Human Nature
Human Nature
The result of World War II and the holocaust has affected human nature in many different ways. The holocaust caused many people to perform evil actions such as forcing others to do labor, torturing for information, and killing without reason. It also brought out the goodness in people. Many survivors of WWII recalled how they were saved from evil with the light that reflects from others. Human nature can be good or bad depending on their environment and how far the limit is pushed.
John Locke stated that humans have perfect freedom to order their actions according to the laws of nature, without having to ask permission to act from any other person. Prisoners in Nazi concentration camps were pushed to a point where some could not stand it any longer. The life was harsh and full of hatred. People were required to fight, steal, and kill each other for survival. Rebellions broke out and it forced the SS to react and execute. Locke was correct about free will, but sometimes human beings are pressured into corruption. In the novel Night by Elie Wiesel, a boy chose to stop running and was trampled by the stampede of terrified prisoners. This signifies that the boy had the choice to continue running with the rest or dying by being stomped on. His decision was up to him and nobody forced him to stop.
The fear of death had the ability to alter one’s mind and led them into depravity. In the concentration camps, captives were identified on their ability to work. There was always one Kapos that looked after a group of workers. They were either punished or rewarded on how much labor one’s group finished in a certain amount of time. This left fear into the Kapos’s mentality and disarranged his intentions. Some forced their laborers into more intense work; others exterminated the inefficient. Fear brought out the worst in people when they have nowhere left to run away. A cornered rat will fight back until it escapes or dies, just like the...
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