Karl Jaspers And The White Rose Movement: An Analysis

Adolf Hitler, an Austrian-born German politician, was responsible for the annihilation of millions. Victims of the Holocaust were singled out because of their racial impurity, and differences of opinion. Millions where rounded up and shipped to concentration camps, and later to death camps. Those who disobeyed the law where imprisoned or sentenced to death. Some rebelled, while others complied. We are more likely to conform then to rebel to someone who is an authority figure with high status, when dealing with group pressure, and when there are rewards and punishments involved. (Myers, p.198, 2013). Those who did comply, were only being “good citizens”. Should they have been accountable for their actions, or do they get a pass for obeying the law? For those who did not comply and rebelled against the law, are they bad people for not being good citizens? Honestly, what defines us as a good citizens and does it come in to conflict with being good people? After examining Karl Jaspers and the White Rose Movement and their views on the holocaust, maybe it is time to redefine what a good citizen is. Especially during the times when …show more content…
The negligence to see the truth and the participation that took place to create such a chaotic environment conditioned their political and moral guilt (Jasper, p.28, 2000). These alleged good citizens, are in fact, not good at all. In situations like the Holocaust, or in times when laws are created to cause confusion, the term good citizen should be reevaluated. It should be redefined so that moral behavior does not clash with our political duties. A good citizen is when an individual has an obligation to behave in accordance with the rules, norms, and expectations of the state and society, if and only if, there is no confusion, discord, or hostility that will potentially destroy our