When taught about it in school, I've always asked this question. And why didn't the Jews who out number their Nazi guards rise up and overrun the camps?
Now I understand. It's not just the Nazi's who committed the murders, torture, guarded, etc...It's also all the non Jews (German citizens) who went along with the program and bought into the propaganda that they were told.
And the key is it didn't just all start on day 1. It happened in stages (frog in boiling water analogy). Watched Schindlers List a few months ago and he mentions the dates in the first 30 mins of the film when it came to registration of Jews, relocation, trains, etc...So to refer to my question about why the Jews never fought back, you take little by little, and you change the victims mentality.
Now people often say that this is different and people are not going to be executed. But we need to also remember, many German civilians were not aware what was being done to the Jews in the camps. Out of sight, out of mind type of mentality. Even the US GI's who stumbled on the camps were not aware this was going on. And Germany wasn't some 3rd world country. But a well educated one. They had doctors, lawyers, engineers, all buy into what Hitler was saying. Scientist that stated Jews carry disease and are the problem, stuff like that.
So history may not repeat 100% the same way, but many of the concepts are there. And those who cannot recognize this, are the ones who would turn in their Jew neighbors to the Gestapo.