What did stereotyping have to do with the Holocaust?

Answer 1

== == According to the University of Idaho, a stereotype is "An exaggerated image of the characteristics of a particular group." The phrase was coined by Walter Lippmann in 1922 to describe "pictures in our head."

Another definition is, "A standardized mental picture that is held in common by members of a group that represents an oversimplified opinion, prejudiced attitude, or uncritical judgment." (Italics added.)

The stereotype of Jewish people commonly held by Germans and other Europeans of the first half of the 20th Century, including many Americans and English and on and on and on (and, sad to say, right down to the present day) was of a swarthy, hook nosed, closely-spaced-eyed hunchbacked evil monster whose only interest was in making money and debauching non-Jewish girls and women. If you say it often enough, as in Joseph Goebbels's Big Lie, even you might begin to believe it. For the average German in 1933, there was little persuasion necessary. Many average Germans already believed it. That's why there was so little outcry when the Nazis passed the Nuremberg Laws of 1935, which essentially deprived all Germans of Jewish heritage of their citizenship. It was really just a small step from there to Kristallnacht, or "Night of Broken Glass" in 1938, which is considered by many historians to mark the beginning of the Shoah (burning in Hebrew), or Holocaust. By stereotyping Jews as evil, even as carriers of disease, it was easy to dehumanize them and then kill them.

There are many stereotypes, and I would venture that all are at least to some extent harmful, although I am usually careful not to generalize. A stereotype is, in and of itself, a generalization. I am a strong believer that "No generalization is worth a damn, including this one." But, very generally, stereotypes are injurious to people, and therefore inherently malignant and dangerous.

Some people believe that black people, or Africans, or African Americans, are not as "smart" as "white" people (and "white" people are really just a very light shade of brown). That's a stereotype. And it's wrong. See George Washington Carver or Barack Obama for two off the top of my head.

I might try to argue that "All terrorists are Muslim, therefore all Muslims are terrorists." That's two stereotypes, both wrong. (Timothy McVeigh, who blew up the Murrah Building in Oklahoma City in 1995 was not a Muslim, nor was he black or Arab or Jewish, but he certainly was a terrorist.)

"Women and Asians are terrible drivers." "All Germans in 1933 hated Jews." "All NASCAR enthusiasts drink beer." These are all stereotypes, and it's not rocket science to see how they are all potentially harmful if you believe them. The trick is to [A] not believe them and [B] to call to account anyone who tries to spread them. Before 1933, no one would have believed that a little bunch of racist nuts could take over a whole country and murder 6 million people for simply being Jewish. Can it happen again? You bet. And next time, it could be you they come for.

Answer 2

Stereotyping played a significant role in the Holocaust as it was used by the Nazi regime to dehumanize and marginalize certain groups, particularly Jews. Negative stereotypes propagated about Jews as being inferior or responsible for societal problems helped fuel the discrimination and violence that ultimately led to the genocide of six million Jews during the Holocaust.

Answer 3

Hitler and the rest of Germany sterotypically believed ALL Jews were evil and they were the ones causing disasters in the world. Without stereotyping, demonization would have been impossible. It was a tool in a hate campaign. However, stereotyping did not, in itself, lead to the Holocaust. After all, many of the stereotypes were much older.