The holocaust is taught in history classes today so that people will never forget. although it
is not pleasant to hear about the murder of millions of people because of their religion,
race, or beliefs, educators believe it is important to study. what can we learn from tragedy,
and why is it important to study tragic history?

It is a common misconception the United States entered the war because of the Holocaust. In reality, we had no idea it was going on until after the war-- when we saw the effects of it. The history of the Holocaust makes us question when it is acceptable to make our own decisions or follow the leader. Hitler can command what his soldiers do, but it is always up to the individual to pull the trigger that he knows will kill hundreds and thousands of people. Certainly, Nazi's gained their power by implementing pure terror into everyone who opposed their system, so those soldiers who killed did it because of nationalism (remember Germany was humiliated after WWI and had to pay repercussions, give up land, minimise their military, etc) or in order to survive-- a basic human instinct. The Nuremberg Trials highlighted this debate. There is definitely more to say on this topic, but you need to come up with your own opinion.