My thoughts on Some Holocaust Questions

Disclaimer:  Below are my "first-pass" hypotheses and opinions, based on some limited research.  This page deals with some of my own, personal viewpoints; it is not intended to represent the perspective of any other individual or group.

Why do people accept and commit genocide?   

Genocide is the systematic annihilation of a group of people.  A prerequisite for genocide is hatred, loathing, anger, rage, or fear.  The perpetrator must also believe that "the Other" (which here refers to an entire group, rather than any particular individual) are less than human, extremely dangerous, evil, ungodly, or ?, and that it is therefore right (and most often "necessary") to eliminate them.   An additional requirement seems to be that a higher power, such as the government or the Church, legitimize the genocide by supporting the goal of eliminating the Other.  

Why did so many readily embrace Hitler's vision of Jews as "sub-human" and "race-defilers", to be grouped with rapists and other undesirables?  Why were ordinary Germans and other perpetrators able to do what they did to Jews in WW II?  

This is an area of considerable recent debate.  Yet it seems clear to me that there were layers of reasons, piled one atop the other.   Harvard Professor Daniel J. Goldhagen's 1996 best-seller, Hitler's Willing Executioners: Ordinary Germans and the Holocaust, argues that Germany's virulent anti-Semitism made it easy for many ordinary German's to adapt Hitler's own extreme racial anti-Semitism as their own, in part because they had accepted the demonization of Jews for so many years.  Goldenhagen points to the fact that most executioners in shooting operations were not specially selected for their task; they were simple German policemen who had patrolled ordinary German streets.  These "ordinary Germans" were the perpetuators of the Holocaust.

Professor Goldhagen is an extremely articulate, persuasive advocate.  He argues that during the Third Reich milder forms of anti-Semitism and a growing hatred of Jews (inflamed by Nazi propaganda) evolved into an "eliminationist anti-Semitism."  The Jews were depicted as mortally dangerous to Germany.  Initially the goal was to remove Jews from society, then to remove them from German soil, and eventually to eliminate them altogether (i.e., the death camps). 

However, respected Holocaust historians including Christopher Browning and Raul Hilberg have attacked Goldhagen's work.  They and their colleagues have over the years suggested other reasons to account for the cold-blooded slaughter at point-blank range of helpless women and children.  These other reasons include the intense racialist desire of Aryan Germans for an unpolluted Utopian race and the respectability of biological-racial beliefs.  A fear of reprisal by the Nazi's, a gradual de-sensitization to brutalization, conformity to the group and peer-pressure from comrades have also been argued.  Obedience to authority, "Just following orders," and the indifference of a bureaucratic-administrative "destruction process" are other cited reasons.  Some of the cruelty and inhumanity can also be attributed as an evolved response to changing conditions and fortunes of war.  

The debate on the above two Why's, which is ongoing, makes for some fascinating reading.  If you're interested, here are three useful links: 

PBS: Gergen's Interview with Goldhagen
Critiques of Goldhagen's Book  
Daniel Goldhagen responds

Why is the history of anti-Semitism so long?

This is a difficult question, especially from my perspective as a Jew.  The  long history of anti-Semitism dates back to the early years of Christianity.  Gary M. Grobman in The Holocaust--A Guide for Teachers suggests that for most of the years prior to about 1700, so called Classical or Christian anti-Semitism was based the otherness of the Jewish religion and its practices.  Under Christian anti-Semitism, a Jew could theoretically convert to Christianity and thereby end his/her oppression.  Another factor that created an anti-Semitic environment and a culture of violence against Jews was the Christian teaching that Jews were the  killers of Christ.  Indeed, Easter was the most dangerous day of the year for European Jews. 

Then during the Enlightenment, the idea of human perfectibility arose, concurrently with an increase in nationalistic feelings.  "People with a shared culture, language, history, race and value systems, bonded together into political, economic and social entities with distinct continuous geographical boundaries, which we refer to today as nations."  Increased nationalism (which I personally view as one of the most destructive forces in the world today) bred an anti-Semitism based on racist rather than religious considerations.  Jews were outsiders who did not share the common language, culture, religion or values; they were therefore seen as a threat to the Nation.  A racial anti-Semitism began to flourish.  Eventually the Nazis "clarified" that neither conversion nor anything else could change your "biology," thereby leading to the conclusion that the Jew needed to be "eliminated."  Along with this went a belief that the Jew was not fully human.  Indeed, under Nazism the Jew is even worse than "sub-human"--he/she is the objectification of all negative, anti-nationalistic values. 

False propaganda has also played a role in anti-Semitism.  Two examples: a French, Jewish military officer, Captain Alfred Dreyfus, was arrested in 1894 for selling French state secrets to Germany.  Dreyfus was convicted on trumped up evidence.  After his trial, facts surfaced that proved he was innocent; eventually his conviction was overturned.  However, for many French conservatives and reactionaries, the Dreyfus case inflamed their hatred of the Jews. The case divided France politically, and anti-Jewish violence erupted.  

At about the same time, the myth of a "Jewish Conspiracy" gave rise to an infamous fabrication, the so-called Protocols of the Elders of Zion. The Protocols purported to be minutes from the 1897 First World Zionist Congress, called by Theodor Herzl.  These alleged Protocols laid out a massive Jewish international conspiracy to seize power all over the globe, to start wars and depressions. The forged document was poorly-written and implausible, but preposterous as it was, many who were looking for a convenient scapegoat believed The Protocols to be true, and the document was widely translated.  It was not until 1921 that a London Times reporter uncovered that the story described in The Protocols was a direct plagiarism of two obscure fictional works, one a satire on Napoleon by a French writer, Maurice Joly, and the other a story by Herman Goedsche.  However, the damage could not be undone. The Nazis relied on The Protocols to justify persecution of the Jews, and ongoing publication of the document has continued to fan the flames of anti-Semitism.  Today it remains a best-seller in the Islamic world, including the U.S. Nation of Islam, i.e., Black Muslims.

And new falsities continue to this day.  In the late 1970's Robert Faurisson, professor at the University of Lyons wrote in Le Monde the "good news" that the Nazi gas chambers had not existed.  Contrary to overwhelming evidence, he wrote "The alleged Hitlerian gas chambers and the so-called genocide of the Jews form a single historical lie whose principal beneficiaries are the State of Israel and international Zionism."   In the 90's, other Holocaust deniers and "revisionists" made headlines in Great Britain and Canada as the issue of free speech for hate mongers and liars was debated.  Today, the lies of these deniers are no longer just published in cheap pamphlets.  They are present on the World Wide Web and can appear respectable and professional.  Some will even find them convincing.

Another reason for the prevalence anti-Semitism may be the perspective of the 5000+ year-old Bible, which proclaims the Jews as the "Chosen People."  Jews -- like almost all religious groups -- believe they worship the true God, and are right in their religious views.  However, this Biblical perspective of "chosen" is a bit more.  It cannot sit well with gentiles, i.e., anyone who is not Jewish.

Nor is the historical Jewish attitude of keeping to one's own and not welcoming outsiders likely to make for many gentile supporters.  Although Jews have not been particularly welcome in many cultures -- they weren't allowed to live in many areas, go to most schools, etc. -- for the most part they also chose to stay separate and not to assimilate into the prevalent cultures of their times.  Indeed, they have maintained their culture and religion by keeping together as a community.  Until quite recently Jews rarely married outside their religion, and the Jewish faith discourages converts since it makes conversion difficult.  A group that so visibly stays separate and outside the mainstream is a likely candidate for scapegoat-ism when times turn bad.

Perhaps it is also Jewish culture, values, behaviors and other "group characteristics" that have led to persecution.  Characterizations of individuals based on group characteristics is always wrong.  But that does not mean that there are not group characteristics.  These tend to evolve out of a set of common values, shared beliefs, accepted behaviors, and consistent education.  In the context of a given society in any specific time, some traits or behaviors are viewed as positive, others are not.  For example, Jews rarely drink alcohol socially, so drunkenness tends not to be a Jewish trait.  Jewish political leanings tend to be liberal, egalitarian, and sympathetic to those less fortunate, since a basic tenet of Judaism is ethical and just action in the world; these political leanings have often been at odds with the ruling or conservative establishment and thus have been viewed negatively. 

Over the years, many have attacked Jewish traits or behaviors; take Voltaire for example.  Though he favored toleration of the Jews and denounced persecution of them, he also attacked Jewish "stubbornness, perversity, and greed."  Voltaire used negatively-charged words, but these same traits could in the alternative be viewed as positives.  It is really a matter of perspective, what sort of glasses the perceiver is wearing.  Prejudice and biased opinions about Jews have been common where ever intolerance, and narrow-mindedness have held sway.  Scientific studies have shown that pre-conceived notions directly influence what we see and how we respond.  These factors can easily distort reality and triumph over objective observation.

Thus, Voltaire's perception of stubbornness might also be tenacity; perversity might be questioning behavior, and greed might be frugality and/or a practical materialism.  These alternative characterizations could easily be viewed as desirable "Jewish" traits or behaviors.  And regarding these latter more desirable characterizations, they may even be generally true.  Many Jews do love to debate, to disagree; it's the way Jewish scholars have been taught religion for several thousand years.  And we are brought up to be goal-oriented, to stick to our guns and to question, even to question authority.  As for greed, frugality and a practical materialism, it is historical fact that Jews went into commerce and banking in Europe because they were not allowed to own land or work in many occupations.  For centuries the Church barred Christians from the banking profession -- they equated interest on loans with usury -- leaving an "opening" for Jews.  Accordingly, Jews often worked with money and focused on it.  Perhaps they learned sooner than most its value and importance.  European Jews, like many successful folk, worked to support themselves and their families; they focused on the future and the money needed for it and tried to have enough left over for a rainy day.   Unfortunately for the Jewish people, those rainy days have come all too often.

The success of many Jewish individuals has likely also played a role.  The historical Jewish emphasis on learning, accomplishment, and financial well-being has resulted in a plethora of visible successes.  Some who would have preferred these successes to be their own sought reasons and excuses to justify their not having succeeded as well.  Jealousy, resentment and envy may well be included in the negative forces that have played a role in anti-Semitism.  

Moreover, it is clear that gentiles directly benefited from some forms of anti-Semitism.  For example, the Nazi's anti-Jewish laws and decrees removed Jews from civil service, certain professions, and the education system, making jobs and openings for gentiles.  In addition, in December of 1939 the Decree on "Aryanization" was enacted.  It required expropriation of Jewish industries, businesses and shops.  Other orders mandated Jews enter Ghettos, forcing them to sell their homes and possessions at bargain prices.  These events were boons for gentiles.  This self-interest, so to speak, can be added to the list of reasons for anti-Semitism.

To finally conclude, the long history of anti-Semitism is of course due to a multitude of reasons.  Pulling many of them together, it seems to me that anti-Semitism is due to the fact that Jews have been a visible and successful minority that chose (and oftentimes were forced) to stay separate from their neighbors.  Also, years of institutionalized prejudice have led to biased perceptions of and racist attitudes about Jewish people.  Prejudice, narrow-mindedness, bigotry, and intolerance have sadly been all too common in the world; they have provided fertile ground for hatred and anti-Semitism to breed.  And in the end, it was bigoted beliefs that led to the unfathomable devastation of life that was the Holocaust. 

End note:  I hope this piece has got you thinking.  If so, I would propose that there's probably something you can do to reduce prejudice, discrimination, intolerance, or hatred.  Today's a good day to consider what that might be.

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