Then they came for me, and no one was left to speak out for me.

            Martin Niemöller once spoke out about the guilt of bystanders in his postwar lectures. In the famous quote, he said, “First they came for the communists, and I did not speak out because I wasn’t a communist. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out because I wasn’t a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out because I wasn’t a Jew. Then they came for the Catholics, and I did not speak out because I was Protestant. Then they came for me, and there was no one left to speak out for me.” Throughout history, there have been times when our human limitations have been pushed. Sometimes, this forces people to push their own moral limitations. For instance, the Donner Party, when faced with starvation and freezing temperatures, resorted to cannibalism in order to survive. Many Nazis were also forced to break their own boundaries when they encountered one of the most powerful human influences: fear. Adolf Hitler created fear of the Jews, gypsies, homosexuals, and other groups, but most importantly, he created fear of Hitler himself. The Nazis who had doubts about the actions they were ordered to commit attempted to rationalize their behavior with logic. Some attempted to defend themselves by saying, “if I hadn’t done it, someone else would have.” And this may be true, but that does not make it right. Other Nazis aimed to make the Jews and other ‘camp residents’ seem less human. With the help of Hitler’s propaganda, they were able to convince themselves that their actions were for the ‘greater good’.

            Maybe one of the most reprehensible of these Nazis was Victor Capesius. Many parents throughout all time would reason that a two-year-old child is less guilty of playing with his food than a ten-year-old boy would be because he “knows better”. Capesius was well-acquainted with some of the people he personally sent to gas chambers. This man is an example of someone who knew better. He was the doctor of Jewish children he knew well—well enough to know that they were not evil, or worthy of being murdered. Perhaps the moral faults of Konrad Jarausch are lesser than those of Capesius, although his actions are still wrong. Jarausch believed in his own set of Christian ethics, and knew what he was doing was immoral. However, he did nothing to stop it. Adam Kirsch wisely observes that “in a situation where radical evil holds sway, goodness has to become equally radical in order to combat it”. Jarausch wanted to create good in the world, but he lacked the passionate nature of one who can fight for the rights of the down-trodden. In contrast, people like Sophie Scholl stood up against Hitler, knowing the impending death sentence that would be sure to follow. She sacrificed herself for humanity.

            Adam Kirsch’s article “Can You Learn Anything from a Void?” questions the ease at which Americans, if faced with the same dilemmas as the Nazis, would commit the same crimes on humanity. His point calls to mind the genocide currently occurring in America: abortion. People who support the pro-choice views attempt to give reason to killing a baby. They put the right of a woman to choose not to carry a baby for nine months over the right of a coming child to choose life. This idea violates Thomas Jefferson’s very own “life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness”.  These people dehumanize the babies, similar to the way Nazis dehumanized Jews and other races. By simply calling a baby a ‘fetus’, this somehow makes the child more difficult to put a face to. A ‘fetus’ doesn’t call to mind an innocent infant with a heartbeat fast asleep inside his mother’s womb. Some doctors are required by their employers to perform abortions. Their decision to go along with the orders or to stand up for what is right is what will later classify them as a Capesius or a Scholl.

Macbeth’s henchmen are faced with the same moral dilemmas. In this era, people were taught that the king’s word is above all else, so it is difficult for a servant of the king to refuse orders in the face of death. Macbeth and his workers are equally guilty for the crimes they commit. Macbeth commits the crime of intention and the servants commit the actions themselves. It is a human’s responsibility to stand up for those who cannot stand up for themselves. This responsibility falls on all people, whether they are a Nazi, doctor, or servant to an evil king.