How Could This Happen
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Communist parties, 2–3, 49, 85–86, 92, 94, 97–98, 108, 110, 112–116, 120, 123, 124, 130, 137, 145, 149–150, 152, 165–168
fear of, 2–3, 85–86, 94, 102, 145, 149–150, 166–168
in Germany, 49, 86, 92, 94, 97–98, 108, 110, 112–116, 124, 137, 150, 152, 171
in Russia, 85–86, 145, 166–168
suppressed by Hitler, 86, 120, 123
See also Russia; Soviet Union; Working class, German
Conservative parties, German, 48, 142–143
Cope, E.D., 159
Cox, George, 175
“Crystal Night” See Kristallnacht
Cumulative radicalization. See Extermination, total; Working towards the Leader
Cuno, Wilhelm, 97
Cyanide, 11, 21.
Czerniakow, Adam, 34
Czestochowa, 36
Czechoslovakia, 125, 127, 144
Dachau, 12
Dadrian, Vahakn N., 226n8
Danzig-West Prussia district, 134
Darwin, Charles, 139–140, 155–158, 163
Davenport, Charles, 163. See also Eugenics
Death camps, 9–11, 15, 16–17, 21–37, 63, 77, 135, 165, 185–186, 187, 194, 195, 196
decision to create, 9
death toll at, 11
location of, 9
operation and killing methods, 10–11, 15, 16–17, 21–22, 26, 29–37, 135, 135, 165, 185–186, 194, 196
prisoner uprisings in, 31
public knowledge of, 185–186, 196
“selection” of prisoners for death, 29–31
victims’ journey to, 10, 26, 170
See also Auschwitz, Belzec, Chelmno, Majdanek, Sobibor, Treblinka
Death marches, 11–12
Democracy, 41–51, 53–54, 58–62, 64, 81–82, 84, 85–89, 90, 92, 93, 94, 97–98, 105–106, 107, 114–116, 117, 241n30
as barrier against genocide, 117, 241n30
difficulty of establishing, 42–43, 51, 79, 53–54, 93, 97, 205–206, 208–209
in Britain, 41, 43, 48
in France, 41, 43, 48
in Germany, 41–51, 53–54, 58, 79, 85–89, 205–206, 208–209
in the United States, 42–43, 87
opposition to, 58–62, 64, 81–82, 84, 85, 88, 90, 92, 94, 97–98, 105–106, 107, 114–116
parliamentary control of executive in, 41–51, 53, 87, 106, 108, 208
role of middle class in, 43–44, 53–54
suffrage, 41, 43, 47–48, 59–61, 81–82, 87
Democratic party, German (Deutsche Demokratische Partei, or DDP), 89, 92, 98
“Deportation,” 4, 7, 10, 26, 34, 135, 146, 170, 185–186, 187–189, 194, 195, 196, 210, 212
Der Angriff (newspaper), 191
Deutscher Hochschulring, 150–151
Dietrich, Otto, 192
Dörner, Bernward, 254n2
Dunkirk, 129–130
Dürkefälden, Karl, 194–195, 196
Eastern Borderland Association, 55–56, 63
Eichmann, Adolf, 29
Einstein, Albert, 139–140
Elections, German, 45, 46, 50, 57, 65, 86, 88–89, 92, 97–98, 105–107, 113–116, 143, 206, 211–212
1861, 45
1862, 46
1890–1903, 50
1912, 50, 57, 143
1919, 86, 88–89, 98
1920, 92
1924, 86, 97–98, 115, 116
1928, 97–98, 105–106, 113, 115
1929, 113
1930, 106–107, 114, 115, 211–212
1932, 40, 65, 86, 107–109, 113–116, 206, 211–212
Elites, German, 5–6, 12, 53–54, 57–59, 62–63, 86, 87–89, 104, 107, 116, 117, 136, 142, 143, 145, 147–152, 157, 160–162, 165, 167–68, 171, 201, 205–206, 210–211
anti-Semitism of, 142–143, 148–152, 160–161, 167–168, 206, 207
compared to elites of other countries, 145, 148–150, 157, 162
defined, 5–6, 62–63, 88, 107, 117, 147, 210, 247n19
hostility to Marxism, 51, 57–58, 88, 142, 149–150, 167–168, 205–206
opposition to democracy, 51, 53–54, 57–59, 62–63, 86, 87–89, 104, 107, 116, 142, 149–150, 205–206
role in Holocaust, 5–6, 12, 117, 136, 151–152, 167–169, 171, 201, 207, 210–211, 261n3
Social Darwinism among, 157, 160–162, 165, 167–168, 207
England. See Britain
English Channel, 129–130
Erren, Gerhard, 31
Erzberger, Matthias, 94–95
Eugenics, 163–164. See also Racism
Euthanasia program, 164–165, 200–201. See also Eugenics; Racism
“Execution tourism,” 184
Extermination, total, 1–2, 6, 18–21, 84, 133–135, 167, 192, 196, 206–207
as unique feature of the Holocaust, 1–2, 18–21, 84, 226n8
decision for, 6–9, 12, 21, 84, 100, 133–135, 168, 206–207, 212, 220n9
Falkenhayn, Erich von, 68
Fein, Helen, 261n39
Final Solution to the Jewish Question, 76, 132. See also Extermination, total
Fischer, Samuel, 140
Forster, Albert, 134
Fox News, 49
France, 10, 12, 40, 40–41, 43–44, 48, 57, 66, 68, 79–80, 83, 89, 91, 93, 96–97, 103, 116, 124, 125–130, 143, 145, 148–150, 162, 185, 194, 208
compared to Germany, 12, 40, 44, 48, 79, 116, 145, 148–150, 207–208
invasion of Ruhr by, 96–97, 103
in World War I, 57, 66, 68, 79–80, 83, 89, 162
in World War II, 127–130, 209
Jews deported from, 10, 185, 194
parliamentary democracy in, 40–41, 43–44, 149
relations with Germany, 47, 57, 80, 91, 96–97, 124, 125–130, 162
Franco-Prussian War (1870–71), 47
Frank, Anne, 12
Frank, Hans, 131
Frankfurt am Main, 188
Franz, Kurt, 25, 31
Free Corps (Freikorps), 93–95, 100
Freud, Sigmund, 139–140
Frick, Wilhelm, 109
Friedländer, Saul, 220n9
Führer. See Leader
Führerbefehl. See Leader Order
Galton, Francis, 163. See also Eugenics
Ganszer, Julius, 21
Gas. See Carbon monoxide; Cyanide; Death camps; Zyklon-B
Gatling Gun, 67
Generational cohorts, 12, 63–64, 66, 72, 75, 76, 77, 207
veterans of World War I, 63, 72, 75
”war youth generation,” 63–64, 72, 76
German Academy of Law, 131
German Colonial Society, 55, 63
German Labor Front, 191
Germans, 2–6, 39–51, 53–54, 58–60, 79–82, 84–85, 90–91, 110–115, 120–121, 125–127, 130, 183–184, 191, 198–204, 205–206, 208–213, 232n11, 232n13, 259n34
alleged pathology of, 39–42, 205–206, 208–210, 212–213
benefiting from persecution of Jews, 5–6, 187–188
divisions among, 3, 42, 48–49, 51, 53–54, 58–60, 77, 79–82, 84–85, 90–91, 110–115, 120–121, 123, 206, 209–210, 232n11, 232n13
indifference to fate of Jews, 198–204, 207–208, 212, 259n34
knowledge of the Holocaust, 183–198, 207
Moral culpability of, 4, 5–6, 12, 183–184, 191, 200–203, 210–213
”obedient German” stereotype, 41–42, 43, 51
opposition to war in 1930s and 1940s, 125–127, 130, 212
political participation of, 42, 51
support for Hitler and Nazism, 109–116, 117–136
German Empire (1871–1918), 41, 47–90, 121, 127, 162, 170, 208–209
constitution of, 47–48, 59, 62, 64, 87, 88, 90, 208–209
foreign policy of, 53–57, 58, 61–63, 80
founding of, 44–47, 61, 121, 208–209
in World War I, 41, 65–66, 79–90, 127, 162
overseas colonies of, 55–57, 162
revolution of 1918 in, 41, 51, 86–90
, 93, 99–100, 105, 116, 121, 138, 144, 148, 149–150, 205
Germany, 12, 40–51, 53–64, 61, 79, 81–82, 83, 87, 109, 113, 115–116, 120–122, 124, 162, 163–164, 165, 205–213
alleged surplus population of, 55–57, 83, 165
compared to other countries, 40, 41, 44, 45, 48, 51, 79, 81–82, 87, 116, 120–122, 145–152, 155, 162, 163–164, 207–210
delay of democratization in, 41–51, 208–209
dysfunctional political development of, 40–42, 51–64, 205–206, 208–210
economic backwardness of, 42–44
in Great Depression, 105–107, 113, 115–116, 120–121, 124, 206, 209
unification of, 42, 44–47, 61, 121, 208–209
See also Elites, German; German Empire (1871–1918); Germans; Middle class, German; Nationalism, German; Nazi Germany (1933–1945); Weimar Republic (1918–1933); Working class, German
Germany and the Next War (book), 79, 161–162
Germany Must Perish (pamphlet). See Kaufman, Theodore
Germar, Otto, 70, 73–74
Gestapo (secret police), 198–199, 200–201, 203, 219n6
Ghettos, 11, 15, 31, 34–35, 134–135, 171, 186, 187–188
Goebbels, Joseph, 122–123, 190
Gold, Artur, 25
Goldhagen, Daniel, 145–146, 170, 246n16
Göring, Hermann, 109, 190
Graham, Katherine, 148
Great Depression, 105–107, 113, 115–116, 120–121, 124, 206, 209
Greiser, Arthur, 134–135
Grote, Hans Henning, 70–71, 73
Guderian, Heinz, 128
Gypsies. See Roma
Habsburg Monarchy. See Austria; Austria-Hungary
Haeckel, Ernst, 159
Hamburg, 114, 126, 171, 181, 188
Hamilton, V. Lee, 176–177
Harvard University, 148, 163
“Hate Song Against England” (poem), 80–81
Hayes, Peter, 220n8
Helfferich, Karl, 95
Henckel, Lieutenant, 71
Heydrich, Reinhard, 9, 63–64
Himmler, Gebhard, 76
Himmler, Heinrich, 1, 9, 11, 19, 63–64, 76–77, 131–133, 135
in World War I, 63–64, 76–77
loyalty to Hitler, 131–133
outlook and self-understanding, 1, 63–64, 76–77, 132–133
Posen speech by, 76–77
See also SS
Hindenburg, Paul von, 89–90, 105–109, 113, 116–117, 123
author of “stab in the back legend,” 90, 105
role in destruction of Weimar Republic, 105–109, 113, 116–117
Hitler, Adolf, 1–4, 5–9, 12, 40–41, 58–63, 65, 74–75, 77, 83–84, 90, 98–138, 140, 149, 151, 152, 155, 157, 164–169, 188, 190–91, 193–194, 200, 201, 203, 203, 206–207, 209, 210, 212
as source of law and legitimacy in Nazi Germany, 130–136, 206
assassination attempt against, 1939, 209
charismatic leadership by, 61, 101–102, 104–105, 111–113, 119–135, 200, 203, 206, 210
coming to power, 40–41, 51, 65, 86, 177, 105–109, 116–117, 123, 206, 209, 211–212
desire for revenge, 2, 100, 137–138, 149
eagerness for war, 123, 125
economic policy, 123–124
foreign policy, 2–3, 5–6, 123–130, 157, 165–168, 188
failure as artist, 98–99, 140
German defeat in World War I and, 2, 6, 90, 99–100, 102, 137–138, 149
hostility to Christianity, 139, 245n4
idolatrous worship of, 101–102, 104–105, 111–113, 117–120, 124–127, 130, 203, 206, 207, 210, 212
Jews, ideas about, 1–3, 6, 7, 12, 90, 99–101, 134, 136–138, 151, 157, 149, 165–168, 191, 193, 206
laziness, 98–99
life before World War I, 98–99, 102
limited abilities, 98–99, 102–105, 123–130, 140
luck, 104, 116, 123–124, 126, 127–130, 206, 209–210
Marxism, hatred of, 3, 8, 99–100, 102, 137–138, 165–168
messianic self-image, 6, 9, 104–105, 119, 190–191, 220n9
military service, 63, 65, 74–75, 98–100, 102–103
personal relationships, 102
propaganda image, 120, 122–123
“prophecy” of Jews’ extermination, 134, 190–191, 193–194, 202
racism, 2–3, 7, 12, 152, 155, 157, 164, 165–168
role in Holocaust, 6–9, 40–41, 101–102, 117, 130–138, 151, 157, 164–169, 190–191, 193–194, 201, 202, 203, 206–207, 209, 212, 221n15
sources of his thinking, 2–3, 58–63, 83–84, 99–100, 102–103, 137, 139–140, 149, 152, 155, 157, 165–167
successes, 120, 123–129, 209
talent for public speaking, 101–103, 105, 111–112, 114, 120, 122
Soviet Union and, 3, 8, 83–84, 117, 166–168, 207, 209
trial for treason, 104
world view, 2–3, 83–84, 99–100, 102, 136–138, 165–168, 191
See also Leader (Führer);
Hoepner, Erich, 167
Holland, 10, 128–129, 185, 194
Holocaust, 1–3, 4–14, 15–37, 40–41, 48–51, 60, 76–77, 84, 101–102, 104, 117, 128–130, 130–135, 137–141, 145–146, 148–152, 164–165, 165–181, 183, 192, 196, 202, 206–207, 212, 226n8
alleged inexplicability of, 13–14
anti-Semitism as cause of, 2–3, 18–19, 21, 23, 60, 76–77, 137–141, 145–146, 148–152, 166–168, 202, 206–207, 212
brief history of, 4–12
causal explanation of, 205–210
complete extermination as unique feature, 1–2, 18–21, 84, 226n8
death toll, 12
decision for extermination, 6–9, 12, 21, 84, 100, 133–135, 168, 206–207, 212, 220n9
defined, 1–2
dehumanization as distinctive feature, 1, 3, 7, 15–18, 21–29, 144, 152, 167–168, 207
denial of, 14
distinctive features of, 1–2, 13–14, 15–37, 225n7, 227n14
euthanasia program as precursor of, 164–165
Gentile victims, 1–2, 8, 56, 134–135, 164, 167–168
geographic scope of, 1, 10, 19, 206–207
happenstance as cause of, 104, 128–130, 209–210
Hitler as indispensable cause of, 6–9, 40–41, 101–102, 117, 130–135, 165–168, 201, 206–207, 209–210
invasion of Soviet Union and, 8–9, 83–84, 117, 166–168, 207
perpetrators not forced to kill, 173–174, 210, 212
plunder of victims’ possessions and bodies, 21–22
psychological mechanisms as causes of, 5–6, 12, 76–77, 164–165, 169–181, 183, 203–204, 208
power as distinctive feature, 1, 17, 29–37
specifically German causes of, 40–41, 48–51, 145–146, 148–152, 208–210
short-term causes of, 6–9, 12, 133–135, 206–207
World War I as cause of, 63–66, 71–77, 81–85, 98–100, 137–138, 144–145, 165, 207–208
Handicapped Germans, murder of, 2. See also Euthanasia program
Homosexuals, 2, 133
Höss, Rudolf, 24, 26, 29, 30, 63, 132, 180
Hugenberg, Alfred, 82–83, 165
Hungary, 45, 125, 144, 146, 161. See also Austria; Austria-Hungary
Hutu. See Rwanda genocide
If I Were the Emperor (book), 53, 58–63, 142
Imperialism. See Colonies
Independent Socialist party (Unabhängige Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands, or USPD), 92
Inflation, 81, 85, 96–97, 103, 115, 144, 149
International trade, 54–55, 162
Iron Cross, 76, 99
Japan, 143, 159
“Jew hunt,” 173. See also Reserve Police Battalion 101
Jewish Central Museum (Prague), 22
Jews, 1–12, 8, 18–19, 21–22, 23, 24–37, 51, 58–60, 62, 80–81, 82, 84, 85, 90, 95, 99–101, 112, 126, 131, 132, 133–152, 157, 160, 165–168, 172, 178, 188–189, 191–194,
195, 199, 200–201, 202, 204, 206–208, 209, 210, 212, 220n9
accused of fostering Marxism, 2–3, 8, 51, 58–60, 62, 82, 85, 90, 112, 137–138, 141–143, 145, 149–150, 152, 166–168, 193, 206–207
achievements of, 139–140
alleged control of media, 59, 140–141
as fraction of Germany’s population, 139
blamed for death of Christ, 138
blamed for loss of World War I, 82, 85, 90, 99–100, 137–138, 144, 149
blamed for World War II, 138, 172, 178, 191–194, 199
conspiracy theories about, 2–3, 137–141, 143–144, 166–168, 191–194
decision for extermination of, 6–9, 12, 21, 84, 100, 133–135, 168, 206–207, 212, 220n9
distinctive attributes of, 138–141
forced to serve Germans, 24–25, 29–37
German patriotism of, 80–81, 204, 212
Hitler’s ideas about, 1–3, 6, 7, 12, 90, 99–101, 134, 136–138, 149, 151, 157, 165–168, 191, 193, 206
intermarriage with Gentiles, 200
persecution in 1930s Germany, 4–6, 59–60, 126, 152, 200–201, 202, 209
plans for expulsion of, 6–8. See also Madagascar Plan
resistance against Germans, 31–32
seen as embodiment of evil, 6, 9, 138–139, 166–168
seen as subhuman, 3, 6–7, 18–19, 21, 23–29, 60, 152, 157, 160, 166–168, 207
social isolation in Nazi Germany, 4, 202, 204
suicides of, 188–189, 195
understanding of Germans’ intentions, 10, 11, 34–37, 188–189, 195
See also Anti-Semitism; Hitler, Adolf; Holocaust
Jozefow, Poland, 172–173
Jünger, Ernst, 69–73, 75–76
Kahlich, Dora Maria, 22
Kardorff, Ursula von, 195
Katyn Massacre (of Polish officers), 193
Kaufman, Theodore, 192
Kelly, Alfred, 249n3
Kelman, Herbert, 176–177
Kershaw, Ian, 219n4, 220n9
Khmer Rouge. See Cambodian genocide
Kiev, 194
Klemperer, Victor, 196
Knowledge of the Holocaust, 183–198, 203, 207–208, 211
declaration by the Allied powers on, 185
diaries and letters as evidence of, 194–196
enemy radio broadcasts and, 185–186, 189, 194
deportations and, 187–189, 194, 195
German indifference about, 198–200, 202–204, 207, 211, 259n34
leaflets from bombers about, 186–187, 189
limits to knowledge, 195–196
Nazi death threats against the Jews, 190–194, 203, 206
repression of information, 189–190, 195–196, 198
soldiers on leave and, 184–185, 189
sources of information, 184–194, 211
surveys as evidence of knowledge, 196–198, 211