Omelas and Nazi Germany

The people of Germany were spiritually bankrupt before the rise of the Nazi party, and following WW1. The people and nation had been brought to its knees by the victors of the Great War. Inflation, unemployment, and societal decay were rife. The country was in ruins, and the hope of the people had turned to despair. The people needed something to live for, something that would bring them together as a nation once again, and restore their happiness, and prosperity. The people needed a collective happiness to set aside their misery, and to restore their faith in themselves, and their nation. They needed to feel just like the people of Omelas. They needed festivals, music, contentment, and happiness once again. Adolph Hitler was the one to bring this about; he brought all these things to the people, and more.

In 1934, Hitler became Chancellor of Germany. The changes he brought to the nation were most impressive. He brought pride and prosperity back to the people. He put people back to work, built modern highways, stabilized the economic system, and gave the people something to believe in. However, the country still needed to be unified. That unification came about by persecuting a minority population, the Jews.

The people of Omelas had joy and prosperity, and were unified as a people. All the people had to do was to turn a blind eye to the suffering of one child. All the people of Germany had to do was turn a blind eye to the suffering of millions. Germany was once again becoming a prosperous and happy nation, but at a price. The price to pay for the happiness the Germans so desperately wanted would cost millions of lives.

When the concentration camps were being built, the people were told they were for enemies of the state. When neighbors and co-workers disappeared, the people justified the actions of the state as a necessary measure to protect the nation from corrupt influences. When whole neighborhoods of people began to disappear, the state was not questioned. Nobody dared to risk the prosperity and joy of the new Germany by questioning the motives of the state. When outright hatred of the Jews was demonstrated openly, and in public, most everybody turned a blind eye to the suffering of their former neighbors, colleagues, and even friends. The Jews were the reason for their former troubles the people were told. The Jews were evil, and responsible for all that plagued Germany, past and present. The people believed this lie, even if in their hearts they knew it was wrong. This is called collective denial, a whole nation that denied the atrocities around them for the price of happiness. Just like the people of Omelas, so did the people of Germany believe.

The symbolism between Omelas and Nazi Germany are very similar. In Omelas, the child was to suffer for the people's happiness. The people knew about the child, they even saw his suffering, but did nothing to intervene. They reasoned his suffering away; by convincing themselves that he was sub-human, and could not possibly enjoy life, or function as a productive member of society. The people of Omelas knew that if it weren't for the suffering of the child, they would have no happiness of their own. The child is to suffer for the greater joy and prosperity of the people.

In Nazi Germany, the Jews were to suffer and die for the greater joy of the people, and for one man. When the concentration camps were incinerating hundreds of corpses a day, ash would fall all over the countryside. The stench alone was unmistakable, the stench of burning flesh. People that worked in the concentration camps brutalized and murdered by day then went home to their families at night, all in a day's work. The people of Germany knew of the atrocities committed against the Jews, but turned a blind eye. Most did nothing to intervene; they believed the lies of the government, and went on with their happy lives and newfound prosperity. The people needed a common cause, to rid the earth of Jews! The Jews were to blame for all of their unhappiness and suffering. The Jews were not capable of living a happy and productive life they reasoned. They were sub-human, evil, and vile. They must suffer so we can be happy they justified, and justify they did. Six million Jews lost their lives for the greater joy of a people, and of a nation.

In conclusion, joy and happiness does sometime come at a price. The price to pay is often at the expense of someone else's happiness. Money, power, and love are all examples of this. In reality, happiness comes from within, from ones ownself. Applaud the people of Omela, and Nazi Germany that walked away, and found that happiness within them, not at the expense of a suffering child, or of six million lives.