Ideology of Death: Why the Holocaust Happened in GermanyIn 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. |
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Page 108
By the 1890s most French peasants and the lower middle class tended to identify
with the Republic , not its enemies , right or left . In turn , the Republic protected
them from aristocratic reaction and proletarian socialism . In France , moreover ...
By the 1890s most French peasants and the lower middle class tended to identify
with the Republic , not its enemies , right or left . In turn , the Republic protected
them from aristocratic reaction and proletarian socialism . In France , moreover ...
Page 213
As blow followed blow in the war ' s aftermath , racism gathered momentum . All
that conservatives had feared since 1871 came to pass : the kaiser was replaced
by a democratic republic controlled by socialists ; the Austro - Hungarian Empire
...
As blow followed blow in the war ' s aftermath , racism gathered momentum . All
that conservatives had feared since 1871 came to pass : the kaiser was replaced
by a democratic republic controlled by socialists ; the Austro - Hungarian Empire
...
Page 216
The high command was represented by General Wilhelm Groener , and without
consulting his colleagues , Ebert established a secret telephone line with him
and asked the army to support the republic . Groener promised to do so , but only
if ...
The high command was represented by General Wilhelm Groener , and without
consulting his colleagues , Ebert established a secret telephone line with him
and asked the army to support the republic . Groener promised to do so , but only
if ...
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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 | |
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