Denying History

It is estimated that 5 to 6 million Jewish and other people who were considered inferior were killed. 5 million people, is an absolutely astonishing amount of people-imagine seeing that many people in a room. This act of genocide was named the holocaust. During the holocaust millions of primarily Jewish people were killed in concentration camps by deliberate carbon monoxide poisoning, starvation, and in gas chambers containing the zyclon-b chemical, a chemical that if used properly, is one of the most lethal chemicals in the world (Gottfreid 12).

Imagining a visual of the number of people killed in the holocaust is almost impossible-all I could ask is how could that happen? It brought me back to a quote from George Santange, which states that,” Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”(Gottfreid 13) That is why many feel so strongly about learning history. Because if we do not have an understanding of how past events, like the holocaust happened, and the effects of the Nazi movement, a similar incident could very well happen again.

The holocaust is a unique subject, because most people have learned, studied, or at least heard of these horrible actions committed by the National Socialist German Workers Party, better known as the Nazi party that was run by Adolph Hitler. It seems that in some parts of the world today, everyone knows the basics of the holocaust. This is obviously a good thing because we must protect minorities from history’s madmen so that nothing like this happens again.

A true madman in history, many consider Hitler to be the worst criminal who ever lived, and it is doubtful that there are many people who view him as a good person. Michael H. Hart ranks the 100 most influential people in history, which includes Hitler, in his book “The 100.” “He writes,” I must confess that it is with a feeling of disgust that I include Adolph Hitler in this book. His influence is entirely pernicious, and I have no desire to honor a man whose chief importance lies in having caused the deaths of some thirty-five million people.” (205) Mr. Hart ranked Hitler as the 39th most influential person in history. Hitler was ranked before Plato (ranked 40), Alexander Graham Bell (ranked 42), John Locke (ranked 44), Thomas Jefferson (ranked 64), Niccolo Machiavelli (ranked 79), and Mohandas K. Gandhi (who was not even in the book!). This proves how well known Hitler, and his cause, has been throughout history.