ravinlunachick Posted December 12, 2012 Share Posted December 12, 2012 Imagine you are temporarily hurled back through time. You encounter an infant that you confirm without any doubt to be Adolf Hitler. You know you have only 5 minutes to make your decision before you are transported (alone!) back to the present day. What do you do? Do you think your decision is different than your parents or grandparents might have chosen? If so, why? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unicorn. Posted December 12, 2012 Share Posted December 12, 2012 I would steal him, and hand him over to be raised by a nice Jewish family. Maybe if he hadn't been taught to hate, he would have been different. Maybe not, but that's all I could do. Now, if you had asked about a young adult, my answer might be different. Eta: I don't know what my parents or grandparents would have done. I would think the same, or nothing at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarlett Posted December 12, 2012 Share Posted December 12, 2012 Interesting idea.....that six million lives could have been saved if we took AH out of the equation somehow. Unfortunately he didn't operate alone and some similar chain of events very likely would have happened anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbmamaz Posted December 12, 2012 Share Posted December 12, 2012 I like unicorn's answer, but my parents and grandparents may have been more likely to kill him. hard to know - i come from a family of peaceful jews .. . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
somo_chickenlady Posted December 12, 2012 Share Posted December 12, 2012 I wouldn't do anything. IMO, everything happens for a reason, and everything that has happened in the past has led each and every one of us to be where we are at this moment. How do we know that by removing Hitler from existence wouldn't mean that someone even worse would have come along, and our world would be drastically different than it is now, or that if he didn't exist even still things would be different? I almost guarantee they would be. I wonder how many of us would stop existing if someone could go back in time and remove an infant Hitler. I'm not saying that what happened with him isn't terrible, but it served a purpose in the grand scheme of time. I honestly have no idea how my parents or grandparents would have chosen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I.Dup. Posted December 12, 2012 Share Posted December 12, 2012 I would steal him, and hand him over to be raised by a nice Jewish family. Maybe if he hadn't been taught to hate, he would have been different. Maybe not, but that's all I could do. Now, if you had asked about a young adult, my answer might be different. I agree. I could never harm a helpless infant. I would take him in myself, most likely, and pray for him constantly and try to raise him the best I could. I don't know. I'm sure my grandparents/great grandparents may have chosen differently. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommymilkies Posted December 12, 2012 Share Posted December 12, 2012 Well, he didn't cause the Holocaust singlehanded! So I would find someone nice to raise him, but I doubt, overall, if it would have changed everything. Fwiw, I had family die in the camps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parrothead Posted December 12, 2012 Share Posted December 12, 2012 So he is taken to be raised by a nice Jewish family and twice as many people die during WWII. For all we know the start of WWII is a fixed point in time. The space-time continuum can not be messed with. There are consequences. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ravinlunachick Posted December 12, 2012 Author Share Posted December 12, 2012 I agree that he didn't act alone. However, I also believe that there are occasionally people who are lynchpins for history. Without them, the flow of events is disrupted so much as to be completely new. As others have said, that new history may not be guaranteed to be rosy in this case. No doubt there are those of us who would not exist, because our parents or grandparents met as a result of WWII. Would it be worth it, in the overall scheme of things, though? Would I even try? I don't know, honestly. I'd probably feel pressured and go with my basest instinct, which would be to kill him in an attempt to prevent the great evil I knew he'd unleash. It would be horrible to do that to an infant as opposed to a young adult, as someone above pointed out, but all monsters hatch sometime, right? Could I pass up the opportunity to try to protect so many? Should I? Warning: Geek confession ahead! The OP was inspired by listening to Weird Al Yankovic's song "The Saga Begins" and wondering what might have happened if Qui Gon Jinn had left Anakin well enough alone, or if he'd eliminated him altogether. :blush: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trish Posted December 12, 2012 Share Posted December 12, 2012 Imagine you are temporarily hurled back through time. You encounter an infant that you confirm without any doubt to be Adolf Hitler. You know you have only 5 minutes to make your decision before you are transported (alone!) back to the present day. What do you do? Do you think your decision is different than your parents or grandparents might have chosen? If so, why? Well from a purely selfish standpoint, I would not risk my own soul and eternity in order to save the world from the horrors of World War II. (because do we know for certain it wouldn't have happened, or another dictator wouldn't have taken Hitler's place? No.) Not to mention the fact that God could've had Hitler die as zn infant, but instead allowed him to live, so why would I feel I could deny Hitler his own choices to make in his life? I guess if you feel this life is "all there is" you might go ahead and keep Baby Hitler from growing up. Otherwise, basically you're ensuring Hitler gets YOUR spot in heaven. Heh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigMamaBird Posted December 12, 2012 Share Posted December 12, 2012 I couldn't hurt a baby even if I knew it would grow up to be Hitler. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest submarines Posted December 12, 2012 Share Posted December 12, 2012 My mere presence there will already alter the course of history. To be sure I'll move a piece of furniture, or something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ravinlunachick Posted December 12, 2012 Author Share Posted December 12, 2012 Well from a purely selfish standpoint, I would not risk my own soul and eternity in order to save the world from the horrors of World War II. (because do we know for certain it wouldn't have happened, or another dictator wouldn't have taken Hitler's place? No.) Not to mention the fact that God could've had Hitler die as zn infant, but instead allowed him to live, so why would I feel I could deny Hitler his own choices to make in his life? I guess if you feel this life is "all there is" you might go ahead and keep Baby Hitler from growing up. Otherwise, basically you're ensuring Hitler gets YOUR spot in heaven. Heh. That's an interesting point, particularly the bolded. Are there people who'd give up their place in Heaven if they knew it would prevent the Holocaust? Wouldn't that be a remarkably selfless act? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
somo_chickenlady Posted December 12, 2012 Share Posted December 12, 2012 How do we know that the Holocaust still wouldn't have happened, even without Hitler? Like others have said, he didn't act alone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ErinE Posted December 12, 2012 Share Posted December 12, 2012 My mere presence there will already alter the course of history. To be sure I'll move a piece of furniture, or something. But what if, in your timeline, you were meant to move the furniture? In your past history, your future self already went back in time, moved the furniture, Hitler's family raised him in that house, and he still grows up to spearhead the events that led to WWII. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest submarines Posted December 12, 2012 Share Posted December 12, 2012 But what if, in your timeline, you were meant to move the furniture? In your past history, your future self already went back in time, moved the furniture, Hitler's family raised him in that house, and he still grows up to spearhead the events that led to WWII. I don't read enough science fiction to comprehend the above. :ohmy: I should avoid time travelling, I guess Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenL Posted December 12, 2012 Share Posted December 12, 2012 What an absolutely fascinating question this is! I'm pondering... My initial reaction is how great it would be if it were that easy to just take him out of the equation? However, I don't think I would change a thing. He did not act alone, and I truly believe someone as evil or worse would have come along to cause something else as horrific. Also, the member who said God could have had him die to prevent all of this aligns with my belief system that God is in control. We have free will, and evil exists due to sin. Hitler is one of the ultimate sinners. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TranquilMind Posted December 12, 2012 Share Posted December 12, 2012 I would steal him, and hand him over to be raised by a nice Jewish family. Maybe if he hadn't been taught to hate, he would have been different. Maybe not, but that's all I could do. Now, if you had asked about a young adult, my answer might be different. I like this answer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unicorn. Posted December 12, 2012 Share Posted December 12, 2012 I agree. I could never harm a helpless infant. I would take him in myself, most likely, and pray for him constantly and try to raise him the best I could. I don't know. I'm sure my grandparents/great grandparents may have chosen differently. I would have said the same thing, but she said we had to come back empty handed. As others have said, it probably wouldn't have mattered. It could be that I gave him to Jewish parents, but he grew up hating his parents, and still gone on to do the same things. I agree that he didn't act alone. However, I also believe that there are occasionally people who are lynchpins for history. Without them, the flow of events is disrupted so much as to be completely new. As others have said, that new history may not be guaranteed to be rosy in this case. No doubt there are those of us who would not exist, because our parents or grandparents met as a result of WWII. Would it be worth it, in the overall scheme of things, though? Would I even try? I don't know, honestly. I'd probably feel pressured and go with my basest instinct, which would be to kill him in an attempt to prevent the great evil I knew he'd unleash. It would be horrible to do that to an infant as opposed to a young adult, as someone above pointed out, but all monsters hatch sometime, right? Could I pass up the opportunity to try to protect so many? Should I? Warning: Geek confession ahead! The OP was inspired by listening to Weird Al Yankovic's song "The Saga Begins" and wondering what might have happened if Qui Gon Jinn had left Anakin well enough alone, or if he'd eliminated him altogether. :blush: We've had that discussion around here before! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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