# 55. Induced Animosity ## 55.5. Methodology/Refinements/Sub-species ### 55.5.7. The Scapegoat This method involves placing an inordinate amount of blame on a person or group, usually in order to distract attention away from the true underlying causes of a problem or failure. It is also used to target a specific group for criticism, abuse or even destruction. It's a favourite manipulative weapon of the political right-wing to blame some other victim or victim group for the economic or political problems of one's society. For instance, the Nazis, in their propaganda, blamed the Jewish population of Europe for the dreadful economic state of the continent during the mid and late 1930's. This scapegoat was used (and believed) by many ordinary Europeans, despite the obviously dysfunctional nature of the global securities markets at the time which had triggered the Wall Street Crash and the economic depression that followed. The poverty and misery being endured by "ordinary" Germans was manipulatively transferred to the "ordinary" Jewish population with tragic consequences.