Except the Jew never directly hurt the Nazi beforehand, whereas the Nazi slaughtered the friends and family of the Jew because of someone else's hatred. The Jew's killing of Nazis would be justified.
Depends on what your definition of justified is. Is killing an unarmed man justified? When the Allies liberated the camps, they made the guards and the townspeople dig the mass graves and dispose of the bodies. They also made them give interviews and answer questions so to why they did this, or turned a blind eye. Personally, I think that is justice.
I'm sorry, I was unclear. The interviews were more like interrogations, and they were meant to make all those involved see the horrors they had committed, and ultimately, live with what they had done. The townspeople in the surrounding areas got the worst of it, while the guards, for the most part, were defensive of their actions.
Okay, that makes much more sense, and sounds pretty great for Non-Nazis.
Only problem I see is the people not getting vengeance. I personally believe that anyone who engaged in the initial slaughter should be killed, but I can see the merit in forcing them to see what they have done.
There were the Nuremberg Trials, and separate trails for different camps and many, many people were executed, especially the camp command structures. And the Mossad went after a lot of top Nazis after the war too. Most of the guards, however, either committed suicide or were let go because they were following orders. There's a really disturbing movie called "Hotel Terminus" about Klaus Barbie, and in it they interview a lot of old Nazis (the dyed in the wool kind), and it's chilling to see how more than a few still defended what they did.
Personally, I don't think you should kill them. Don't sink to their level. Let them love with what they've done and show them you are not like them. But that's just me. :)
I honestly don't see how killing them would be sinking to their level. They willingly hunted down business men, doctors, teachers, children and parents. People would come home to find their family dead or gone. No warning, no reason.
If killing someone like that somehow makes you just as bad as them, I fail to see how.
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· 10 years ago
The problem with that is that you start to tar all Nazis with the same brush, so to speak - yes, they may have done (some of) those things, but did they do so unwillingly and in fear for their own lives, their own family's safety? Hitler's rule was a harsh one that left all in fear - even his own soldiers.
To kill all Nazi soldiers of the time as vengeance would've caused the deaths of good men and women (not all Nazis, but a fair number) who acted simply to protect their loved ones.
Nothing can justify a genocide of innocents. No one man's family can outweigh thousands of others.
The Nazis were the ones holding the guns, whether they wanted to doesn't matter, they were still the ones pulling the trigger.
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Edited 10 years ago
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· 10 years ago
If it were your family against that of a stranger, who would you choose to save? I'm not saying what the Nazis did was justifiable at all, I'm just pointing out that we are expecting these soldiers to have made civilised decisions in an extremely uncivilised time.
I agree with this, I get why they'd want revenge and all for how awfully they were treated, but why would you stoop to that level; I know that I'd never be able to kill a person no matter the circumstances, I'd hate myself for it
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· 10 years ago
DragonMustache you have a point but truly as someone who doesn't much believe in revenge, I think this is one of this situations he deserves it.
I actually think that many things have to happen inside of you until you're ready to kill a human being. To the nazis the jews were just parasits who had to dissapear. the jews didn't understand what they had done to the nazis I mean they saw themselves as a part of the german communiy. The moment you actually end a life you become a murderer and you'll never be able to get those memories out of your head. Many nazis killed themselves after war. some because of the consequences and some because of the terrible memories. many regretted what they have done. I honestly don't know what I would do in that lad's place. (sorry for errors and stuff I'm like german myself :D)
I would let them live. The amount of pain and torment as a result of their memories would be much more difficult to bear, rather than just killing them on the spot.
Only problem I see is the people not getting vengeance. I personally believe that anyone who engaged in the initial slaughter should be killed, but I can see the merit in forcing them to see what they have done.
If killing someone like that somehow makes you just as bad as them, I fail to see how.
To kill all Nazi soldiers of the time as vengeance would've caused the deaths of good men and women (not all Nazis, but a fair number) who acted simply to protect their loved ones.
The Nazis were the ones holding the guns, whether they wanted to doesn't matter, they were still the ones pulling the trigger.