The Holocaust was one of the most profound events in the whole of history which has been divided between two school of thoughts for centuries; the Intentionalists and the Functionalists viewpoints. Intentionalists believed that the Holocaust was primarily the result of Nazi anti-semitism and that there was a direct line from Hitler’s early writings to the Holocaust.
Intentionalists claim that Hitler had a long standing plan to exterminate the Jews. Functionalists argue that rather than a straight line from anti-semitism to the Holocaust, there was instead ‘a twisted road’ to the Holocaust. In other words, the Holocaust was very much the result of the immediate circumstances that the Nazis found themselves in. The Holocaust was the mass murder of over 6 million European Jews (including Jews, Gypsies, Homosexuals and The Disabled). It lasted between September 1939 and August 1945, where the Jewish problem had been resolved through concentration camps including Auschwitz; killing around 12,000 Jews each day.
Crucially, very few historians would now argue that the Holocaust itself; the carefully coordinated genocide of Europe’s Jewish population, was a long term plan by Hitler. However, the very name, “Final Solution”, clarifies the position of this policy as the culmination of a determined effort to achieve the fundamental racial objective which underpinned the Hitler’s aspirations.
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The inherent centrality of anti-semitism to Hitler’s ideology probably bears closest resemblance to a long term plan, with the clear and constant eliminationist desire. Adolf Hitler came to power in 1933 when he became Chancellor of Germany; this is where we can see him start to indoctrinate the German People with his anti-semitic views through his participation with the Nazi Party. There has been a large debate between the Intentionalist and Functionalist Historians for many decades since the end of the Holocaust; the intentionalists wanted to show that the Holocaust was Hitler’s plan all along but the functionalists wanted to rebuke these claims and show that the consequences of the Holocaust was from the offset of the war.
Source A is depicted as a graphic depiction of piece of propaganda, this piece of propaganda shows a Jewish person stabbing a soldier in the back. The theory behind this source is that the Jews were the reason in which Germany lost the First World War. This “stab in the back” myth was just a myth, none of it was actually true, during this time everything about the failure of the war was blamed on the unpatriotic populace; The Socialists, The Bolsheviks, The Weimar Republic and especially the Jewish Population. The Jewish Man or
Woman used in the depiction looks slightly like the Lady of Liberty, if this is seen as the case then it could suggest the Jewish Influence in France, helping to betray Germany. The source at hand can be seen as being a drawing of some sort and has been seen as a postcard in some other sources of information, from this we can tell it is a piece of propaganda being used to increase suspitition in the German people of the Jews; showing how dangerous they can be. The picture was drawn by characterture by the name of Rainer Sammet or “Dolchstoss”, this man specialised in posters and propaganda depicting the Jewish Population being inclined to help in the German War Failure and especially with Communism.
The purpose of the source is to infer to the German People of the real reason that Germany lost the war, this would allow for the increase in the scaremongering of the German people into hating the Jewish Population and segregating them into a class of their own, the ‘worst class’ of all. Knowing that the date of this primary source was 1919, we can tell that the underlying threat of anti-semitism was there much before the beginning of the Nazi Regime which took over some of Europe’s land.
In 1919, The National Socialists German Workers Party or most commonly known as The Nazi Party, was founded in 1920 with the development of Anti-Semitic viewpoints across Germany. This source could be seen as being biased as it has been created by an characterture whom which you can seen has strong views against Jewish People, another reason which it could be a biased source is that it is a form of propaganda and has the depiction of the Jewish population stabbing the German soldiers in the back and making them lose the war. An
Intentionalists, like Gerald Fleming, would say that even though there was anti-semitism or hatred towards the Jewish People before the rise of Hitler and the Nazi Party, it can be seen from the writings of Hitler in his early years that he wanted the elimination of the Jews to happen. On the other hand, a functionalist, like Christopher Browning, would say that the piece of propaganda that I have used is a keen example that the elimination of the Jews and indoctrination of the German People were of pre-planned conceptions of Germany far from the beginning of the Nazi Regime across Germany.
Source B is another piece of Anti-Semitic Propaganda, it was in a form of flyer used in the comparison of Jews with diseases. It reads “Tuberculos, Syphilis, Cancer are Curable… It is necessary to finish the biggest curse: The Jew!” This would suggest that during this particular time in Nazi Germany the Jewish Population were seen as the worst of the worst. The depiction shows a doctor looking into a microscope at a specimen with the body of an insect with claws and caricatured Jewish face. An insect can be seen as a minuscule creature in the world, this could suggest that at this point in history all non-jewish people were seen as more superior than the jewish population.
This would also suggest that, knowing they are seen as being insects, even though there may be millions of them it was seen that it wouldn’t take a lot to exterminate them (through gassing). By picking the source apart we come to the words ‘Necessary to finish’, these words suggest that the German people, especially Hitler and Nazi Party, wanted to eliminate the Jews and they believed that by eliminating the Jews all of Germany’s problems will disappear. The Jews were seen as the troublemakers of Nazi Germany.
Gerald Fleming, the intentionalist, would say that Hitler has his plan from 1920 or even in his early adulthood. His first viewpoint, when becoming chancellor, was to exterminate the Jewish population and this viewpoint is keenly shown in the source above, when the words saying that ‘the biggest curse: The Jews’ need to be finished it would show the German People how bad the Jews are and that they no longer need to be in society. This would stur a lot of tension in society making the population of Jews very unpopular.
This would be a good thing for both Hitler and the rising of his Nazi party, it would be used to indoctrinate the German people into following the Nazis and the words in which they spoke. Christopher Browning, the functionalist, when looking at this source, would make the judgement that due to it being in French the rise of Anti-semitism before the war was not primarily in the hearts of the German people, the over-population and extermination of the Jews was more seen as a “International Problem” not a “centrally German problem”.
The author of this source is not known but we do know that it originated in 1942 as a piece of propaganda to indoctrinate the German people into believing that the Jewish People were the lowest of the low, this would suggest that they are not worth being in the society that the Nazi Party and Adolf Hitler wanted.
The purpose of this particular source is to capture the mindset of the German people and to change the way in which they would live their lives, to add to histarior that they had against the Jews. It was used as a scaremongering technique which would help Hitler with his main aim; the eradication and extermination of the Non-German people or Jews.
‘Rational anti semitism… must pursue a systematic, legal campaign against the Jews… But the final objective must be the complete removal (Entfernung) of the Jews.’ – Source C – Letter from Hitler to his military superior Adolf Gremlich in 1919.
Source C is seen as being an extract from a letter found by an American soldier after the end of the war. The letter was from Hitler to his head military superior known as Adolf Gremlich; the letter was written in 1919. The letter shows that even before the war started, during the time in which this letter was written Hitler was just starting his gradual inclination of the National Socialist German Workers Party, Commonly known as the Nazi Party.
He uses the word ‘Entfernung’ meaning removal when talking about the Jews; this would suggest that it was Hitler very intentions to get rid of the population of the Jews in Germany. This backs up the claims of an intentionalist like Gerald Fleming, where he says that it was Hitler’s full intentions that the Jewish population should be and will be eliminated to make way for a German Race called the Aryans.
From the viewpoint of Christopher Browning, a functionalist, he would say that the inclination that the Jews were a subhuman race and not worth being in the German society did not start with Adolf Hitler, he would say that there was number of other factors and other individuals or groups during this time that added to the vulgar claims made by the Nazi Party in the later years. The author of this source, was Adolf Hitler, the main individual behind the progression of Anti-semitic views in the Nazi Party.
His views were fuelled by the National Socialist German Workers Party and the way in which their own rallies and meetings would turn out and the aims and objectives in which the party had at this point in time. The purpose of this source was to communicate in a formal way between Adolf Hitler and Adolf Gremlich, Hitler’s intentions through this letter was to gain the interest of Gremlich through the aims in which Hitler had and what Hitler wanted to do with his rise to power later in his roles and life. The letter was written in 1919, just after the end of World War 1, this meant that the anti-semitic viewpoint that Hitler had was in his mind way before the start of World War 2, this would suggest that the implications of war and the catastrophic deaths at hand were intentional in the rise of power for Adolf Hitler.
‘the Jew is victorious over the other peoples of the world, his crown will be the funeral wreath of humanity and this planet will, as it did thousands of years ago, move through the ether devoid of men. I believe that I am acting in accordance with the will of the Almighty Creator: by defending myself against the Jew, I am fighting for the work of the Lord.’
Source D suggests that Hitler favoured the removal of what he saw as feeble, inferior people in order to foster the German master race. The theory of Mein Kampf was written by Adolf Hitler whilst his imprisonment for the association of the Beer Hall Putsch. His memoir show his intentions in the elimination of the Jewish Population in Germany and suggests that the intentions in which he possessed were in his mind long before his rise to power in Germany. This is an Intentionalists dream, it shows that Hitler wanted the extermination of the Jews to happen, it doesn’t show the fact that he wanted to Gas the jews in death camps but it starts to piece together what he believed was the way forward for the people of Germany.
The last line in this extract ‘I am fighting for the work of the Lord’, this would suggest that Hitler believed that he was the all mighty leader, like Jesus Christ. He believes in his mind that people should follow him and believe what he is believing because he is going off of what God wants him to do. In layman’s terms, what Hitler is imposing is that the Jewish people are trying to take over humanity and destroy it for themselves and the only person that can stop them is the person that God has instructed; himself (Adolf Hitler).
This shows that Hitler was a radically religious person who wanted to show the German people what he believed was the right thing to do, and toward the start of World War 2 they believed him through many years of indoctrination. From part of this extract ‘by defending myself from the Jews’ shows that the intentions that he has for the Jewish people isn’t in the interest for the people of Germany but actually for his own interests. Gerald Fleming would look at Mein Kampf as the true intentions of Hitler and his very worst, these intentions came from the early years of Hitler’s adulthood. Fleming believed that it was always Hitler’s main aim to eliminate the Jews and without the German people hatred towards them his plan would never come together; this is the reason behind the addition of Religion in his autobiography.
Christopher Browning would suggest that implication of World War 1 and how the war planned out added the suspicions that Adolf Hitler had against people in society, especially the Jews. This could also suggest that it wasn’t always his intentions to eliminate the Jews but due the effect that it had on the young German soldiers and the acceleration of the war, the elimination had to be done clinically; through the Nazi Elimination Camps (Concentration Camps).
The author of this extract was Adolf Hitler, himself, this would suggest that, knowing it is coming straight from the horse’s mouth, it must be the real intentions that Hitler had in the back of his mind, the intentions to end the lives of Non-German people in Germany. The purpose of this particular source was to show the people of Germany and surrounding countries what Hitler wanted out of his power, he wanted to create what he called ‘The Perfect German Race’ and that he could only do this with the acceleration of the elimination to the Jewish people who lived in Germany.
Mein Kampf was constructed in 1925, 14 years before the start of World War 2, this means that even though war had not long finished but will subsequently start again, there was a lot of Anti-semitic views that were incredibly serious views; ones that would become a jeopardy for the Jewish people in Germany at this time.
Source E is a legislation made by the Reich Ministry of Justice split between three articles instructing Jews on how they may live their lives in Germany; the way in which the Reich. Article 1 shows the Jewish people that no matter how long you have lived in Germany, your German passport will become invalid and be unable to be used. Another section of the legislation posts the fact that who ever is a passport holder will have whatever property you own taken off of you or even put on lieu, this would also work for Jews who are abroad on holiday.
This was a way in which the German Government had the ability to control where and when the Jewish people were going to. The only way in which the Jewish passports would become valid would be if they marked with a sign from the Reich Minister; this mark would show that that person was in fact a Jew. By doing this to the Jews it would segregate them from the rest of Germany, making them feel small and miniscule in the society that they thought they always knew. Article 2 says that anyone who doesn’t comply or agrees with the first article will in fact be punished with the highest form of punishment; Prison which would follow a fine of 150 Marks.
This means that the Government want to be the main dictatorial body, meaning that no matter who you are in the country the Government want to control who you are and what you believe is right and wrong.
Article 3 rounds off the legislation by saying that as soon as it is set up as a legislation (5th October 1938), it will become an unchangeable law. An Intentionalist, like Gerald Fleming, would say that due to the rise in Anti-Semitic laws in Germany during this time we can make the judgement that if the laws were put in place before the start of the war, even if it was less than a year before, we can still make the link between the start of the way and legislations like these. A Functionalist, like Christopher Browning, would make the judgement that there is a lack of evidence to link this piece of evidence to the creation of the Holocaust.
They would make the link between this particular legislation to the indoctrination of the German People but it doesn’t mean that it would consequently lead to the mass murder of millions of people. The author of this source is the Reich Minister of the Interior, he is the main body of how the Government in Germany would work, he would be used to pass the legislations and laws made by the governing bodies. The minister at this particular time in Germany was Wilhelm Frick, a German Nazi, who on paper was seen as the Superior of Heinrich Himmler.
The purpose of this law/legislation is inform the people of Germany and the Jewish people the new laws that have been put in place against the Jews in Germany, we can now see that these laws were a way to remove the Jews from the social norms and indoctrinate the German people into thinking everything bad about the Jews. The origin of this source is from the legislations on Passports for Jewish people from 1935-1938, this shows that Anti-semitisstartem d to get more serious as the war was coming more and more closer which could suggest that these sort of laws fuelled the start of World War 2.
