At the time of the shooting of these 120, there was a young Jewish boy of twenty who had a Nordic appearance, with blue eyes and blond hair. Himmler called that boy aside from the pit where he was to be shot and asked him if he were Jewish, whether his grandparents were all Jewish. The boy replied that as far as he knew, his entire family was Jewish. Then Himmler said that he couldn't help the boy, and the boy was executed along with the others. You could see how Himmler tried to save the boy's life.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Describes a moment where Himmler supposedly showed hesitation but still ordered the execution of a Jewish boy.
- In plain terms
- He looked like a Jewish boy who might pass as Nordic, but was killed anyway after Himmler checked his lineage.
- What can you take from it?
- Racial rules superseded individual circumstances.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- Can hesitation excuse participation in genocide?
- How do systems override individual conscience?
Another view
Claims of hesitation obscure the systematic nature of the killings.
More from Heinrich Himmler
In my eyes, Himmler was worse than Hitler. The assassination attempt should have been directed against Himmler in the first place.
Permalink to quote #20 He was not a man who was hard-hearted in the sight of blood. He was hard-hearted by reason of a fanatic ideology. But he was undoubtedly soft and cowardly.
Permalink to quote #22 Whether they live in comfort or die from starvation, only concerns me if they can be used as slaves for our culture. Otherwise it's no concern to me when a ant…
Permalink to quote #19
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