Was the average German citizen aware of the Holocaust during WWII?

Short answer is that the average German citizen knew the Jews were being treated badly and transported to "working camps" out East.

They would have been pretty sure that the camps were no rest cure but it would have been unlikely that the average German knew that they were being systematically killed. There were rumours flying about but people discount rumours especially in a totalitarian regime as propaganda from the enemy.

This is probably going to get me reported but you will notice, as usual with his ilk, that Pete does not take emails so I will do this in public.

Have you ever seen the Jager report? A report on the actions of Einsatzkommando 3 in Lithuania, signed by it`s commander SS-Standartenfuhrer Jager, to report the killing of 137,346 human beings, mainly Jews, between the 2nd of July and the 17th of October 1941.

This is a file taken from the official records of the Third Reich. Not some made up piece of paper. There were hundreds of these pieces of paper from such units and those who ran the concentration camps and extermination camps. These records were used to try and determine the final figure for the Holocaust.

Now please get back under your rock and leave the rest of us thinking beings alone.

The only answer I expect from you is a crying plea to mummy in the form of Yahoo answers that someone has upset your juvenile tummy. But if you think you can argue your corner then feel free to come back to me with your "proof" that the holocaust did not happen.

Ray

German Citizens During The Holocaust

Your teacher is correct. Not only did the average German citizen know what was going on, they actively participated in the machine.

There are several reasons for this, most uniquely German. The country had suffered from one of the worst depressions of all time. People were more than happy to have a scapegoat. The government was fascist, so going against them was suicide. So since dissenting from the Nazis meant death, there was no reason not to profit from the policies. Plus, most people probably never knew, or wanted to know, the big picture. Help the government round up your neighbors and you're safe - just don't ask what the government will do with them.

This is all documented in massive detail. Since you asked, you should read the book "Hitler's Willing Executioners". It's a dense read and requires real effort. However, don't claim that the average person didn't know until you read the work and form your own opinion. Fact is, they did.

Every German was aware of the deportation of Jews in the 1930s and 1940s, but the extent of which was unknown to many. Concentration Camps were appearing in Germany as early as 1933 with the opening of Dachau. Although it was designed largely for political prisoners, it expanded rapidly to encompass many other racial and political groups. Concentration Camps were usually located in relatively rural areas due to their size. Some camps, such as Auschwitz, were not in Germany at all. The people in the areas surrounding these camps probably knew, but to many, it was a fact they didn't want to pursue. An interesting note is that the predecessor to gassing concentration camp inmates was actually the gassing of Germany's mentally-retarded citizens under special care. However, news of this got out to the public, and there was an outcry, and it was terminated. Whether or not they would feel the same about the Jews is hard to measure.

One way to research this would be to get quotations from the accounts of Holocaust survivors. Did they think they were being sent to certain death when they were rounded up and shipped off to camps?

The cover story of the German government was always that their concentration camps were humane and that their ultimate purpose was to create a new Jewish homeland. The ability of a dictatorship to hide the truth should be considered. On the other hand, the fact that nobody ever heard from people after they had been taken away must have been well-known to Germans as a whole. Also, considering the intensity of the hatred Hitler had expressed, the idea that the humane treatment story was just propaganda must have occurred to a lot of Germans, I would think.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2001/feb/17/johnezard

This is interesting. I was under the impression that it was late into the war before people realized what was going on...obviously I was wrong.

I mean even when military came upon the camps they were in denial and couldn't believe what was happening...the extent of it was far greater than anyone thought.

So yes and no.....

Ther other side of the coin is this...

I would say that most did not know the true extent of the

extermination camps which were located primarily in occupied Poland for that very reason. Those who lived near the camps that were located in Germany would have known something bad was happening, but like most people - as long as it was happening to someone else - they stayed out of it. Not much they could have done without risking their own lives. Think about what you would have done if you were a civilian living near a concentration camp. You could throw your own life away - and the lives of your family - or you could mind your own business. Sorry, that's the reality as I see it.

Most people care more about themselves and their families than they do about strangers. Remember that the party (NAZI) controlled the media. There were no investigative journalists poking around and commenting on the atrocities committed.

I support the theory that none of the common Germans knew of the holocaust. ALL governments throughout history, even today, are doing things that the common citizen is not aware of. Just because we don't know about it, doesn't mean it's not happening or it doesn't exist. The German citizen probably knew that the Jews were being taken prisoner, but I don't think they knew what was happening to them. Heck, the Jews didn't know what was about to happen to them until it actually happened. If some one in your neighborhood disappears, would you think they were going to their own BBQ or were they just moving to a different city? Normal thinking would be that they are moving to a different city ... unless the neighborhood was occupied by paranoid schizophrenics.

Probably. If you bought a lamp shade skin with Jewish tattoos on it (tattooed skin from bodies was very popular ad the Germans made all sorts of things with it), you would probably know. Humans do have an incredible ability to deny even the obvious, but that still can allow the to know what is happening (they just don't want to believe it).

good read on the subject is the autobiography Maus and Maus2. These are quick read graphic novels, and and excellent coverage of the Holocaust.

Other books by Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel.

Book and movie: "Boy in Striped Pajamas"

http://www.scrapbookpages.com/buchenwald/exhibits....

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/genocide/de...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2001/feb/17/johnezard

im pretty sure that every german citizen knew...along with the rest of the world. Hitler was pretty public with his discrimination against the jews and other groups. Average german citizens joined the military and besides that, jews who were friends with germans began to get treated differently..even by there friends. if you just look it up, the facts are pretty clear