During World War II, the overall impression that Nazi Germany (also known as the “Third Reich”) gave to the world was one of immense cruelty, suffering, and devastation to the world--especially much of Europe. The invasion of Poland, the Holocaust, the millions of deaths that came as result of the war both due to casualties from conflict and casualties from mass slaughters by Nazi Germany, for example, were numbers far beyond any previous conflict in world history. According to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, up to 6 million Jewish civilians were killed in the war. This number, while not large in proportion to the world population at the time, was unheard of. Hitler’s reign and ideals in Nazi Germany resulted in these millions of deaths, and today is remembered as a major low point in German and human history. Some time in Hitler’s New Year address to the nation regarding Nazi Germany’s leader Adolf Hitler said, “We will get well when we eliminate the Jews.” (Longerich, p. 156). This clear hatred for Jewish individuals in Europe defined, alongside the countless acts of violence the country committed against the world show just how inhumane of a country Nazi Germany was.

    In addition, Nazi Germany wasn’t just an extreme when it came to its’ radical ideals in exterminating non-Aryan races. The country was seen as a terror on the battlefield early on. Various battles were victories for the Germans during the years prior to the U.S. entering the war (1939-1942). As the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum puts it, “Nazi Germany began to cajole and pressure the southeast European states to join the Axis.” In order to increase it’s power and “assurance” in dominating Europe, conquest and suppression was its’ method. Psychologically though, Nazi Germany did attempt to ‘ease the deal’ with the various countries it wished to have in its’ arsenal. Those countries ranged from countries that welcomed the Nazi’s (Hungary, for example), as well as countries that didn’t and forced in, like Yugoslavia. At the time, there were about 2.3 billion people in the world. According to The National WWII Museum New Orleans, 3% of this total were killed; about 60 million people, both civilian and military. Nazi Germany was responsible for a very large part of this, both on the battlefield and civilian-wise with their frightening techniques in war.


http://www.warsawuprising.com/paper/wrobel1.htm
https://web.archive.org/web/20090709111759/http://www.hdot.org/en/trial/defense/pl1/17
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKDL5ZgicLc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uh1ciamb1DU
https://web.archive.org/web/20080511190923/http://econ161.berkeley.edu/TCEH/Slouch_Purge15.html
http://www.world-war-2.info/statistics/
http://www.historyonthenet.com/world-war-two-germanaxis-successes-and-failures/