The Psychology Behind the Genocide
How could all of these people just let the Holocaust happen? Why didn't some of the common people stop the Nazis? Some of the guards in the camps were Jews. Why did they turn into monsters? Why did the Nazis themselves, seemingly so easily, murder and torment their fellow man?
Psychology can explain some of the causes of the Holocaust and how the Nazi Party rose to power. Most Nazis believed strongly in the cause, while others were drafted into the party by force. Many Nazis struggled with what they were doing. They wondered was it really necessary to kill women and children? Though they had private doubts, they remained silent. This is an example of what psychologists call conformity. The Asch Experiment illustrated people’s tendency to conform. During this experiment, people were asked a simple question which they knew the answer to. But, before they answered, they listened to several people (actors) give the wrong answer. When it was their turn, those exposed to the incorrect responses conformed to those answers 33% of the time, with 75% of these subjects conforming at least once. In the case of the Asch experiment, participants had nothing at stake (except their pride), however, in the case of the Nazi party defiance meant death. If most people would conform merely to avoid humiliation, how many more would conform to protect their families and themselves?
Similar to conformity is compliance. Compliance asks that reguardless of your beliefs you obey the authority placed over you. In the case of conformity, Nazis were not only asked to obey but they were also expected to keep their own doubt and guilt silent.
Deindividualization also played an important role in the Holocaust. Deindividualization describes the phenomenon that occurs when members of a group lose their self-identity. Mob crimes are committed because the people feel like they are part of the crowed, and therefore the responsibility goes to the group as a whole. Since the group is so large, they reason that no one will know it is them. They disappear in the crowd and they diffuse the responsibility.
Something else we can conclude happened is group polarization. This refers to a group’s tendency to talk itself into extreme positions. Often an argument in brought up among a group of people, those who were somewhere in the middle find themselves leaning toward one extreme or the other. Distrust for the Jews and belief in a superior race, had been topics of conversation for a long time. With the formation of the Nazi party and the distribution of propaganda people who previously did not have an opinion concerning the matter found themselves whole-heartedly taking sides.
There is an internal fuel created within groups, because they are so passionate energized about a decision they've made. This internal fuel can push the group members in new directions faster and faster than they originally intended. This is called groupthink. When this happens, the group is not likely to consider opposing views or counter-arguments, but instead they passionately follow their leader.
Now we can better understand why the Nazis acted with such cruelty. But why did so many people stand by and watch the Holocaust unfold without trying to stop it? Bystander effect explains why. There have been many stories about people getting robbed or beaten up in broad daylight, with people nearby observing the crime but offering no assistance to the victim. As a group of people gets larger, each individual feels less responsible for the crime they see being committed. Just as with deindividualization, the responsibility is diffused. During the crime, however, the people watching usually wonder why nobody is helping. People tend to follow, and will only help if they see someone else getting involved. It is also more likely that a person will help someone in need if they are they only one present, since the responsibility falls on their shoulders alone.
Watch these videos about related psychology experiments:
The Asch Experiment
The Milgram Experiment
The Stanford Prison Experiment (Slide Show)
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