Nazi judge

Directions: After World War II, key Nazi officials were put on trial for their roles in the Holocaust; however, no one person was responsible for the Holocaust. Nazi soldiers carried out Hitler’s orders, ordinary Germans refused to help or did not know what was happening, foreign governments turned away refugees, and the citizens of the world ignored the problem. Ending genocide means recognizing how such a horrible event can occur in the first place. For each of the people described below, use the Text Editor and explain whether or not you feel each person is responsible for allowing the Holocaust to happen and why you feel that way, and then explain what you might be able to do to prevent such a terrible event from occurring again.
I was aware of the Holocaust and the concentration camps but I could not issue orders to bomb these camps and the railway tracks leading to them. I needed all available forces to attack strategic targets; that was the only way to end the war quickly and save lives. — U.S. General
I heard sometime in the 1930s about what was happening in Germany and I wasn’t that surprised—this is not the first time the Jews were an object of persecution in Europe. The newspapers starting reporting about the concentration camps, slave labor, and brutal experiments but I had my own problems. I thought that if it was important enough, the American government would take some action. — U.S. citizen
As a Catholic priest in Germany, it was my Christian duty to speak against the Nazi’s policies. I was sent to the Dachau concentration camp. — German Priest
I manufactured the poison gas used in the gas chambers of the camps, using Jewish slave labor. If I didn’t make the gas, another company would. I must make a profit to stay in business and survive. — German Industrialist
Living just a few miles from the Auschwitz extermination camp, I could smell the burning of bodies and I felt ill. But when a Jewish inmate escaped into my fields, I had to turn him in to the Nazis. If I hadn’t, I might have ended up in Auschwitz myself. — Polish farmer
As a diplomat, I was well aware of Nazi brutality towards the Jews. However, as long as this remained within German borders and only involved German people—I could not see why Britain should become involved. After all, Britain wouldn’t appreciate other countries telling us how to run our affairs. — British Diplomat
I did not like the idea of shooting men, women, and children, but I am a soldier. Orders are orders. If I hadn’t followed orders, somebody else would have—and I might have been disciplined. — German soldier
Although I sympathized with the Jewish passengers of the St. Louis, this was really an immigration matter for the Cuban government. The United States has quotas for immigration and if these people would like to come to the United States, they must wait their turn. — U.S. Secretary of State
As president of a German bank, I deposited gold and jewels from Nazi officers. Later on, I discovered that some of these items included gold glasses frames, teeth and fillings. Perhaps these were stolen from Jewish people but it was not my business to discover the origins of these items. — German banker

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