NameAaliyahBolden

ELA8
HolocaustArgumentEssayFinal
March4th,2016

Whosreallytoblame?

JustlikeElieWieselsaysinhisbook
Night

Wemusttakesides.Neutralityhelpsthe
oppressor,neverthevictim.
In1933AdolfHitlertookoverGermanyandhestarted
somethingcalledtheholocaust.AlotofcompaniesinGermanyhelpedsupportthe
holocaust,butshouldGermancompanieswhoprofitedfromthewarreallybeheld
accountablebecauseofpastdecisions?InadditiontothefactthatatthistimeThe
Greatdepressionwaspresentcausinganeconomicdownfallandthesecompaniesdid
theirbesttosurviveinthese
strenuous
timesandtostillbethrivingwithgreatstrength
today.
Therearealotofcompaniesthatcontributedtothetheholocaustwhichsome
peoplebelieveprolongedthewarsuchcompaniesincludekodak,Hugo
Boss,Volkswagen,andChasebank.
KodakhelpedwiththewarbyfiringallJewishemployees.HugoBossmadeuniformsfor
thenazis.VolkswagenhadHitlernametheVolkswagenbeetleHitlerhimselfevensaid
"Acarforthepeople,anaffordableVolkswagen,wouldbringgreatjoytothemasses
andtheproblemsofbuildingsuchacarmustbefacedwithcourage."
AlongwithChase
bankfreezing
all
Jewishcustomersaccounts.
Arethesecompaniesreallybeingblamedforsomethingtheyhadnocontrolover

whoeverwasinchargeofthecompanybackinthe1930smadethedecisiontohelp
Germany.TheemployeeshadnosayinweathertohelpGermanyornotandiftheydid
notlistentowhattheirbosssaidtheymostlikelywouldhavegottenfiredwhichwould
havebeenoneoftheworstsituationstobeinconsideringtheeconomicdownfall
happeninginbothAmericaandEurope.Andthepersonwhoisinchargeofthe
companytodayshouldalsonotbeblamedforwhathappenedbecauseheorsheis
differentfromthepersonwhowasinchargeofthecompaniesinthe1930s.
AnotherreasonthecompaniesshouldnotbeblamedforthewarisThattheydid
whatwasbestfortheircompanytosurvive.Thesametimethatthewarwashappening
AmericaandEuropewasinaneconomicdownfallcalledtheGreatDepressionwhere
thestockmarketcrashedandtonsofpeoplewerefiredfromtheirjobs.Inatimelikethat
tryingtokeepyourbussinessinagoodplacewasmandatorysincesomanypeople
werelosingtheirjobstheywerenotgettingpaidthereforebuyinglessbutgermany
waswillingtopayfullpriceormoresothesmartthingtodowastohelpandgetmoney
fromgermany.IfthosecompanieswouldnothavejoinedGermanyinthetimetheydid
peoplewouldmostliklynotevenbetalkingaboutthesebusinessestoday.Siegfried
BossfromHugoBosssaid"OfcoursemyfatherbelongedtotheNaziparty.Butwho
didn'tbelongbackthen?"Itwasjustsomethingthateveryonehadtobeapartofandhis
sonisnowrunningthecompanywhilehehaslongpassed.
InsomecasesTherearecertainthingsthatpeoplewonderlikeifthecompanies
hadjuststoppedcontributingtoHitlerhowhewouldhavehadnosuppliesormoney
andwouldhavehadtostopthethingshewasdoingtothejewswhichiscorrectifthe

companiesdidstopproducingmaterialsforhitlerthenheprobablywouldhavenotleft
asbigofanaffectontheJewsbutiftheydidnothelptheywouldhavenothada
companyatall.PeoplealsohavetorememberthatalotofpeopleinGermanyhadno
ideawhathitlerwasdoingtotheJewshekeptinasecrethepretendedlikehiscamps
weregettingridoftheJewsbutnothurtingthemorkillingthemoffjustputtingthem
somewhereelsesothearyanracecouldtakeovercompletely.JohnezardfromUK
newssays
ThemassofordinaryGermansdidknowabouttheevolvingterrorofHitler's
Holocaust,accordingtoanewresearchstudy.Ofcourseifthiswastruetheywould
nametheresearchstudyandtheresearchitfound.
Thelastreasonwhythesecompaniesshouldnotbeblamedisprobablythemost
simpleandobviousreasonitwasnttheirideathecompaniesdidnotcometoHitlerand
tellhimallthesethingsabouttheJewsandthatheshouldkillthemofforthatheshould
trytotakeovertheworld.Atthestartofourblockalteste,wasremovedhewasjudged
tohumane.(44)ThisquotefromEliewiesel'sbookNighttalksabouthowtheywould
getridofpeoplewhoweretonicetotheJews.Hemanipulatedeveryoneintothinking
thatThejewswerebadevilpeople.TheonlypersonwhoshouldbeblamedisHitler.
Isitreallythegermancompaniesatfaultforthewar?
Mostofthem,especially
leadersoflargercompaniesriskedtheirlivestosaveJews.(archive.adl.com)
They
mighthavecontributedtothewarbuttheyaredefinitelynottheonestoblamethey
werejustpulledintoHitler'smanipulation.Andthefactthattheyneededhismoneyto
keeptheirbusinessafloatreallyjustshowshowmuchheblackmailedthemandjust
howevilheis.

"HugoBossAcknowledgesLinktoNaziRegime."
TheNewYorkTimes.
TheNewYorkTimes,
14Aug.1997.Web.29Feb.2016.
"WhichGermanCompaniesOperatingTodayWereInvolvedintheHolocaust?"
Quora
.Web.
29Feb.2016.
Wiesel,Elie,andMarionWiesel.
Night
.NewYork,NY:HillandWang,aDivisionof
Farrar,StrausandGiroux,2006.Print.

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