There had been many wars in Europe before. But never before wars, that had started in Europe, had become wars to be fought throughout the world. There had been genocide before, but the scale of the Holocaust made it a catastrophe shaking the very foundations of human civilization. For ages nations had been ruled by authoritarian violent regime, oppressing the people. However, populist movements and notions of freedom and democracy had gradually developed into countervailing forces, containing the powers of rulers and elites that were serving their own interests disregarding those of weaker and poorer population strata. However, the rise of communist, fascist and Nazi ideologies resulted in regimes with absolute power and a ruthless behaviour towards the people subjected to them. Together these regimes