The Holocaust: Origins & Intent

• The Holocaust represents the darkest aspect of the modern nation-state.
• Modern states have the capacity to commit genocide through organized and scientifically planned methods.
• Participants in genocide included list makers, train workers, engineers, chemists, doctors, phone operators, and office workers, involving active participation from all.

Intent of Perpetrators

• The goal was the total destruction of Jewish people, even in other countries.
• Germans believed Jews were involved in a worldwide conspiracy for domination.
• All Jews were targeted for death.

Christian Anti-Judaism

• The Holocaust was highly ideological, focusing on dehumanizing "the Jew".
• Jews were reduced to mythical figures of evil.
• Jews were blamed for various world events, including communism, capitalism, and Germany's failure in WW1.

Christian Anti-Judaism Origin

• Christian Anti-Judaism began with the "old" and "new" testaments.
• Testament means "covenant."
• Jews used the word "tanach," which does NOT mean "old."
• Christianity defines the Christian Bible's Old Testament as "OLD," while the New Testament is "NEW."
• Judaism is seen as inherently flawed in Christian Anti-Judaism.

Rosemary Ruether Thesis

• There is a direct connection between Christian Anti-Judaism (CAJ) and Racial Anti- Semitism (RAS).
• Early Christianity considered the Jewish rejection of the messiah as a threat to be delegitimized.
• Two views on Jews exist:
• Good Jews, considered pre-Christian, who will accept Christ when he appears.
• Bad Jews, who will never accept Christ and are inherently evil, having rejected and murdered Christ; the crucifixion is the climax of their evilness.
• Support for Jews can be found in the Bible, such as in the Gospel of Matthew ("The blood on us and our children").
• Early Christian leaders favored Romans and blamed Jews for the crucifixion.

Edward Flannery Thesis

• Early Christianity superseded Judaism, yet stressed that Jews were once the chosen people.
• God loves them and assigned them an important role in the second coming.
• Christians commonly believed that Jews must be preserved.
• Jews were not seen as evil, but still blind, leading to a "preservationist view."
• Jews faced discrimination and oppression, but not murder.

Blood Libel

• A centuries-old false allegation claimed that Jews murder Christians, especially children, for blood rituals.
• This led to further suspicion and hatred of Jews in Europe.

William of Norwich

• During Eastertide of 1144, a 12-year-old boy named William was murdered near Norwich.
• A monk theorized William was ritually killed by Jews, claiming they crucified him like Jesus, while overlooking that crucifixion was a Roman practice.
• The story gained wide currency and was believed as true.
• Growing anger toward Jews after the murder started a new chapter of antisemitism.
• Folk tales, blood libels, woodcuts, cartoons, rumors, and myths created a "Jewish folk culture."
• Jews, as a superhuman evil force, are part of European culture and civilization.
• Nazi views of Jews drew from images from the past 2000 years.
• Christian teachings helped create a climate where genocide could be conceived.
• Hatred of Jewish people grew over centuries of Jews living in a Christian world.

German Anti-Semitism

• "Semite/Semitic" was a term used to designate geographic regions and language groups.
• It was soon used to designate a "race" of Jewish people and created hostility, prejudice, and discrimination against Jews.

History of German Anti-Semitism

• Jews ruled by their own civil law and were led by rabbis.
• They dressed alike and had their own language.
• They lived in self-segregated communities and were members of a despised region.
• A dynamic "worked" in the 18th century due to relative stability and peace.

Jewish Emancipation

• 1871: Full legal emancipation of Jews in Germany occurred
• Germany became a constitutional monarchy with no more restrictions.
• Emancipation was the result of political/legal principles, not sudden love for the Jews.
• A new political principle emerged, offering equal citizenship so all people could freely develop potential wealth/success, benefiting all of society.
• Backlash against the freedom granted to Jews.
• Centuries of anti-Judaism had to be overcome to see Jews as equals.

Evolution of German Anti-Semitism

• Christian Anti-Semitism:
• Adolf Stoecker, a respected Protestant minister, believed Jews were ‘tolerable strangers.'
• He felt the political and social rise of Jews was ‘spiritually blasphemous.'
• He believed punishment and oppression would lead to their conversion therefore his goal was the conversion of Jews not expulsion
• Nationalist Anti-Semitism:
• Believing in German nationalism was essential.
• Germany was seen as a 'community of common ancestry and blood.'
• People not part of the community, such as Jewish Germans, were more "real Germans."
• Jews were alien to the 'German national character.' and the goal was Germanization
• This included increased intermarriage, with Jews eventually disappearing and melting into German culture.
• Post WW1
• A lack of Political Unity & Stability was created due to defeat in WW1
  • There was a collapse of the monarchy
  • Extremism on both sides of the spectrum, on the left (communism) and the right (fascism)
  • The society was polarized and by 1933, the Nazi took over
• Versailles Treaty
  • In 1933 the insulting treaty was abandoned by international powers
  • Hitler appealed to people's emotions and prejudice
  • Slides and exaggerated the 'humiliation'
• The Great Depression lead to an Economic catastrophe
• People made the choice for revenge and listened to demagogues instead of reason

Extreme Racial Anti-Semitism

• Racial mechanism: German anti-Semitism became the inevitable result of racial science.
• The Creation of a new type of 'religion' occurred, led by scholars, academics, and social scientists.
• There were two gods (evil and good) -Absolute good was German, and absolute bad was seen in world Jewry
• Struggle against world jewry became a struggle against absolute evil.
• The mere physical existence of evil (enemy race) was intolerable and threatening.
• Evil must be destroyed for "good" to win.
• This eliminated simple discrimination, intolerance, and prejudice; it was necessary for genocide to occur.

The Nazi Rise to Power

• The Nazi takeover was done 'legally' without revolution or coup d'état.
• People made a choice and can be morally judged for their conscious actions and inactions.
• During The Wiemar Crisis (1930-33) President Hindenburg had 'emergency powers'
• The president had the ability to appoint his own government and hold each election in 60 days if parliament was unable to form a government
• Residential rule lasted 3 years.
• Divided political parties could not agree on coalition government.
• Democracy seemed to divide the nation further, creating nostalgia for a powerful ‘lost authority' to overcome the crisis.
• The party system was viewed as fragmenting and weakening Germany.
• The collapse of the democratic Weimar Republic was a precondition to Hitler's eventual takeover.
• Franz von Poppen was appointed Chancellor and created a coalition government of the newly popular Nazi Party (33%) and Nationalist Party (9%).
• President calls for an election, where before the election, Nazi and Nationalist Party harass and intimidate others
• Coalition can win a majority leading to the belief that he could control Hitler (gave him role of chancellor)
• On January 30th, 1933 the President was convinced that parliament must be dissolved
• One month later Hitler burned down Reichstag
• In March 1933 Hitler gained 50% of the vote majority
• Hitler changed the constitution to suspend parliament, and passed the 'enabling act'
• This gave Hitler the ability to rule by decree for four years

Jewish Apartheid

• All political parties were abolished and made illegal within six months.
• The construction of concentration camps began.
• This legal revolution allowed people to choose a movement that flaunted hatred.
• The Law on the Restoration of the Professional Service purged all Jews from any roles of government and restored pre-WW1 life for Jewish Germans.
• Jews where excluded from positions of authority, cultural and artistic life
• Nuremberg Decrees
• The Law for Protection of German Blood: marriage and sexual relations between Jewish and German individuals were outlawed and forbidden
• Reich Citizenship Laws: Jewish Germans were no longer considered citizens creating popular support for anti-Semitism and belief that separation would end violence in Germany.
• Kristallnacht ("Night of Broken Glass"):
• Jewish businesses were demolished
• 267 synagogues were burned
• 91 Jews were killed
• The process of pushing Jews out began sending the message that either they leave or there will be consequences which they are willing to make violent.

Partial to Total Genocide

• an Intentionalist View suggest the following:
• The focus remains completely on Hitler as it was always his plan/idea/intention all along to preserve the Aryan race by exterminating the Jewish people, and other racial and ideological groups that the Germans saw as enemies.
• Hitler had his extermination plan from 1920, or earlier.
• These beliefs stem from childhood corruption, His central role and strong dictator skills, wrote in autobiography "mein kampf" ""The final goal, however, must steadfastly remain the removal of the Jews altogether""
• The word "extermination" is key as proof he intended on a genocide at some point.
• a Functionalist View states:
• Hitler's genius/obsession did not cause the holocaust and the final solution
• Too many failed attempts at emigration
• Middle ranking German officials putting the idea in Hitler's head created bureaucratic/economic motives and wartime pressure
• The Holocaust did not actually start until around 1941. To verify he started with sterilization acts (ex. What used on the disabled to purify and prevent ‘genetic deviants')
• After failing to deport the Jews, the nazi party was forced into the decision to kill them
• They did not have a place to put them, so they had no other option but to kill them
• In 1940, they came up with the “Poland Reservation” and “Madagascar Plan" to deport the entire jewish population to Madagascar or reserves in Poland
• It was argued The "territorial solution” turned to the “jewish question”
• In 1941 he was forced to turn into the "final solution,” the term that actually meant extermination

Beginnings of Mass Murder

• Began with Operation Barborossa (1941)
• Killing of civilians and Jews on a massive scale can be traced to a singular operation in WW2 known as the Invasion of the soviet union during WW2
• Driven by an ideological desire to conquer the western soviet union and use slave labour for the war effort
• Assure control/access of natural resources to fuel entire german empire Finally destroying jewish bolshevism (communism)
• Mobile Killing Squads were used, they:
• Spread throughout the soviet union
• Followed behind the german army, and were ordered to, round up jewish men and SHOOT THEM then round up of jewish women & children
• 1.3 million jews are murdered by ‘open air shootings'
• Ex. marched in groups to edge of pits, shot, killed, fall into mass grave
• Concern that the process was too open and not fast enough
• Briefly began truck killing using Death by monoxide
• The Nazis 1st attempt at gassing
• They then moved to Gas Chambers as they were impersonal and faceless
• The most 'efficient' way to achieve mass murder
• Was the final move to 'conveyer belt killing'

The End

• By 1944 the nazis killed 10,000 people per day at Auschwitz
• This Reveals something truly terrifyingly unique of the jewish genocide with the help of technology, bureaucracy for mass murder.

Who Performed this Genocide?

• German Armed Forces
• "Desk Killers"
• "Ordinary Men" whom cannot understand the german army without first understanding COMBAT

Ideology & Indoctrination

• Nazi ideology comes up frequently with jews being labelled as sick and sub-human
• Ideological hatred existed first (brought to dire situations) giving extremist/destructive mix never seen before
• The Role of bureaucracy in mass killing allowed people directly involved to feel they are not personally responsible

Police Battalion 101

Was composed of men mostly in their late 30s and 40s too old for the army and where regular blue-collar workers working in law enforcement once most German police were in the army Men here where not strongly nazified

Why did they do it?

• They cannot leave each other (greatest betrayal)
• If they leave, their friends will have to commit the acts
• Strong urge to be part of, belong to, share bond within a group in alien environment

The End

• Auschwitz was liberated by Soviet troops Jan. 27, 1945
• 800,000+ women's dresses found
• 300,000+ men's suits found
• 38,000+ men's shoes found
• 14,000+ pounds of human hair found
• ONLY 7650 LIVE PRISONERS