So NYT Magazine decided to ask their readers: If you could go back and kill Hitler as a baby, would you do it?
People associate Adolf Hitler with the Holocaust because he is very strongly linked to the horrific event. Hitler had the notion that Jews were the cause of the Great World War. He shared this idea, spread it across the country and implemented the Final Solution. Hitler broke the camel’s back in the pent up anti-Semitic aggression in Germany, which had been building up since the latter part of the 19th century.
But here are the reasons why I would not kill Hitler as a baby:
- Hitler was the facilitator of the Holocaust and the horrific acts that occurred in that time period. But there were others involved in the organization of the Holocaust and it's likely that one of them would’ve stepped up to the plate, acting in the same capacity as Hitler.
He was the leader of the National Socialist German’s Worker Party (Nazi), because he rose to that position. Anyone could have risen to that point, but Hitler did. In all, the decisions made by him may have been his intentions, but that doesn't imply others would have made better or worse decisions or policies. Also, ideals shared by Hitler were shared by the party has a whole. "Naziism" was more than just a political party; it was a set of beliefs that one people decided to follow and live by.
Besides Hitler, there were other players in the Holocaust and events leading up to it. Heinrich Himmler was the head of the secret police. He is directly responsible for six million deaths in German concentration camps as well as deaths of over 46 million Europeans in the Second World War. Reinhard Heydrich was known as the “Man with the Iron Heart” and the "Nazi Butcher" for the number and efficiency of deaths he organized.
Although there were more, this doesn't elude to the fact that Adolf Hitler was responsible for the most important part of the Holocaust: the organization. He pulled strings and set up talks, making policies and had a whole people following him. But he was not alone in his actions. - Looking at the positive side, this war taught many lessons such as the Policy of Appeasement and its failures. Giving into the “bully” may not always be a good solution, especially when one was greedy and ruthless. The policy was a copout to give Hitler what he wanted for us to not be bothered.
It led everyone to pay attention to other countries; whether it was for safety or for protection, we all live on this Earth. This means we have to be able to communicate and stay up to date with what is going on in the countries around us.
For America, it brought us out of the Great Depression. Everyone was drafted; people were being paid to protect our country. Those who were at home were being paid to take over the jobs left behind and also, helped make and send needed materials to the boys across the sea. Our economy was boosted and so was morale.
I’m not accepting the fact that one person can be so cruel or the fact that it's completely okay that the Holocaust happened, because it's not. I'm not condoning Hitler’s actions in any way, but sometimes we forget to look at what could be worse when we try to look at how something can be fixed. Everyone has a past — so does Germany. We can’t blame any one person for any of this. Besides, we’ve seen the movies where we change one thing, and all hell breaks loose on the world. I, for one, would not want to be born with three eyes because World War II ended up being a nuclear war; all because we killed Adolf Hitler as a baby.
*NOTE: This is just my personal view on the matter. I understand there is a lot more thought and consideration that would go into making a rash decision such as this if it were to ever be an option, but as an individual, these are my thoughts. I am open to other points and views on the matter. In no way do I think I am completely right or completely believe the Holocaust would still happen if we killed Hitler, but these are just thoughts I had when considering this particular answer to the question.
