Nate Torgerson

Mr. Hawkins
Modern World History P, Period 4
18 March 2016
Inquiry Question #1
Here on this page are some of the precursors to the Holocaust. As many already know, the
Holocaust was a terrible tragedy that Hitler had set into action during World War II, which caused
millions of Jews to die. The Holocaust was caused by the Germans blaming the Jews for the loss of the
war, Hitlers personal hatred for the Jews and places of power, and Hitlers book Mein Kampf that helped
spread his ideas of anti-Semitism to the public.
The first precursor to the Holocaust was the Germans blaming the Jews for the loss of the war.
Those military and political leaders who were responsible claimed that Germany had been
stabbed in the back by its leftwing politicians, Communists, and Jews (Evidence #1). These men
who were responsible for the loss lied to the public and spread propaganda because they were too afraid
to admit that they were at fault. Many civilians of Germany believed these military and political leaders
because they were higher ranking, which then led to widespread hatred for not only the Jews, but also the
Communists and leftwing politicians. The Nazi Party was a political party in Germany, led by Adolf
Hitler from 1921 to 1945, whose central tenets included the supremacy of the Aryan people and
blaming Jews and others for the problems within Germany (Evidence #2). Not only did the political
and military leaders blame the Jews, but this Nazi Party also blamed them. Adolf Hitler, who was an
excellent speaker who was able to gain many followers, led the Nazi Party. He was then able to spread
anti-Semitism at a massively increased rate. During the war, Adolf Hitler became obsessed with this
idea, especially laying blame on Jews and Marxists in Germany for undermining the war effort

(Evidence #3). The seed of anti-Semitism was planted in Hitler at a very early point, which caused it to
grow into an immense hatred for all Jews. It is, however, very surprising that this large amount of people
fell for the propaganda and lies. One of the precursors to the Holocaust was that the Germans blamed the
Jews for everything that was wrong in World War I, but it was also Hitlers personal hatred for the Jews
that led to the Holocaust.
Hitlers personal hatred towards Jews and place of power also was a precursor to the Holocaust.
Hitler condemned the Jews, exploiting anti-Semitic feelings that had prevailed in Europe for
centuries (Evidence #1). At this point in time, Hitler had influence on many people, and his feeling
spread like wildfire. Although, anti-Semitism was already well known, which made Hitlers job much
easier. In August 1919, Hitler was given the job of lecturing returning German prisoners of war on
the dangers of Communism and pacifism, as well as democracy and disobedience. He also delivered
tirades against the Jews that were well received by the weary soldiers who were looking for
someone to blame for all their misfortunes (Evidence #3). Given this opportunity, Hitler was easily
spreading the Nazi ideals. This was both a combination of his personal hatred and his power. The Nazi
Party was a political party in Germany, led by Adolf Hitler from 1921 to 1945, whose central tenets
included the supremacy of the Aryan people and blaming Jews and others for the problems within
Germany (Evidence #2). He was in charge of an entire political party, so he was immediately put into
the spotlight. The Nazi party was already a known Party, so Hitler didnt need to start from nothing. So
Hitlers personal hatred for the Jews and his immediate place of power helped lead to the Holocaust, but
his book Mein Kampf was released, his ideas were spread faster than ever.
And lastly, Hitlers book Mien Kampf was an amazingly effective way to spread his anti-Semitic
ideals and bring the Holocaust closer. While in prison, Hitler wrote volume one of Mein Kampf (My
Struggle), which was published in 1925. This work detailed Hitler's radical ideas of German
nationalism, antisemitism, and anti-Bolshevism (Evidence #1). This book was published after he had
gotten out of prison, and books were the form of entertainment in those times, so a very large amount of

people read his book and learned his ideas. These people who read his book had different reactions, but
many of them took his ideals at heart and then followed Hitler and the Nazi Party, which gave Hitler more
power to cause the Holocaust. Linked with Social Darwinism, the human struggle that said that
might makes right, Hitler's book became the ideological base for the Nazi Party's racist beliefs and
murderous practices (Evidence #1). This made his book appeal to the more logical thinkers who
believed in Darwins ideas. His book was then appealing to an even larger crowd, which would spread his
ideas more and also gather a larger crowd that would stand by him and later vote for him during his
elections. The text initially suffered from slow sales but, like its author, would soon become a
fixture in German society (Evidence #2). Although it suffered at the start, it would later draw more and
more people to Hitler. This book gained more of the intelligent audience that could read, and that also
gave the Nazi party more intelligent people for speeches and organization. Hitlers book Mein Kampf
gave him more popularity and followers, which would gain him more power to start the Holocaust.
The precursors to the Holocaust were Germans blaming the Jews for the failures of Germany,
Hitlers personal hatred towards the Jews and his places of power, and Hitlers book Mein Kampf that
helped spread his ideas.