Ideology of Death: Why the Holocaust Happened in Germany"In many nations throughout history, the Jews have been reviled and persecuted, regarded as cunning heretics and destructive social parasites. But only in Germany did racist stereotypes evolve into a popular ideology of such lethal force that it ended in the horror of the death camps. Despite a vast literature about anti-Semitism and the Holocaust, we do not yet understand why the destruction of the Jews was conceived and implemented by the Germans." "Ideology of Death supplies this understanding in a stunning and disturbing narrative history. Exploring the unique nature of the German experience as well as the annals of anti-Semitism, Mr. Weiss rejects the notion that the Holocaust was a product of Nazi fanaticism. He shows instead how racist ideas ingrained in German culture led to the unthinkable." "Tracing the culture of racism and anti-Semitism among powerful elites and ordinary Germans, Mr. Weiss shows how it grew rapidly during the Napoleonic era, became a forceful popular ideology in the 1870s, and in the 1890s gained the dedicated support of the generation that eventually brought Hitler to power. "German Jews became the victims of a uniquely powerful culture of racism," he writes. "Without this historical base, anti-Semitism would not have exploded with such fury after 1918, producing hundreds of thousands of followers whose ideas were no different from those of the Nazis."" "Drawing on the latest research, Mr. Weiss describes how the Nazis, building on traditional German anti-Semitism, adjusted their appeal to a wide variety of social groups that were crucial to their electoral success. The Nazis' extraordinary popularity "could not have occurred if Hitler's hatreds were unique," the author points out. Nor could the actions against the Jews, leading to their destruction. Most Germans saw nothing wrong with such actions. Mr. Weiss explains the specific complicities of various German groups and institutions in the Holocaust, and why they voluntarily cooperated with the Nazis."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved |
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Page 61
Unchecked by moral regulations, capitalism was the product of "Jewish"
materialism and greed, he insisted. Soaring economic growth would drive men
into vast cities and factories, tearing them from their village roots; spiritually empty
, ...
Unchecked by moral regulations, capitalism was the product of "Jewish"
materialism and greed, he insisted. Soaring economic growth would drive men
into vast cities and factories, tearing them from their village roots; spiritually empty
, ...
Page 162
when, despite all their efforts, rural folk flocked to the cities.) But Vogelsang
wanted to believe that morality was Christian and rested on the village
community, and that its disappearance would destroy values created over
generations of ...
when, despite all their efforts, rural folk flocked to the cities.) But Vogelsang
wanted to believe that morality was Christian and rested on the village
community, and that its disappearance would destroy values created over
generations of ...
Page 273
Since 1850 peasant attitudes had been determined by the local clergy, teachers,
and press, staunch defenders of kaiser, army, and aristocracy, hostile to cities,
liberals, leftists, and Jews. There was little rural support for the democratic values
...
Since 1850 peasant attitudes had been determined by the local clergy, teachers,
and press, staunch defenders of kaiser, army, and aristocracy, hostile to cities,
liberals, leftists, and Jews. There was little rural support for the democratic values
...
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IDEOLOGY OF DEATH: Why the Holocaust Happened in Germany
User Review - KirkusWhy did the most savagely anti-Semitic regime in history gain power in Germany rather than, say, France (scene of the Dreyfus affair) or Russia (with its widespread pogroms)? Weiss (History/Lehman ... Read full review
Contents
The Christian Legacy | 3 |
Luther and the Reformation | 20 |
The Enlightenment | 36 |
Copyright | |
24 other sections not shown
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Allies anti anti-Semitism aristocrats army artisans Aryan attacked Auschwitz Austrian believed Berlin Bismarck blood Boeckel Bolsheviks businessmen campaign camps Caprivi Catholic century Christ Christian Social Christian Social party church clergy Conservative party culture Czechs death declared defeat demanded denounced destroy east economic elections elites empire enemies ethnic Europe faith famous feared forced France Freikorps French Gentile German Germany's Gestapo ghetto guilds Himmler Hindenburg Hitler Holocaust Ibid ideology industrialists insisted Jewish Jewry Jews joined Judaism Judeo-bolshevism kaiser Karl Lueger killed knew Kreuzzeitung Kristallnacht leaders leftists liberal Lueger Luther military millions moral murder Napoleon nation Nazis numbers officers pan-Germans peasants percent political pope popular priests Protestant Prussian race racial Racial Hygiene racist reactionary reforms regime Reich Reichstag religion religious republic revolution rightists rural Schoenerer Semites Slavs Social Democrats socialists Stoecker supported thousands tion Vienna Volk volkist votes Weimar Weimar Republic workers wrote
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Bibliographic information
| Title | Ideology of Death: Why the Holocaust Happened in Germany |
| Author | John Weiss |
| Publisher | I.R. Dee, 1996 |
| Original from | the University of Michigan |
| Digitized | 27 Aug 2008 |
| ISBN | 1566630886, 9781566630887 |
| Length | 427 pages |
| Subjects | › History / Holocaust |
| Export Citation | BiBTeX EndNote RefMan |