How Can The Holocaust Be Explained Free Essay Example, 2000 words

Davidowicz argues that Hitler had planned the Holocaust around 1919, and she based her arguments on anti-semitic statements made by Hitler. In one particular account of Hitler’s words, there was an indication of him planning to kill around 12,000 to 15,000 Jews. In Mein Kampf, Hitler says that it would have been better if 12,000 to 15,000 Jews were gassed to death in place of German workers in the First World War2. Though, one can observe here that the number referred to here is quite significant, critics of Davidowicz’s views assert that there isn’t enough evidence from Hitler’s words that he was intending to carryout a Holocaust as early as 1919. However, aside from the Mein Kampf words of Hitler, Davidowicz draws a number of quotations that announce Hitler’s hatred towards the Jews. This evidence presented in Mein Kampf consists of nearly 700 pages, but critics assert that it is stretched with little evidence. Perhaps Davidowicz’s work is not sufficient to place Hitler’s intentions of a Holocaust as early as 1919. However, Daniel Goldhagen does assert that there was general hatred for Jews in Germany before the Nazi regime took over. We will write a custom essay sample on How Can The Holocaust Be Explained or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/pageorder now Perhaps with this knowledge Hitler could have found it convenient to infuse ideas of a Holocaust realizing that there would be no objection from the people. In his book, ‘Hitler’s willing executioners’, Goldhagen suggests that Germany was enthusiastic about the persecution of Jews under the Nazi regime between 1933 and 1939. Aside from the above intentionalist perspective that is considered to be extreme, there is a milder form of intentionalism, which is the moderate intentionalist view. As the name suggests, this perspective is milder than the one above3. Moderate Intentionalist Perspective: Moderate intentionalists hold that Hitler had intentions of a Holocaust from the late 1930s. This perspective also holds that Hitler could not have decided on a holocaust anytime later than 1939. The moderate intentionalist perspective focuses considerably on the ‘Prophecy Speech’ of Hitler that was made on January 30th, 1939. Due to proponents of the moderate intentionalist perspective considering this speech to be pivotal in explaining their viewpoint, they hold that Hitler had intentions of a holocaust around this time or at some point in the late 1930s. Also, since Hitler at one point asserted that if ‘Jewish Financers’ were to start another world war, the entire Jewish race in Europe would be annihilated. Clearly, these words indicated that at this point Hitler had intentions of a holocaust, and would carry one out if he saw reason for it.