Originally posted by: Harvey
Originally posted by: rhatsaruck
Is my recollection correct?
Hitler was the nazi leader of the head of the German government and military. Do you really think that much mass killing and torture could have gone on for that long without his knowledge or involvement? :roll:
If so, your reality check just bounced.
I think you misread the OP's original question. Of course Hitler knew. Many others did too, of course. While there might have been some slight hints pubicly of what was eventually to happen to the Jews, there was NEVER any actual public acknowledgement of murder. In fact, it was not even addressed as "killing" on ANY official Nazi documents.
HOWEVER, I am a history buff and here is the short version of what happened:
1. Hitler, being a shrewd opportunist, used the idea that Jews were the primary source of all of Germany's ills (hyper inflation and the poverty that resulted). It so happened that many of the people in a position to lend money and those that had money were indeed Jews. If you have no money, it is easy to hate and blame those that do or are perceived to. Hitler was not stupid--use the anti-semitism to create a "super enemy" and use it as justification for whatever you want. Like rebuilding your military, and maybe starting a war.
2. Not all Nazis subscribed to this theory. Those that did not were displaced or eliminated. The Night of the Long Knives was not an example of this per se--it was simply Hitler cementing his control over the Nazi party and to force his way into power through the elimination of the Brown Shirts.
3. WWII was nothing more than a continuation of WWI, after a pause of a couple of decades. WWI left Germany destroyed, and the international sanctions, fines, and conditions of surrender left Germany unable to rebuild. This was largely responsible for the financial condition of Germany and created the situation that was RIPE for something like the Nazi Party, and subsequently Hitler, to gain power.
4. The anti-semitism became a quasi-religion. Hitler, Himmler, and others simply carried the scapegoating of Jews to the extreme and starting murdering after they discovered that simple deportation was not going to be financially feasible. It was cheaper to gas and burn--a financial decision. Not all Nazis in position of power agreed that murdering the Jews was right. In fact, I would say most didn't. The vast majority were of the opinion that they should be segregated/deported (and I would go further to say that even those Nazis had nothing personally against Jews to begin with). The ones that were vocal about their opposition "Final Solution" were removed or killed by the SS.
5. The German people were in DENIAL. First, many probably did know something was seriously amiss aside from the fact their Jewish neighbors were disappearing. Most probably continued to cling to the deportation fallicy. No one wants to believe that their government is mass murdering your friends and neighbors and denial on the individual and mass scale is pretty interesting and a subject for another discussion altogether--but an interesting psychological tidbit. Couple this with the fact that there was now food on the table, and jobs to be had, and new "stuff" being erected and a new sense of national pride (all actual positive contributions of the Nazi controlled government but by no means to overshadow the gouls that they really were....) and many people will believe anything you tell them. Give folks a dinner roll, pride, and job and they will believe just about anything.
6. The Allies most certainly knew of the genocide that was occurring--and the SCALE on which it was occurring. They had aerial photos of the concentration camps. Fact is, the war to destroy Germany was priority. Stopping the genocide was secondary to this primary goal.
I think this adequately answers the OP's original question.
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