What about atrocities?

In my first post, I outlined a theory that humanity has been becoming more humane over time. The most obvious challenge is the history of the most recent history. The twentieth century is covered in examples of mass bloodshed. The most archetypical example being the Holocaust in which Nazi Germany exterminated over 10 million Jews, gypsies, homosexuals, and members of other groups which they considered undesirable. If violence is truly becoming less socially acceptable, how can such a mass atrocity have occurred within the last 70 years?

I argue that the example of the Holocaust actually strengthens rather than weakens my argument. The Holocaust was an atrocity. With full respect to Jewish feelings, I will however point out that history is replete with atrocities. This one differs from many of its predecessors in that the perpetrators were not open about what they were doing. Hitler found it necessary to cloak his actions in euphemisms like “the Final Solution” and to keep the full horror of his plan from public view. During the course of World War II, neither the Allies nor (controversial point here) the German public were aware that Hitler was systematically exterminating entire populations. In fact, not one single concentration camp was on German soil. It wasn't until the final stages of the European conflict when the Nazis were losing territory that the concentration camps and gas chambers were discovered.

By contrast, the Spanish Inquisition had no compunctions about clearly stating their goals. They would publicly declare the “crimes” and decree punishment for heretics (including, of course, Jews). The victims who were condemned to death were turned over to the civil authorities and were often burned at the stake and otherwise tormented and killed in squares in the centres of towns. These civil authorities made a point of scheduling such events on feast days so that the local citizenry had the time free to come witness the executions.

In the centuries between the Inquisition and the Holocaust public acceptance of wholescale massacre seems to have declined significantly. Hopefully, in centuries to come, it will become utterly inacceptable to conduct such pogroms.