The Holocaust:

I read a theory that if Jews and other civilian victims in Germany and Europe had guns and resisted the Nazis who rounded them up the cost to the Nazis would have been so high they would have had to halt the process. The lengthy and costly fight in the Warsaw ghetto is an example of where victims fought. The Nazis continued to locate and herd victims to the camps even as the Allies were closing in during the late stages of the war. It has been said that the manpower and rail assets used for this hurt the German war effort significantly but were continued nonetheless. It's estimated six million Jews and another six million non-Jews, including many Polish people, perished in these camps.

Details of the camp system and genocide were kept secret even from the German public. At the time of arrest, victims were led to believe they would survive the camp experience. Human nature worked in the Nazi's favor. Imagine a scene where some want to fight the heavily armed SS and Gestapo forces. Others would point out how dangerous this would be and how it would endanger the lives of women, children, elderly and so on. These cooler heads would prevail. After all, why risk death when you have a chance to survive by cooperating? Can we fault civilized people for this reasoning? The diabolical Nazi's held out (false) hope knowing this would occur. Another tactic was to have victims make detailed lists of their personal property, allegedly so they could recover it later. At the camp entrance a large sign stated "Arbieten Macht Frei" (Work will make you free). The Nazis were cruelly clever in these tricks that greatly reduced the victim's resistance.

Today we are accustomed to total news coverage of world events but imagine the plight of civilians and refugees in WWII Europe...No reliable information of what is happening, rumors spreading like wildfire, Official sources spreading lies and propaganda. Imagine yourself, perhaps with a family to care for, trying to find out what is really going on. Should you stay where you are, move, hide or follow others? Where will you find food and shelter? There are stories of small groups leaving their homes and possessions and making their way over arduous and risky territory and through knowledge or luck they found safety. With hindsight we also know many refugees would have been better off staying in their homes. But at the time, they had no way of knowing. When civilization collapses who do you turn to?

Another incident that is not as well known is the murder of 30,000 Polish army officers by the Soviets. WWII started when the Nazis invaded Poland. Prior to this they had made a secret deal with the Soviets so that Russia invaded eastern Poland at the same time. Later, of course Germany reneged and attacked Russia as well. But in the meantime solid evidence has come out that Russia took Polish officers (POWs) and murdered them. Their bodies have been discovered in a Polish forest. Did these victims know what the communists were planning? Were they perhaps led to believe they would be released? These officers, representing some of the best of Polish society, would be viewed by Marxists as bourgeois and a threat to socialism. Communists eliminate this class by eliminating the people in that class.