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When the Holocaust was happening, no one cared. The holocaust was stopped because it aligned with a different interest: to stop nazi Germany. The holocaust was

When the Holocaust was happening, no one cared. The holocaust was stopped because it aligned with a different interest: to stop nazi Germany. The holocaust was only to make the nazi look bad. Otherwise no one cared about Jews either.

_-david-_ 6y ago
Most people did not know about the Holocaust until after WW2 started.
- fileyfood500 6y ago
  FDR/senior government and military officials in the US army knew. They made choices to focus on American interests at multiple points, even as they closed on victory on the European front, they prioritized strategic targets over concentration camps. The USSR ended up being the one to free most of the camps, and conquer most of Germany. Strategic targets are definitely important for protecting soldiers, but really the point here is that the military leaders were aware, and the fact the soldiers were surprised/shocked is a result of them not being informed and/or it being a shocking thing to see even when you know it’s coming.
  - yellowapple 6y ago
    > they prioritized strategic targets over concentration camps. Well yeah, that's just Winning Wars 101. If the decision is between "let's knock out these strategic targets so that we can end the war quickly and (assuming we know about them) shut down the concentration camps all at once" v. "let's get bogged down by starting with the concentration camps while the enemy continues to churn out arms and war machines and troops because we couldn't be assed to focus on the strategic targets", the former is really the only reasonable choice.
  - neolog 6y ago
    > FDR/senior government and military officials in the US army knew. I'd be interested to see the source material for that.
  - throwaway210222 6y ago
    If you want a really damming example more recent than a war our grandparents were children during: consider that the IDF provided they could get to Entebbe in Uganda at short notice, but failed to muster the moral courage to intervene in Rwanda. So much for never again.
  - _-david-_ 6y ago
    Are you suggesting that in 1939 (when WW2 started) the US knew about concentration camps? I would very interested in seeing some sources for that. Regardless, even if they did, I said most people did not know. The president, some higher ups and some people in the military wouldn't account for most people. Even if the general population knew, not focusing on the camps does not mean they did not care. It means ending the war (which would end the camps) was a more important goal than liberating the camps. Why focus on one thing when you can kill two birds with one stone?
nkrisc 6y ago
Even soldiers who liberated concentration camps at the end of the were shocked at what they found; many people simply didn't know the extent of what happened until after the war.
agumonkey 6y ago
I'm confused, didn't the camp happen after the war started ? the aryan supremacy theory predates it but not the mass murdering .. I never really read timeline details about the concentration camps in WW2.
tim333 6y ago
No one cared is not correct - a lot of people did. But the holocaust proper started in 1941 and the UK were already full on at war with Germany so there wasn't very much we could do beyond what was already being done.

_-david-_ 6y ago

Most people did not know about the Holocaust until after WW2 started.

fileyfood500 6y ago
FDR/senior government and military officials in the US army knew. They made choices to focus on American interests at multiple points, even as they closed on victory on the European front, they prioritized strategic targets over concentration camps. The USSR ended up being the one to free most of the camps, and conquer most of Germany. Strategic targets are definitely important for protecting soldiers, but really the point here is that the military leaders were aware, and the fact the soldiers were surprised/shocked is a result of them not being informed and/or it being a shocking thing to see even when you know it’s coming.
- yellowapple 6y ago
  > they prioritized strategic targets over concentration camps. Well yeah, that's just Winning Wars 101. If the decision is between "let's knock out these strategic targets so that we can end the war quickly and (assuming we know about them) shut down the concentration camps all at once" v. "let's get bogged down by starting with the concentration camps while the enemy continues to churn out arms and war machines and troops because we couldn't be assed to focus on the strategic targets", the former is really the only reasonable choice.
- neolog 6y ago
  > FDR/senior government and military officials in the US army knew. I'd be interested to see the source material for that.
- throwaway210222 6y ago
  If you want a really damming example more recent than a war our grandparents were children during: consider that the IDF provided they could get to Entebbe in Uganda at short notice, but failed to muster the moral courage to intervene in Rwanda. So much for never again.
- _-david-_ 6y ago
  Are you suggesting that in 1939 (when WW2 started) the US knew about concentration camps? I would very interested in seeing some sources for that. Regardless, even if they did, I said most people did not know. The president, some higher ups and some people in the military wouldn't account for most people. Even if the general population knew, not focusing on the camps does not mean they did not care. It means ending the war (which would end the camps) was a more important goal than liberating the camps. Why focus on one thing when you can kill two birds with one stone?

nkrisc 6y ago

Even soldiers who liberated concentration camps at the end of the were shocked at what they found; many people simply didn't know the extent of what happened until after the war.

agumonkey 6y ago

I'm confused, didn't the camp happen after the war started ? the aryan supremacy theory predates it but not the mass murdering .. I never really read timeline details about the concentration camps in WW2.

tim333 6y ago

No one cared is not correct - a lot of people did. But the holocaust proper started in 1941 and the UK were already full on at war with Germany so there wasn't very much we could do beyond what was already being done.