Essay about Nazi Use of Darwinism - 1495 Words

After the Great War in the nineteenth century, European nations had a difficult time finding economic stability. Germany took full responsibility for starting World War I and by signing the Treaty of Versailles, Germany agreed to give up huge portions of territory and pay reparation to victorious allies. The harsh principles which were outlined by the Treaty of Versailles made economic stability in Germany difficult to achieve and caused Germany to suffer from inflation and the Great Depression. Unemployment and the fear of communism allowed Adolf Hitler to rise to power in 1933. Before Hitler came to power, he spent nine months in jail where he wrote his autobiography Mein Kampf (My Struggle), where he mentions how Darwin’s theory of†¦show more content†¦An excerpt written by Jerry Bergman; Darwinism and the Holocaust illustrates one view of social Darwinism and is posted on www.trueorigin.org/holocaust.asp. It is clear Bergman is a creationist, being, he falsely cla ims; if the Nazis believed all humans were descendants of Adam and Eve and equal before the creator of god, the holocaust would have never occurred (1). To validate his argument, Bergman concludes social Darwinism is equivalent to Nazism, and claims Hitler is a â€Å"savior† of man kind-if Darwinian evolution is true (11). By calling Hitler a â€Å"savior,† he shows his readers he is not only ignorant, but does not truly grasp the fact, Darwin’s ideas of evolution were abused to justify Nazi policies against races which were considered â€Å"inferior.† By quoting many writers and Nazi documents, Bergman creates collective authority to validate an absurd argument. However, by providing readers with detailed interpretations of various quotes from Hitlers Mein Kampf, he successfully illustrates how Darwin’s ideas of ‘natural selection’ and ‘survival of the fittest’ were misused to justify for racial discrimination. Hitler use d terms such as ‘superior race,’ ‘lower human types,’‘pollution of the race,’ and the word evolution itself-derived from Darwin’s theories of evolution. This clearly indicates Darwin’s theories influenced Hitler. However if these ideas did not exists, the Nazis might have found another reason to justify for the genocideShow MoreRelatedSocial Darwinism And Its Effect On Society1069 Words   |  5 Pagesare called Social Darwinists. Social Darwinism is a competition between groups in society, usually resulting in the most fit, or most capable, coming out on top. Social Darwinists argue that the strong’s power and wealth should increase, whereas the weak’s should decrease. There are different views as to who these weak and strong groups are, but all Social Darwinists agree that the strong should be rewarded and the weak punished. 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