Ordinary Germans and the Holocaust Essay example - 1713 Words

Ordinary Germans and the Holocaust Synopsis – Hitler’s Willing Executioners is a work that may change our understanding of the Holocaust and of Germany during the Nazi period. Daniel Goldhagen has revisited a question that history has come to treat as settled, and his researches have led him to the inescapable conclusion that none of the established answers holds true. Drawing on materials either unexplored or neglected by previous scholars, Goldhagen presents new evidence to show that many beliefs about the killers are fallacies. They were not primarily SS men or Nazi Party members, but perfectly ordinary Germans from all walks of life, men who brutalized and murdered Jews both willingly and zealously. â€Å"They acted as they did because of†¦show more content†¦In the last few years, some publications have appeared that treats one group or another, yet the state of our knowledge about the perpetrators remains incomplete. We know little about many of the institutions of killing, little about m any aspects of the perpetration of the genocide, and still less about the perpetrators themselves. As a consequence, popular and scholarly myths and misconceptions about the perpetrators abound, including the following. It is commonly believed that the Germans slaughtered Jews by and large in the gas chambers, and that without gas chambers, modern means of transportation, and efficient bureaucracies, the Germans would have been unable to kill millions of Jews. The belief persists that somehow only technology made horror on this scale possible. It is generally believed that gas chambers, because of their efficiency, were a necessary instrument for the genocidal slaughter, and that the Germans chose to construct the gas chambers in the first place because they needed more efficient means of killing the Jews. It has been generally believed that the perpetrators were primarily, overwhelmingly SS men, the most devoted and brutal Nazis. It has been held that had a German refused to kill J ews, then he himself would have been killed, sent to a concentration camp, or severely punished. All of these views, views that fundamentally shape peoples understanding of the Holocaust, have been believed as though they wereShow MoreRelatedRole of Ordinary Germans in the Holocaust2313 Words   |  10 PagesThe role of ordinary Germans in the Holocaust is that of bystanders. The people of Germany watched on, without protest, as the Jewish people were murdered. Small and large jobs such as engineering and railway work contributed to the operation of the Holocaust and the murdering of Jews. The manipulation of the German people, through racist and anti-Semitic propaganda, speeches and polices from Hitler, meant that millions of Germans backed the plans to rid the nation of Jews. The idea that the JewsRead MoreOrdinary Germans and Soldiers are also Guilty for the Holocaust666 Words   |  3 PagesOrdinary Germans and soldiers are culpable in the Holocaust in addition to Hitler and t he Nazi inner circle. They are guilty for the Holocaust as well because of their long-standing antisemitism, knowledge of the enormities, and actual assistance in the Holocaust. Although Hitler was the leading force for the Holocaust, he was supported by ordinary Germans and soldiers who agreed with his beliefs and participated in the atrocities just as much. Antisemitism was the beginning and the cause of theRead MoreThe Ordinary Men of the Holocaust1075 Words   |  5 Pagesunderstanding of the Holocaust is the persecution and mass murder of Jews by the Nazi’s, most are unaware that the people behind the atrocities of the Holocaust came from all over Europe and a wide variety of backgrounds. Art Spiegelman’s Maus: a Survivor’s Tale, Christopher Browning’s Ordinary Men: Reserve Battalion 101 and the Final Solution, and Jan Gross’s Neighbors: The Destruction of the Jewish Community in Jedbwabne, Poland, all provides a different perspective on how ordinary people felt aboutRead MoreThe Nazi Party s Inner Circle Essay1538 Words   |  7 PagesHow can ordinary people come to commit atrocities against defenceless victims? Hitler was an evil man, or at least was prepared to employ evil actions to achieve his goals. There is very little in literature to suggest anything contrary to this opinion. Most literature suggests that while Hitler had some level of power over Himmler and the rest of the Nazi Party’s inner circle, they were also well aware of the extent and implications of their actions. Despite this, the atrocities of the HolocaustRead MoreHitler s Willing Executioners And Christopher Browning s Book Ordinary Men1101 Words   |  5 PagesChristopher Browning s book ordinary Men. These books deal with the question of whether or not the average German soldiers and civilians were responsible for the holocaust. My research paper argues in favor of Goldhagen s book, the average German was responsible for the participation of he holocaust. At the end of world war ll the Jewish community and the the rest of the world were crying for justice because of the devastation of there homes. The crimes committed by the Germans were cruel and someoneRead MoreOrdinary Men Book Review Essay976 Words   |  4 PagesOrdinary Men Christopher Browning describes how the Reserve Police Battalion 101, like the rest of German society, was immersed in a flood of racist and anti-Semitic propaganda. Browning describes how the Order Police provided indoctrination both in basic training and as an ongoing practice within each unit. Many of the members were not prepared for the killing of Jews. The author examines the reasons some of the police members did not shoot. The physiological effect of isolation, rejection, andRead MoreReading The Diary Of Anne Frank : An Essay Depth Resource For Learning About The Holocaust770 Words   |  4 PagesTeaching the Holocaust to high school students can be tricky at times. Choosing the right sources, whether primary or secondary, can be a daunting task. Students may connect to certain sources on an individual level, but other sources may make it hard to understand the â€Å"people† of the Holocaust. Susan Morger’s, Teaching the Diary of Anne Frank: An In-depth Resource for Learning about the Holocaust through the Writings of Anne Frank, offers high school teachers a very useful resource for teachingRead MoreComparison between Maus Anne Frank Essay1048 Words   |  5 PagesWhat if you were a holocaust survivor and asked to describe your catastrophic experience? What part of the event would you begin with, the struggle, the death of innocent Jews, or the cruel witnessed? When survivors are questioned about their experience they shiver from head to toe, recalling what they have been through. Therefore, they use substitutes such as books and diaries to expose these catastrophic events internationally. Books such as Maus, A survivor’s tale by Art Spiegelman, and Anne FrankRead MoreChristopher Browning s Ordinary Men1241 Words   |  5 Pagesmainly focuses on Nazi Germany and the Holocaust. Browning has been teaching about this specific field for thirty years, since 1974. He has published many different notable books in regards to Nazi Germ any and the events that occurred during the time of the Holocaust. Some of the books written by Browning are, Remembering Survival: Inside a Nazi Slave Labor Camp (2010), The Final Solution and the German Foreign Office (1978), and Nazi Policy, Jewish Workers, German Killers (2000). Browning is bestRead MoreDiscovery Of The Nazi Death Camps940 Words   |  4 Pagescould participate in the atrocity of what is now known as the Holocaust. Although from the beginning, it was clear Nazi’s believed Jews and other races were inferior to the Aryan race, the idea of genocide was not their original intent. How then were German soldiers able to exterminate Jews without question? Christopher Browning in his book Ordinary Men dives into the human psyche to try and recreate the possibilities in which the German soldier were able to carry out these horrifying acts. Easiest