Hitler's Desire For Genocide Essay
“The Holocaust was the result of Hitler’s personal desire for genocide” Assess this view.
The Holocaust was not the result of Hitler’s desire for genocide, but rather stemmed from Hitler’s desire for genocide. Hitler’s desire for genocide meant that he was able to create the circumstances in Germany under which genocide could be possible, and encourage other individuals, such as Himmler to become involved. It is clear from Hitler’s first public statements made as early as 1920 that he had a long term desire for the extermination of the Jews “there can be no compromise - there are only two possibilities: either victory of the Aryan, or annihilation of the Aryan and the victory of the Jew.” This suggests that Hitler perceives himself as defender of the Aryan race, for the Aryan’s to be victorious the Jew’s must die …show more content…
This is demonstrated throughout the 20’s in which Germany had shown any interest in voting for Hitler even with his vehemently anti-Semitic ideas, but after the Great Depression the number of Nazi seats in the Reichstag rose from 12 in 1928 to 230 in July 1932. This suggests the German people voted for Hitler, because of the failings of Weimar and not because they agreed with his anti- Semitic beliefs. This is corroborated by Browning “For the Jewish issue was but one among many, neither top priority nor source of the greatest fear”.[7] This is also supported by the poor sales of Mein Kampf before Hitler came to power. Similarly, an abridged English translation of Mein Kampf was produced before World War II and the publisher removed some of the more anti-Semitic and militaristic statements. This implies that Hitler’s desires were genuine rather than pragmatic as his ideology was not particular popular until he was in power. However, Hitler once in power, this desire was to be the inspiration behind the legislation he
The Holocaust was not the result of Hitler’s desire for genocide, but rather stemmed from Hitler’s desire for genocide. Hitler’s desire for genocide meant that he was able to create the circumstances in Germany under which genocide could be possible, and encourage other individuals, such as Himmler to become involved. It is clear from Hitler’s first public statements made as early as 1920 that he had a long term desire for the extermination of the Jews “there can be no compromise - there are only two possibilities: either victory of the Aryan, or annihilation of the Aryan and the victory of the Jew.” This suggests that Hitler perceives himself as defender of the Aryan race, for the Aryan’s to be victorious the Jew’s must die …show more content…
This is demonstrated throughout the 20’s in which Germany had shown any interest in voting for Hitler even with his vehemently anti-Semitic ideas, but after the Great Depression the number of Nazi seats in the Reichstag rose from 12 in 1928 to 230 in July 1932. This suggests the German people voted for Hitler, because of the failings of Weimar and not because they agreed with his anti- Semitic beliefs. This is corroborated by Browning “For the Jewish issue was but one among many, neither top priority nor source of the greatest fear”.[7] This is also supported by the poor sales of Mein Kampf before Hitler came to power. Similarly, an abridged English translation of Mein Kampf was produced before World War II and the publisher removed some of the more anti-Semitic and militaristic statements. This implies that Hitler’s desires were genuine rather than pragmatic as his ideology was not particular popular until he was in power. However, Hitler once in power, this desire was to be the inspiration behind the legislation he