was the highest level of prejudice in society during the time. Up to now there are few instances that can be compared to the holocaust. Prejudice had however begun earlier and before the final execution several events along the lines of prejudice had taken place. There was a law which was passed so as to enable the expulsion of Jews from the society. This was then followed by the inception of concentration camps.

It was here that prisoners were enslaved until death. As the conquests preceded people of Jewish descent together with those who held contrary political thoughts were murdered by units specifically meant for the same. This was commonly done by shooting. The victims who were predominantly of Jewish origin were locked in closed places from where they were taken to extermination camps. Incase they managed to make it alive they were suffocated by gas chambers to death. The strangest reality was that lots of procedures were involved in the whole process of killing the Jews (Parijs 2004). This was a well planed act that involved state agencies. As a result it represents the highest form of prejudice to have ever existed in the universe.

Examples of Prejudice

Racism is the moist common prejudice in our society nowadays. The racial discrimination extended to people whose races are considered inferior has been entrenched in modern society. Or instance the oppression of blacks has been going on for a very long time in the United States (Stanton, Stanton & Pires 117). First and foremost it began with slavery where Africans were shipped to western countries and meant to go through inhuman experiences of servitude.

Winston Churchill and the Holocaust

Winston Churchill who became British prime minister in 1949 played a great role in protection of the Jews during the holocaust. He was so much associated with the event that it has been noted that he liked Jews so much. As a result he used all the means possible to bring an end to the barbaric torture of the Jews. Even before he became Prime Minister Churchill was against the racial discrimination of the Jews by Nazi Germany. For instance there was a time before he became prime minister when he was meant to meet Hitler, when asked to pose a question that he wanted Hitler to respond, he penned down a question regarding the essence of persecuting people along racial lines. This made Hitler to refuse meting Hitler. This was one indication where Churchill perception about the holocaust was manifested.

As prime minister Churchill put in pace a number of measures with the aim of protecting Jews. The most common one was the appeal to allow the Jews to escape through Palestine. It has therefore been established that Churchill new about the holocaust early and he tried his best to stop it. As much as he wasn’t successful in putting an end to the events he did a lot so as to reduce the impact of the Jews.

Tolerance

In order to live together in harmony as a society we need to change the way we perceive each other. The best way is to uphold human dignity. Human dignity can be defined as human worthiness. From the implication of the term, human worthiness simply means that as long as one is human he or she should be treated equally (Cooper & Ryan 432). This will bring about an aspect of tolerance in society. Majority of the acts of prejudice stem from the perceptions that certain sections of society are superior to others. Under such thinking certain races and categories of society are seen as being of lesser value than the rest.

However under human dignity everyone will be valued equally thus erasing the chances of prejudice. We must stop seeing each other along cultural, racial or religious lines. It is only through this that we will learn to appreciate one another and live on perfect harmony.

Conclusion

Prejudice is a common parameter in society, under normal circumstances the perceptions and attitudes of people are guided by preconceived notions. These notions are always in contradiction with facts and aspects of reality. Yet in a real society bias and prejudice make more sense to people than reality. This has led to the extension of hatred, violence and oppression to certain sections of society based on notions of prejudice. The holocaust is a perfect example of how things can go when prejudice is not tamed. The holocaust was one of the most brutal forms of expressions of racial hatred in history. This was perpetuated by Nazi Germany against the people of Jewish descent.

The reason behind the Nazi Germany’s hatred of Jews has never been established. However the extent of prejudice held against the race was well portrayed in the manner in which atrocities against the people of Jewish descent were carried out. This paper has taken an analytical look at the whole aspect of prejudice. The nature and factors that surround the whole subject have been evaluated so as to come up with a true picture of the concept. Special reference has been given to the holocaust since it remains the greatest form of prejudice to be perpetuated against a racial group. All the events that precede the genocide have been evaluated. The personalities involved have also been given due attention.

Works Cited

Cooper, James, & Ryan, Kevin, Those Who Can, Teach. New York: Cengage Learning, 2008.

Miller, Dale, & Prentice, Deborah, Cultural Divides: Understanding and Overcoming Group Conflict. Washington: Russell Sage Foundation, 2001.

Parijs, Philippe, Cultural diversity versus economic solidarity: proceedings of the Seventh Francqui Colloquium, Brussels. Brussels: De Boeck Université, 2004.

Stanton, John, Stanton, John & Pires, Guilherme, Ethnic marketing: accepting the challenge of cultural diversity. New York: Cengage Learning EMEA, 2005.

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