The actions of Hitler against the Jews was to wipe us out...completely, everywhere. This was not so with the British (soon, Americans), Spanish, French, and to lesser extents, the Dutch and Portuguese in regards to the native populations already in the "new" world.
What happened here was a conquest. Of course, racism, xenophobia, and cultural superiority were involved. One thing many seem to miss in this discussion is the Jews were/are "one people." We are a nation unto ourselves. This is not so with those who were already here. I am 1/8 Cherokee, not Sioux, not Seminole, not Ponca, not Apache; Cherokee. We have a unique language, history, culture, religion, and mores. What happened to "Native Americans," was the equivilant of Hitler invading Africa. We would say he massacred Africans, but most would understand they are different peoples. The majority may be black, but they were/are different; they aren't homogenous in anything other than color.
One thing, which IMO is not trivial, was there was no official policy in the US (or Canada/South America...which also contained "Native Americans"
, which called for the complete extermination of those peoples, including lands which were not under British/American/Spanish/French control. This was not the case with Hitler, who was busy building alliances with a variety of people in a variety of lands with the express desire to wipe out the Jews.
What happened to the inhabitants of the "New World," was and is repulsive and repugnant. It is long past time the history of the killings, massacres, ghettoization, and basic indifference of the treatment of the native populations be discussed openly and honestly.
Edit history
Recommendations
0 members have recommended this reply (displayed in chronological order):
= new reply since forum marked as read