Anti Semitism In The Holocaust

Today the Holocaust is one of the most studied historical events, yet it remains one of the most controversial and confusing topics in history. Following the revelations of the Nazi death camps at the end of World War Two (WWII) (1945), there began a focus on Hitler’s centrality in the Holocaust, which was fulfilling an apologetic function. To many Hitler embodied the violence and fanaticism of mythical anti-Semitism, while keeping the imperatives of modern bureaucratic functions. These ‘traditional views’ focus on anti-Semitism as the sole cause of the Holocaust and examine the irrational aspects of Nazi policy. More recent views show an overall policy of extermination while emphasizing the interaction between top Nazi officials and the

There existed in Germany a modern scientific anti-Semitism, which focused on the perceived danger of biological traits in Jews that was passed on through blood. This modern view on racism stemming from the nineteenth-century was combined with an older more mythic belief on the Jews desire for world domination or destruction, as well as their ability to conspire to do so. That is why when analyzing the Holocaust one should not begin in the twentieth-century with the rise of Nazism, but rather in the more distant history of Europe, in hopes of understanding the legacy of anti-Semitism in which Nazism entered into. Yet a legacy of anti-Semitism could not explain an event as massive as the Holocaust was. It would require mass participation and resources, not just from Germans but from collaborators all over Europe. They would become either willing or passive executioners like a cog in a machine of extermination. The causes of the Holocaust cannot be as simple as just the ‘Final Solution’ but are rooted in a history of anti-Semitism, overzealous contemporary anti-Semites, and a bureaucratic, institutionalized system of

However, some themes do arise when one attempts to at least look into an answer to these daunting questions. The long history Europe had with anti-Semitism created a belief that European Jewry was harmful and did not deserve to live in Europe, or at all for that matter. Led by many ruthless anti-Semites the Third Reich along with their European collaborators took on a task of genocide in an effort to eliminate the Jewish people. To achieve this goal the Germans would develop large infrastructure, the weapon of their murder to carry out the daunting task of genocide. Although some central planning undoubtedly existed, there was also widespread participation. The enthusiasm for the genocide inside the Third Reich and the central planning of the Holocaust are not mutually exclusive, but rather they feed off each other to create a devastating