Not only did waging war against Hitler fail to save the Jews, it may be that the war itself brought on the Final Solution of genocide. This is not to remove the responsibility from Hitler and the Nazis, but there is much evidence that Germany's anti-Semitic actions, cruel as they were, would not have turned to mass murder were it not for the psychic distortions of war, acting on already distorted minds. Hitler's early aim was forced emigration, not extermination, but the frenzy of it created an atmosphere in which the policy turned to genocide.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- War conditions may have escalated Nazi policies from forced emigration to genocide, suggesting war distortions contributed to the Final Solution.
- In plain terms
- The chaos of war might have pushed the Nazis from deporting Jews to killing them en masse.
- What can you take from it?
- War can distort policies and lead to extreme outcomes.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- Does war always escalate violence?
- How does chaos change policy?
Another view
Others argue genocide was planned regardless of war conditions.
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