German Army
It is now widely accepted by most historians that the army provided support for the Einsatzgruppen. The army worked collaboratively with the SS, this was particularly the case in the USSR. Army officials saw the need to act harshly on the dangerous Jewish enemy. The 707th infantry division massacred 10431 Russian captives in just one month.
Police
The police force was made up of people from all sections of German society. These 15000 men also played a crucial role in the shootings. One in three were members of the Nazi party and only one in thirty members of the SS so why did they still commit mass murder? The average was 36 and most had families yet they were able to massacre thousands of children as close quarters. They were ruthless, tortured their victims and even buried some alive. There was no obvious pressure from the state to impose such harsh measures but this can partially be attributed to the peer group pressure from the other officers. Goldhagen sites the actions of the Police Battalion 101 that the German population were 'willing executioners'.
Ordinary Germans
The bureaucrats were the implements used to implement the Final Solution yet at the end of the war most denied that they were aware of the goings on. Adolf Eichmann who was one of the chief officials for deportation denied knowing the ongoings at Auschwitz at his trial in Jerusalem. Most officials were probably aware and committed themselves but the disguised language of the Government makes it difficult to prove.
Thursday, 15 May 2008
Wednesday, 14 May 2008
To How Far Were The Germans Responsible?
SS Role
Beyond Hitler it is often considered that it was Himmler and his right hand man Heydrich who were responsible for the murders. The SS under their control was present at most of the killing and ran the majority of the camps. Himmler himself was responsible for commiting SS resources and manpower to the construction of death camps like Chelmo and Auschwitz. However, the SS numbered 800,000 by 1944 and most of these soldiers there saw the astrocities that were taking place. The SS soldiers were often the most devoted followers of the state and subsequently greatest anti-semites. So even now feel the job they were doing was the right thing to do. However, other leading Nazis most also be implicated.
Other Nazi Officials
Goebbels the head of Propaganda was a vehement anti-semite and was even responsible for The Night of Broken Glass which some mark as the turning point in the fate of the Jews. Other like Goering while publicly anti-semitic may have only been so because it was popular with the masses the Fuhrer himself. At the Nuremberg Trials over a few leading officials admitted to their role. Some like Albert Speer claimed complete ignorance. Most officials took the view of working towards the Fuhrer so to what extent was Hitler responsible.
Hitler's Responsibility
There are two sides to the argument which are the intentionalists and structuralists. Intentionalists, like Goldhagen (author of Willing Executioners) believe that Hitler planned to eliminate the Jews as early as 1933. The structuralists argue that developments were as a result of problems faced in solving the Jewish Question rather than a clear initial intention.
Hitler's actions prior to 1941 do not suggest a man intent on murdering an entire race. Goering, Frank, Himmler and Heydrich all pursued a policy of compulsory emigrationw as the only real solution. These plans seem to have been taken quite seriously and there is no evidence to suggest they were simply a cover up for the horrors to come.
Operation Barbossa provided Hitler the opportunity to pursue racial destruction and this time he could justify it to his local subjects. It is clear that this was the beginning of the destruction of Russian Jewry which was then spread into the rest of Europe. There are no direct orders linking Hitler to the actual order to commit mass murder but he did make it clear that Operation Barbarossa was to be a war of annihilation. Despite this the Party line was still that the Jews were being resettled in the East. Public opinion would not be in favour of mass murder so it was concealed.
Beyond Hitler it is often considered that it was Himmler and his right hand man Heydrich who were responsible for the murders. The SS under their control was present at most of the killing and ran the majority of the camps. Himmler himself was responsible for commiting SS resources and manpower to the construction of death camps like Chelmo and Auschwitz. However, the SS numbered 800,000 by 1944 and most of these soldiers there saw the astrocities that were taking place. The SS soldiers were often the most devoted followers of the state and subsequently greatest anti-semites. So even now feel the job they were doing was the right thing to do. However, other leading Nazis most also be implicated.
Other Nazi Officials
Goebbels the head of Propaganda was a vehement anti-semite and was even responsible for The Night of Broken Glass which some mark as the turning point in the fate of the Jews. Other like Goering while publicly anti-semitic may have only been so because it was popular with the masses the Fuhrer himself. At the Nuremberg Trials over a few leading officials admitted to their role. Some like Albert Speer claimed complete ignorance. Most officials took the view of working towards the Fuhrer so to what extent was Hitler responsible.
Hitler's Responsibility
There are two sides to the argument which are the intentionalists and structuralists. Intentionalists, like Goldhagen (author of Willing Executioners) believe that Hitler planned to eliminate the Jews as early as 1933. The structuralists argue that developments were as a result of problems faced in solving the Jewish Question rather than a clear initial intention.
Hitler's actions prior to 1941 do not suggest a man intent on murdering an entire race. Goering, Frank, Himmler and Heydrich all pursued a policy of compulsory emigrationw as the only real solution. These plans seem to have been taken quite seriously and there is no evidence to suggest they were simply a cover up for the horrors to come.
Operation Barbossa provided Hitler the opportunity to pursue racial destruction and this time he could justify it to his local subjects. It is clear that this was the beginning of the destruction of Russian Jewry which was then spread into the rest of Europe. There are no direct orders linking Hitler to the actual order to commit mass murder but he did make it clear that Operation Barbarossa was to be a war of annihilation. Despite this the Party line was still that the Jews were being resettled in the East. Public opinion would not be in favour of mass murder so it was concealed.
Tuesday, 13 May 2008
Holocaust: The Great Debate Intro
Although the Holocaust took place over 60 years ago there is still great debate over whether the concentration camps and death camps which became The Final Solution were always Hitler's intention. These arguments are divided into the structuralists and intentionalists. The intentionalists suggest that it was always Hitler's aim to systematically eliminate the Jews. In contrast, the structuralists feel this was the forced solution as a result of the failure of a number of other plans, rather than a clear original intention to commit mass murder. The most extreme of the structuralists include Dr Erving who was arrested in Austria for denying the gas chambers in Auschwitz were used for the mass murder of millions of Jews.
Another factor to consider is to what extent Hitler was aware of or involved in the mass gassing of European Jewry. Initially, you must come to a conclusion whether Hitler was responsible for the mass murders. If Hitler was not the mastermind but it was Heydrich instead then it can not be said that extermination had always been the final solution. The Nazi state was chaotic and there are relatively few administrative records of the Governments actions. Moreover, there is no paper trail linking Hitler directing to the Holocaust. Consequently, some people site Himmler and Heydrich heads of the SS and Gestapo respectively as the main organisers.
Monday, 12 May 2008
Poland's Situation Under The Nazis
The invasion of the Nazis was not going to have a positive effect on the Polish population and Hitler wasted no time in demonstrating that. In August 1939 the Einsatzgruppen comprising of 2700 men was set up to destroy anti-German elements behind the front line. The targets included the leadership class and the Jews. Thousands of doctors, teachers and lawyers were executed purely because that was their role in society. Under the Nazi-Soviet pact Germany conquered 17 million Poles and 2 million Jews. Even after Poland had surrended the Einsatzgruppen continued to massacre the population. The Reich Commissar for the Consolidation of German Nationhood was set-up to control the settling of Germans in Poland. The army officials did not approve of the killings but did not speak up as Hitler was with the SS. In November, the army was granted amnesty and freed from all administrative roles.
The territories not incorporated into the German state were to be dumping grounds for Poles, Jews, Gypsises and anyone else who opposed the Nazis. Here they could be under tight control and made to do a honest day's work which they had supposedly never done before. Centre to the plan for the rest of Poland was Germanisation. 200000 ethnic Germans were settled in the conquered territory. Himmler envisages an Eastern Europe of pure German blood. This was not to threaten the Polish's peoples laws but their existence. Those Jews and Poles displaced from the incorporated territory were shifted on trains to the General Government. They were given little warning and those who resisted were often promptly shot. By the end of 1940 this mass deportation programme had resulted in the deportation of some 300000 poles and Jews. Those who remained were persecuted harshly.
The General Government
Hans Frank took control of the General Government in October 1939. Although, Frank appeared to have supreme power in reality he had not enough men under his command and the SS often worked independently. The SS had special police power allowing to kill and imprison enemies of the Reich without trial and they were to have a key role in the solution to the 'Jewish Problem'. There was a fresh purge in May 1940 which managed to eliminate the members of the leadership class that had survived 1939. The Poles were subjected to compulsory public labour and some were even deported to work in Germany which suffered a great shortage of labour by 1940. The figure of foreign workers in Germany had reached 3 million by late 1941.
The Polish Jew- How did it effect them?
Hitler made clear that the Poles and Jews were both sub-human but the distinction was that the Jews posed a threat to a pure Germany. Some 2 million Jews lived in the conquered territories. It is important to note that the Poles themselves were strongly anti-semitic. Hitler could not pursue a mass Jewish massacre because he was not ready for the USSR if they decided to take action and America might have also joined the war. However, there fate was still grim. Synagogues and Jewish property were destroyed. The people were publicly humiliated and the SS choose to shoot thousands without any direct order.
The territories not incorporated into the German state were to be dumping grounds for Poles, Jews, Gypsises and anyone else who opposed the Nazis. Here they could be under tight control and made to do a honest day's work which they had supposedly never done before. Centre to the plan for the rest of Poland was Germanisation. 200000 ethnic Germans were settled in the conquered territory. Himmler envisages an Eastern Europe of pure German blood. This was not to threaten the Polish's peoples laws but their existence. Those Jews and Poles displaced from the incorporated territory were shifted on trains to the General Government. They were given little warning and those who resisted were often promptly shot. By the end of 1940 this mass deportation programme had resulted in the deportation of some 300000 poles and Jews. Those who remained were persecuted harshly.
The General Government
Hans Frank took control of the General Government in October 1939. Although, Frank appeared to have supreme power in reality he had not enough men under his command and the SS often worked independently. The SS had special police power allowing to kill and imprison enemies of the Reich without trial and they were to have a key role in the solution to the 'Jewish Problem'. There was a fresh purge in May 1940 which managed to eliminate the members of the leadership class that had survived 1939. The Poles were subjected to compulsory public labour and some were even deported to work in Germany which suffered a great shortage of labour by 1940. The figure of foreign workers in Germany had reached 3 million by late 1941.
The Polish Jew- How did it effect them?
Hitler made clear that the Poles and Jews were both sub-human but the distinction was that the Jews posed a threat to a pure Germany. Some 2 million Jews lived in the conquered territories. It is important to note that the Poles themselves were strongly anti-semitic. Hitler could not pursue a mass Jewish massacre because he was not ready for the USSR if they decided to take action and America might have also joined the war. However, there fate was still grim. Synagogues and Jewish property were destroyed. The people were publicly humiliated and the SS choose to shoot thousands without any direct order.
Sunday, 11 May 2008
Polish Ghettos
Prior to the expulsion of the Jews they were settled in small concentrated sections of Poland. There is much debate as to whether this was a first step towards the annihilation of a genuine attempt to solve the Jewish question. In Poland there were already large concentrations of Jews in cities so when the Germans began to implement 'ghettoisation' in 1940. The doctors are considered to be majorly responsible for the ghettos. It was suggested as part of Nazi doctrine that the Jews were carriers of diseases. By isolating them in the Ghettos pure Germans would be protected. However, in the Ghettos overcrowding meant disease was rife.
Lodz- The first Ghetto
Formed in April 1940- Poland's second largest city. It was considered by the chief Ubelhor that the Ghettos were only a provisional measure. However, due to the failure of the Lodz deportation plan the ghettos lasted much longer than expected. However, Jews were encouraged to set-up there own councils (Judenrat) to run the ghettos and some Jews even thrived in the ghettos. Ultimately, the councils simply helped the Nazis. They kept an accurate record of all the Jews and recruited workers for the local labour camps. In Lodz the chairman of the council even had his own currency created.
Warsaw Ghettos
Work began on Ghetto in March 1940 though it was not closed until November 1940 surrounded by a 2.2 m high wall. The conditions were awful, only one percent had clean water and housed 500,000 Jews with 6 Jews a room. Most had to survive on 300 calories a day and even heating materials were in short supply. TB and spotted fever all spread like wild fire throughout the ghetto just as the doctors had feared.
Problems
The deportation programme had a number of setbacks that the German government failed to recognise. This meant that the temporary ghettos lasted for much longer than was practically possible. There was a division between those who wanted the Jews to form their own economy to help the German war effort (productionists) or those who wanted to leave the Jews to die (attritionists). Productionists prevailed but it was still recognised that the ghettos would be eventually destroyed. The Jews were willing to work hard to try make themselves increasingly important to the German economy so it would not be impossible to kill them.
By the summer of 1941 despite food and fuel shortages productivity had soared and the death rates in these camps had fallen dramatically. The ghetto managers saw the ghettos prosper economically just when the Germans decided to liquidate them based on a new directive from Berlin.
Rest of The Jews
The Jews that were not placed in the ghettos were forced to work in the labour camps dotted around Poland. They were not given adequate food resources but were forced to carry out hard physical labour such as the construction of railways which would ultimately be used to transport them to their death camps. It is estimated that 500-600 thousands Jews died in labour camps and the ghettos between 1939 and 1941. The demise of the Jews was seen as clear evidence of German superiority to much of the German population. Posters were made and propaganda campaigns launched showing how it was the Jews that were carrying the diseases.
Lodz- The first Ghetto
Formed in April 1940- Poland's second largest city. It was considered by the chief Ubelhor that the Ghettos were only a provisional measure. However, due to the failure of the Lodz deportation plan the ghettos lasted much longer than expected. However, Jews were encouraged to set-up there own councils (Judenrat) to run the ghettos and some Jews even thrived in the ghettos. Ultimately, the councils simply helped the Nazis. They kept an accurate record of all the Jews and recruited workers for the local labour camps. In Lodz the chairman of the council even had his own currency created.
Warsaw Ghettos
Work began on Ghetto in March 1940 though it was not closed until November 1940 surrounded by a 2.2 m high wall. The conditions were awful, only one percent had clean water and housed 500,000 Jews with 6 Jews a room. Most had to survive on 300 calories a day and even heating materials were in short supply. TB and spotted fever all spread like wild fire throughout the ghetto just as the doctors had feared.
Problems
The deportation programme had a number of setbacks that the German government failed to recognise. This meant that the temporary ghettos lasted for much longer than was practically possible. There was a division between those who wanted the Jews to form their own economy to help the German war effort (productionists) or those who wanted to leave the Jews to die (attritionists). Productionists prevailed but it was still recognised that the ghettos would be eventually destroyed. The Jews were willing to work hard to try make themselves increasingly important to the German economy so it would not be impossible to kill them.
By the summer of 1941 despite food and fuel shortages productivity had soared and the death rates in these camps had fallen dramatically. The ghetto managers saw the ghettos prosper economically just when the Germans decided to liquidate them based on a new directive from Berlin.
Rest of The Jews
The Jews that were not placed in the ghettos were forced to work in the labour camps dotted around Poland. They were not given adequate food resources but were forced to carry out hard physical labour such as the construction of railways which would ultimately be used to transport them to their death camps. It is estimated that 500-600 thousands Jews died in labour camps and the ghettos between 1939 and 1941. The demise of the Jews was seen as clear evidence of German superiority to much of the German population. Posters were made and propaganda campaigns launched showing how it was the Jews that were carrying the diseases.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)