WWII in Germany...

[VaeVictis]

Why does any asshole want to do nasty things to a scapegoat? Because [insert reason here]

Sad thing is, we shouldn't think of the Holocaust as unique as that diminishes the value placed on current genocides. Hitler himself called back to the atrocities of the Ottoman Empire when he said "Who, after all, speaks today of the annihilation of the Armenians?" in preparing to slaughter the Poles.

Very true. Rwanda, the Native Americans, even the eugenics movement. Trod under history and forgotten for the most part.
While the German Holocaust wasn't unique, it was one the captured the attention of the world at large.