It's tough to characterize any group in particular as bystanders when so much of the world was involved in the conflict.
It cannot be denied that 'ordinary' people in Germany were powerless to oppose the Nazis treatment of their opponents. That was because the Nazis made it that way: Political Opposition wasn't an option. Indeed Political Opposition simply made you into a victim. Therefore to be a bystander was a means of survival, doing & saying nothing kept you alive. By the same token joining with the Nazis was seen as the only way to prosper.
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Nevertheless, some ordinary Germans did in fact help victims and people in danger, but it took a lot of courage and they had to set about it very cleverly. One can argue that in some Nazi-occupied countries the position was somewhat different, especially where there was a broadly based, popular resistance movement.
In the context of the Holocaust bystanders were people who were neither victims nor perpetrators but stood by, watched and did nothing. Obvious examples include Germans who knew that local Jews were being deported for what was called "resettlement in Eastern Europe", Poles who knew what was going on and so on.
Considering most of the world were bystanders to the Holocaust, this would excuse the actions of those who perpetrated the Holocaust and those who enabled it. So no, you cannot say that they were.
what was the percentage of bystanders who did what? percent is a measure of proportion, there needs to be another reference point. do you mean of the world's population? do you mean only of those involved in the Holocaust? but then you say World War II, so do you mean 'which countries were neutral in World War II?' the question is impossible to answer as it is.
In Germany and surrounding countries Jews had no rights and at the very best of times they had severely limited rights. Before being thrown into concentration camps Jews were put into ghettos, had a curfew, and could only shop at Jewish stores, amongst other things.
A huge event like the holocaust is not easily forgotten, and by remembering this horrific event we learn to not repeat it. Even though there is still genocide occurring to this day...
With respect, this is a very puzzling question. It implies that the period before the Holocaust was some kind of 'age of innocence', which was certainly not the case.
The bystanders.
Considering most of the world were bystanders to the Holocaust, this would excuse the actions of those who perpetrated the Holocaust and those who enabled it. So no, you cannot say that they were.
they are called 'bystanders'.
"Responsible" is overstating it a bit, but passive bystanders do share the guilt to an extent, as is expressed in the old saying: "All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for the good to do nothing".
what would be the point after so many years.
pretty good that they were getting rid of those vermins aka rats aka jews
They are classified as 'bystanders', they were neither the victims nor the perpetrators (they were also on a different continent).
American and her other allies (not under occupation) did not contribute to the Holocaust, they were 'Bystanders' - neither victim nor perpetrator. Germany and many of her allies contributed to the Holocaust, either by helping murder Jews, or by deporting them to be murdered.
Yes, the bystanders were (almost certainly) the majority. They were the people who knew or saw what was happening but did nothing: they were neither victims nor perpetrators. It has become fashionable to regard the bystanders as morally even worse than the killers.
Generally their role was 'bystanders', this is the category given to countries such as the US or the UK or Switzerland.But some outsiders, on an individual basis joined the SS and became perpetrators.Similarly some outsiders, on an individual basis were in the wrong place at the wrong time and became victims.____The term bystander is generally given to individuals, not countries. It recent years it has become very fashionable to regard the bystanders as morally on a par with the perpetrators. However, one needs to draw a distinction between bystanders who were actually in a position to help and those who were not. [This needs to be moved to 'discussion']
Bystanders is the plural form. The singular is bystander.
Innocent Bystanders was created in 1983.