Entering the Holocaust

Thinking about the Holocaust is not something I do on a regular basis, but since I am currently taking a class entitled Hitler and the Holocaust, it is probably something that I will be thinking about regularly at least for the next 17 weeks. It is something the events of which should not be forgotten under any circumstances. I have been interested in learning more about the Holocaust and reading literature about survivors of the holocaust since grade school, particularly since reading The Diary of Anne Frank. Nothing I have ever learned has led me a step closer to understanding why such an atrocious even happened and was allowed to continue happening for years, or even why similar events happened in the past and continue to happen today. I do not understand the mindset of hatred, whether racial or otherwise. I cannot comprehend the extent to how much evil there is in this world. And I cannot even guess as to what would provoke someone so much that they feel the need to single out and kill millions of individuals simply because they are different. Studying the holocaust will no doubt be enlightening and saddening at the same time. I do not study it in an attempt to understand why the mass murder of innocent people happened. If I come to fully understand the reasoning wouldn't that make me no better than those that committed the actions? Studying something this awful will prove to be difficult emotionally and mentally, but I believe that studying it is key to resolving present conflict and preventing future acts of this nature.