On Wiesel’s acceptance speech of 1986 he stated that “when human lives are endangered, when human dignity is in jeopardy, national borders and sensitivities become irrelevant. Wherever men or women are persecuted because of their race, religion, or political views, that place must –at that moment – become the center of the universe.” Considering the events that occurred in World War II, such as the Holocaust, I strongly agree with Wiesel’s statement about making those who are endangered our priority. It is mankind's duty to protect and liberate anyone who is being oppressed or suffering, despite any circumstances, or terrible things can happen. If no one steps in to help, the oppressor will believe they are right in their actions.
This same type of horrible silence happened even in America. During the middle 1800's, the Native Americans were viewed as "a savage and inferior race" by the white man, who would "invade, plunder and murder" any Indians who were troublesome (Irene ustrek) . This is exactly like what happened to the Jews. Hitler believed that the Germans were the inferior race and …show more content…
This is also evident in the second war the US was fighting in World War II, Japan. Americans had an idea that all Japanese Americans were spies relaying secret information back to Imperial Japan, so they rounded up all the Japanese and put them in Internment camps. The Japanese Americans "were incarcerated for up to 4 years, without due process of law or any factual basis, in bleak, remote camps surrounded by barbed wire and armed guards" (PBS). The internment were very similar to the concentration camps, and America's action was very similar. Many Americans knew about the camps but no one did very much to try to stop them. They tried to forget about them, focusing their efforts elsewhere. Instead of fixing the problem, they ended up creating one of the darkest times in American
This same type of horrible silence happened even in America. During the middle 1800's, the Native Americans were viewed as "a savage and inferior race" by the white man, who would "invade, plunder and murder" any Indians who were troublesome (Irene ustrek) . This is exactly like what happened to the Jews. Hitler believed that the Germans were the inferior race and …show more content…
This is also evident in the second war the US was fighting in World War II, Japan. Americans had an idea that all Japanese Americans were spies relaying secret information back to Imperial Japan, so they rounded up all the Japanese and put them in Internment camps. The Japanese Americans "were incarcerated for up to 4 years, without due process of law or any factual basis, in bleak, remote camps surrounded by barbed wire and armed guards" (PBS). The internment were very similar to the concentration camps, and America's action was very similar. Many Americans knew about the camps but no one did very much to try to stop them. They tried to forget about them, focusing their efforts elsewhere. Instead of fixing the problem, they ended up creating one of the darkest times in American