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On the contrary, they absolutely were evil. It just turns out that evil doesn't look quite like we would have thought--hence the importance of studying history

On the contrary, they absolutely were evil. It just turns out that evil doesn't look quite like we would have thought--hence the importance of studying history from primary sources, to know what evil actually looks like, to be able to recognize and oppose it today.

AlexandrB 11y ago
I think a great documentary that explores this territory (but within the context of Indonesia) is The Act of Killing [1]. It can be hard to watch because it lays bare the banality of "evil". No cackling madmen or volcano fortresses, just ordinary-seeming people who committed mass murder while still believing themselves to be just. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Act_of_Killing https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Act_of_Killing
meric 11y ago
Evil is "good people" thinking "the ends justify the means". "It's unfortunate we have to persecute these even the women and children, but it's required to make a more fair and just world." "It's unfortunate we have to go to war in Iraq, but it's required to defend peace in the region, from the threat of mass weapons of destruction." Of course, "the ends" are never achieved, because the "means" they use will cause even more problems to be solved. Persecuting Jews to achieve justice and fairness for the German people => Destruction of Germany. War in Iraq to remove dictatorship and mass weapons of destruction => Rogue terrorist group governing by coercion and hundreds and thousands of civilian deaths. I ask you. What other examples of evil can you see in our world, today? What other evil things are people are doing in the name of good? Most important to remember: Evil is stopped by being persistently good ourselves, even when pressured and coerced to do otherwise, and that's all that we have to do.
Houshalter 11y ago
I don't agree. In my opinion, evil is something done selfishly, knowing it will harm others. If you are doing terrible things because you believe they are right, then you aren't evil. Just wrong, or deluded. Granted, some of the things the Nazis did were evil, in the sense they were selfish. Valuing their own race and country above others, for example.

AlexandrB 11y ago

I think a great documentary that explores this territory (but within the context of Indonesia) is The Act of Killing [1]. It can be hard to watch because it lays bare the banality of "evil". No cackling madmen or volcano fortresses, just ordinary-seeming people who committed mass murder while still believing themselves to be just. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Act_of_Killing https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Act_of_Killing

meric 11y ago

Evil is "good people" thinking "the ends justify the means". "It's unfortunate we have to persecute these even the women and children, but it's required to make a more fair and just world." "It's unfortunate we have to go to war in Iraq, but it's required to defend peace in the region, from the threat of mass weapons of destruction." Of course, "the ends" are never achieved, because the "means" they use will cause even more problems to be solved. Persecuting Jews to achieve justice and fairness for the German people => Destruction of Germany. War in Iraq to remove dictatorship and mass weapons of destruction => Rogue terrorist group governing by coercion and hundreds and thousands of civilian deaths. I ask you. What other examples of evil can you see in our world, today? What other evil things are people are doing in the name of good? Most important to remember: Evil is stopped by being persistently good ourselves, even when pressured and coerced to do otherwise, and that's all that we have to do.

Houshalter 11y ago

I don't agree. In my opinion, evil is something done selfishly, knowing it will harm others. If you are doing terrible things because you believe they are right, then you aren't evil. Just wrong, or deluded. Granted, some of the things the Nazis did were evil, in the sense they were selfish. Valuing their own race and country above others, for example.