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Mitchell Venator
UWRT 1102-064
Mrs. Thomas
20 February 2015
How does Evil survive?
We have all heard about the Nazis, Concentration Camps and the Holocaust. The Nazis
plunged the world into a cataclysmic war that resulted in an estimated 60-70 million deaths
worldwide. In addition the Nazis systematically rounded up and exterminated over 6 million
Jews, Gypsies, gays and Russian Prisoners of War. Many of these 6 million were also forced
into brutal labor camps and/or forced to undergo brutal medical experiments. All in an effort to
purify Europe and bring about a master race that would rule for 1,000 years.
What I have always wondered, is how did something of this scale happen? Did everyone
in Germany hold Hitlers beliefs? If not, why did no one stand up to him? Additionally, did the
world not recognize the threat posed by Hitlers Germany? If they did, why didnt some country
or group of countries stop him? What all these questions boil down to is, how is evil on this
scale allowed to go unchecked or unchallenged for so long?
In doing preliminary research I have found a tremendous amount of work on this subject.
Books such as, The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, by William L. Shirer to, The Nazi
Conscience, by Claudia Koonz deal with this question is great detail. There are a number of
other books and articles that I plan to look into and use before writing my final draft.

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There are two primary reasons we should look at this question. First, as mentioned in the
first paragraph, millions of people lost their lives before this evil was stopped. I think it is very
important that we understand how it started, and also how and why it was allowed to become
such a large threat before it was confronted. The second reason is that we may be seeing
something similar in the form of Al Qaida and ISIS. If we recognize the potential danger in not
confronting this type of evil, we may be able to do something before the whole world is engulfed
in conflict. It would be a tragedy if our generation had to fight a war similar in magnitude to
World War II, because this generation failed to learn from previous generations mistakes.
I had a very limited understanding of Hitlers Germany before I started this project. I
have come to realize that one of the major reasons Hitler was able to accomplish many of the
things he accomplished is that no one had the courage to stand up to him. The results of World
War I had made many people afraid of confrontation, and by the time they realized what Hitlers
true plans were, it was too late because he had enough power and resources to face other
countries and win. Hitler ultimately benefited from other countries indifference to the situation,
and this enabled him to change the course of history.
At the end of this project I will be better able to explain why it is better to confront evil
early, instead of waiting until the choice is between confronting that evil and becoming a victim
of it. How to determine whether a threat is something we as a country should confront, or
whether we should leave it up to others is a question this project has brought to my mind. My
future research will help clarify the answer for me.