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Each individual meraber of society is governed by certain rules that serve to restrict their behavior. An example of one of these societal rules forced upon the individual is the belief that murdering another human being is wrong. We know that this act is wrong because of strict prison sentences that follow such courses of action. Yet, how was it that the world could sit idly by as millions of innocent people were removed from their homes, transported in cattle cars to concentration camps, and gassed to death? There have been many explanations for the Holocaust, many excuses, and many rationalizations made in describing the world's failure to act. The fact still remains that six million innocent men, women, and children were murdered. These explanations for the acts of Hitler, Germany, and the world at large come from many sources. Historians, theologians, educators, and psychologists all have differing views on the subject. Ironically enough, the most famous psychologist whose opinion would have been most appreciated on the subject, Sigmund Freud, died just as Hitler began his ascent to power. However, it is possible to theorize on Freud's explanation of the Holocaust by using his work Civilization and Its Discontents. Freud's essay Civilization and Its Discontents was first published in 1930, while Freud resided in Vienna, Austria. Undoubtedly, Freud was aware of the happenings in the world political arena, particularly the events that were transpiring in neigrabroadoring Germany. More specifically, he was in a position to view the beginning of Hitler's rise to power. It is interesting to note that Vienna of the early twentieth century where Hitler and Freud lived was under the control of a mayor who was a severe Anti- Semite, who was eventually barred from running for office by the Pope. Hitler began his rise to power in 1924 when he attempted to take over Munich through a military coup. The coup failed, and Hitler was thrown in jail. It was during this time in 1924 that Hitler wrote his famous memoir Mein Kampf, which translated means My Struggle (Dawidowicz 3). The contents of the book included Hitler's blueprints for His Europe. Hitler was finally given his chance to transform the face of Europe in 1933, when he gained the office of chancellor of Germany. It was five years after this event, in 1938 that Freud and his family emigrated out of Vienna, in an effort to escape the wrath of Hitler. Freud first went to Paris, and later settled in London. Unfortunately, Freud died shortly after his escape to London on Septeraber 23, 1939 (Freud xxii). Thus, Freud died on the brink of the most catastrophic events of the twentieth century, the Holocaust. Yet, Freud's writings did survive the horrible events that surrounded Europe in the 1930's and 40's. Therefore, it is possible to show how Freud may have predicted the ensuing tragedy. For Freud, the greatest struggle in life was the struggle between life and death. He attributed this struggle to the societal demanRAB placed on the individual and the individuals own instinct. According to Freud, the individual was almost certain to conform to the societal conventions through a sense of guilt. In fact, Freud himself wrote that in writing this work it was his “intention to represent the sense of guilt as the most important problem in the development of civilization” (Freud 85). This sense of guilt held a very high place in the development of the individual, eventually resulting in the development of a destructive instinct. The main argument in Civilization and Its Discontent, according to Christopher Badcock, the author of Essential Freud, is that “the id is basically anti- social and only civilized by the interventions of the ego” (137). Essentially what this means is that the individual in society is innately asocial, but because of the presence of the ego, the individual is forced to become sociable. This conflict between the id and the ego results in the destruction of the individual and ultimately civilization. Another area that Freud approached in his work was the issue of religion. In terms of religion, Freud quoted Goethe in saying, “He who possesses science and art also has religion, but he who possesses neither of the two, let him have religion!” (Freud 23). This saying, on one side “ draws an antithesis between religion and the two highest achievements of man,” and on the other hand, “asserts that, as regarRAB their value in life, those achievements and religion can represent or replace each other” (23). For Freud, man can have either science and art with an understanding of religion or have neither an understanding of science or art, but still have religion. Therefore, religion represents both one of the greatest intellectual properties of man and the most basic form of distraction for mankind. The need for this distraction arises from the difficulties of life. As Freud noted, “Life as we find it, is to hard for us; it brings us too many pains, disappointments and impossible tasks” and that to make life easier individuals use “palliative measures” (23). Freud labeled three of these measures. They were, first, “powerful deflections, which included scientific activity,” second, “substitutive satisfactions, which included art,” and finally, “intoxicating substances, such as alcohol, which makes us insensitive to life” (23). These measures are helpful in understanding both the actions of the individual in society and how the individual deals with the everyday struggle between the pressures of society and individual instinct. By understanding Freud's theories concerning the conflict between individual instinct and societal pressures, it is possible to define the struggle that the Jews faced in Nazi Germany and Europe. Hitler's rise to power and his ensuing reign of terror coincided with the worst worldwide economic depression in history. The effects that the Great Depression had on the people can be used in understanding the German peoples support of Hitler. Hitler offered the people a sense of hope during their worst despair. Moreover, he offered them a scapegoat. This scapegoat was easily found in the Jewish people, for they had been the subject of oppression since the crucifixion of Christ. Despite the advancements that the Jewish people had made throughout the centuries, they could not extinguish the sense of guilt that was laid upon them by Christians for the death of Jesus Christ (Rubenstein 5). By the time Hitler came to power, he was able to use the fears of the people to create his form of government and re-write the history of Europe. According to Freud's theories in Civilization and Its Discontents, it may be asserted that the Holocaust was the result of an “uncontrolled liberation of the id, and the regression of the ego in mass movement” (Badcock 137). Hitler was able to gain power through his use of the Jewish people as a scapegoat to the national problems that Germany was facing. He was able to convince millions of Germans that their problems were caused by the Jewish people. Once this idea had been set in the minRAB of the Germans, their was no stopping the destructive path that would follow. Hitler was able to feed the individuals inherent desire to be destructive and suppress the development of the ego, and come together with their fellow Germans. Many of Hitler's followers used Nazism as a substitute for religion. They subscribed to the beliefs of Hitler because they were not educated enough to appreciate the benefits of science and art. They believed the teachings of Hitler, and acted on his behalf. However, it is not entirely accurate to assert that only uneducated people subscribed to the Nazi ideology. This is so because as Richard Rubenstein writes in his essay The Cunning of History, the enslaved Jews were used as guinea pigs for medical experiments under “some very respectable professors at medical schools,” (49) and used some of the biggest corporations in Germany at the time, particularly I.G. Farben, “a huge chemical and pharmaceutical conglomerate” (54) who used the Jews as slave labor. Both these examples provide proof that the spread of Hitler's Anti-Semitic programs knew no boundaries and had permeated every level of the social strata. The result was the mass destruction of the European Jewish population. Thus, as Freud asserted, the “uncontrolled liberation of the id,” coupled with the “regression of the ego, led to disaster dominated by ruthless leaders and destructive drives” (Badcock 137). Before Freud's publisher put out a second edition of Civilization and Its Discontent in 1931, Hitler's party had already won the German parliamentary elections of Septeraber 1930. Upon hearing this news, Freud added a new last line to the text. This line read, “But who can foresee with what success and with what result?” (Freud 112). This question was put after a passage describing the struggle between life and death, and is meant to ask if life would prevail (Freud xxiii). Taken in view of modern history, it would seem as if life did ultimately prevail because Hitler was defeated and a Jewish population still remains. However, how does one account for the six million lives that were lost as a result of Hitler and his ideology, and by the apathy of the world at large? Freud was correct in asserting that life remains a struggle between the individual instinct and societal convention. There was no one strong enough to stand against Hitler and defend the helpless Jews. There was no one willing to defy the acceptable apathy of society and stand up for what they believed in, most notably the idea to save the Jews from destruction. While the world view eventually shifted to saving the Jews, it was too late for the six million men, women, and children who already perished. Works Cited Badcock, Christopher. Essential Freud. NY: Basil Blackwell Ltd., 1988. Dawidowicz, Lucy S. The War Against the Jews: 1933-1945. NY: Bantam Books, 1975. Freud, Sigmund. Civilization and Its Discontents. Ed. and trans. James Strachey. NY: W.W. Norton & Co., 1961. Rubenstein, Richard. The Cunning of History. NY: Harper & Row Publishers, 1975.
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Each individual meraber of society is governed by certain rules that serve to restrict their behavior. An example of one of these societal rules forced upon the individual is the belief that murdering another human being is wrong. We know that this act is wrong because of strict prison sentences that follow such courses of action. Yet, how was it that the world could sit idly by as millions of innocent people were removed from their homes, transported in cattle cars to concentration camps, and gassed to death? There have been many explanations for the Holocaust, many excuses, and many rationalizations made in describing the world's failure to act. The fact still remains that six million innocent men, women, and children were murdered. These explanations for the acts of Hitler, Germany, and the world at large come from many sources. Historians, theologians, educators, and psychologists all have differing views on the subject. Ironically enough, the most famous psychologist whose opinion would have been most appreciated on the subject, Sigmund Freud, died just as Hitler began his ascent to power. However, it is possible to theorize on Freud's explanation of the Holocaust by using his work Civilization and Its Discontents. Freud's essay Civilization and Its Discontents was first published in 1930, while Freud resided in Vienna, Austria. Undoubtedly, Freud was aware of the happenings in the world political arena, particularly the events that were transpiring in neigrabroadoring Germany. More specifically, he was in a position to view the beginning of Hitler's rise to power. It is interesting to note that Vienna of the early twentieth century where Hitler and Freud lived was under the control of a mayor who was a severe Anti- Semite, who was eventually barred from running for office by the Pope. Hitler began his rise to power in 1924 when he attempted to take over Munich through a military coup. The coup failed, and Hitler was thrown in jail. It was during this time in 1924 that Hitler wrote his famous memoir Mein Kampf, which translated means My Struggle (Dawidowicz 3). The contents of the book included Hitler's blueprints for His Europe. Hitler was finally given his chance to transform the face of Europe in 1933, when he gained the office of chancellor of Germany. It was five years after this event, in 1938 that Freud and his family emigrated out of Vienna, in an effort to escape the wrath of Hitler. Freud first went to Paris, and later settled in London. Unfortunately, Freud died shortly after his escape to London on Septeraber 23, 1939 (Freud xxii). Thus, Freud died on the brink of the most catastrophic events of the twentieth century, the Holocaust. Yet, Freud's writings did survive the horrible events that surrounded Europe in the 1930's and 40's. Therefore, it is possible to show how Freud may have predicted the ensuing tragedy. For Freud, the greatest struggle in life was the struggle between life and death. He attributed this struggle to the societal demanRAB placed on the individual and the individuals own instinct. According to Freud, the individual was almost certain to conform to the societal conventions through a sense of guilt. In fact, Freud himself wrote that in writing this work it was his “intention to represent the sense of guilt as the most important problem in the development of civilization” (Freud 85). This sense of guilt held a very high place in the development of the individual, eventually resulting in the development of a destructive instinct. The main argument in Civilization and Its Discontent, according to Christopher Badcock, the author of Essential Freud, is that “the id is basically anti- social and only civilized by the interventions of the ego” (137). Essentially what this means is that the individual in society is innately asocial, but because of the presence of the ego, the individual is forced to become sociable. This conflict between the id and the ego results in the destruction of the individual and ultimately civilization. Another area that Freud approached in his work was the issue of religion. In terms of religion, Freud quoted Goethe in saying, “He who possesses science and art also has religion, but he who possesses neither of the two, let him have religion!” (Freud 23). This saying, on one side “ draws an antithesis between religion and the two highest achievements of man,” and on the other hand, “asserts that, as regarRAB their value in life, those achievements and religion can represent or replace each other” (23). For Freud, man can have either science and art with an understanding of religion or have neither an understanding of science or art, but still have religion. Therefore, religion represents both one of the greatest intellectual properties of man and the most basic form of distraction for mankind. The need for this distraction arises from the difficulties of life. As Freud noted, “Life as we find it, is to hard for us; it brings us too many pains, disappointments and impossible tasks” and that to make life easier individuals use “palliative measures” (23). Freud labeled three of these measures. They were, first, “powerful deflections, which included scientific activity,” second, “substitutive satisfactions, which included art,” and finally, “intoxicating substances, such as alcohol, which makes us insensitive to life” (23). These measures are helpful in understanding both the actions of the individual in society and how the individual deals with the everyday struggle between the pressures of society and individual instinct. By understanding Freud's theories concerning the conflict between individual instinct and societal pressures, it is possible to define the struggle that the Jews faced in Nazi Germany and Europe. Hitler's rise to power and his ensuing reign of terror coincided with the worst worldwide economic depression in history. The effects that the Great Depression had on the people can be used in understanding the German peoples support of Hitler. Hitler offered the people a sense of hope during their worst despair. Moreover, he offered them a scapegoat. This scapegoat was easily found in the Jewish people, for they had been the subject of oppression since the crucifixion of Christ. Despite the advancements that the Jewish people had made throughout the centuries, they could not extinguish the sense of guilt that was laid upon them by Christians for the death of Jesus Christ (Rubenstein 5). By the time Hitler came to power, he was able to use the fears of the people to create his form of government and re-write the history of Europe. According to Freud's theories in Civilization and Its Discontents, it may be asserted that the Holocaust was the result of an “uncontrolled liberation of the id, and the regression of the ego in mass movement” (Badcock 137). Hitler was able to gain power through his use of the Jewish people as a scapegoat to the national problems that Germany was facing. He was able to convince millions of Germans that their problems were caused by the Jewish people. Once this idea had been set in the minRAB of the Germans, their was no stopping the destructive path that would follow. Hitler was able to feed the individuals inherent desire to be destructive and suppress the development of the ego, and come together with their fellow Germans. Many of Hitler's followers used Nazism as a substitute for religion. They subscribed to the beliefs of Hitler because they were not educated enough to appreciate the benefits of science and art. They believed the teachings of Hitler, and acted on his behalf. However, it is not entirely accurate to assert that only uneducated people subscribed to the Nazi ideology. This is so because as Richard Rubenstein writes in his essay The Cunning of History, the enslaved Jews were used as guinea pigs for medical experiments under “some very respectable professors at medical schools,” (49) and used some of the biggest corporations in Germany at the time, particularly I.G. Farben, “a huge chemical and pharmaceutical conglomerate” (54) who used the Jews as slave labor. Both these examples provide proof that the spread of Hitler's Anti-Semitic programs knew no boundaries and had permeated every level of the social strata. The result was the mass destruction of the European Jewish population. Thus, as Freud asserted, the “uncontrolled liberation of the id,” coupled with the “regression of the ego, led to disaster dominated by ruthless leaders and destructive drives” (Badcock 137). Before Freud's publisher put out a second edition of Civilization and Its Discontent in 1931, Hitler's party had already won the German parliamentary elections of Septeraber 1930. Upon hearing this news, Freud added a new last line to the text. This line read, “But who can foresee with what success and with what result?” (Freud 112). This question was put after a passage describing the struggle between life and death, and is meant to ask if life would prevail (Freud xxiii). Taken in view of modern history, it would seem as if life did ultimately prevail because Hitler was defeated and a Jewish population still remains. However, how does one account for the six million lives that were lost as a result of Hitler and his ideology, and by the apathy of the world at large? Freud was correct in asserting that life remains a struggle between the individual instinct and societal convention. There was no one strong enough to stand against Hitler and defend the helpless Jews. There was no one willing to defy the acceptable apathy of society and stand up for what they believed in, most notably the idea to save the Jews from destruction. While the world view eventually shifted to saving the Jews, it was too late for the six million men, women, and children who already perished. Works Cited Badcock, Christopher. Essential Freud. NY: Basil Blackwell Ltd., 1988. Dawidowicz, Lucy S. The War Against the Jews: 1933-1945. NY: Bantam Books, 1975. Freud, Sigmund. Civilization and Its Discontents. Ed. and trans. James Strachey. NY: W.W. Norton & Co., 1961. Rubenstein, Richard. The Cunning of History. NY: Harper & Row Publishers, 1975.
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