discussion post 946
Min 200 words
Consider the shear brutality illustrated in the contents of this week’s unit. First, how do the actions of the Germans and Japanese fit with the themes of the overall course? Were these crimes a natural progression of the developments/events from 1900-1945, or were they an unnatural side-effect of one specific war? In other words, were these war crimes part of a natural order of industrialism, social Darwinism, imperialism, and things like that, or were they an usually violent, but unintended consequence?
What do the primary sources about the Holocaust and Japanese War crimes (particularly the testimony of the Japanese Doctor) tell us about the mindset of Germans and Japanese? How did they justify their actions to themselves and the world? Or did they try to justify them at all?
How do you feel about the way in which Japanese war criminals were dealt with in the aftermath of the war?
