Language:
English
Year of publication:
1994
Titel der Quelle:
Jewish Studies
Angaben zur Quelle:
34 (1994) 26-30
Keywords:
Hitler, Adolf,
;
Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945) Philosophy
;
Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945) Study and teaching (Higher)
;
National socialism Philosophy
;
Nazis Attitudes
;
History
Abstract:
Fackenheim argues that the focus of attention in Holocaust studies should be on the behavior of the Nazi criminals, and why they acted as they did. In particular, why the Nazis continued murdering Jews toward the end of the war, when the Third Reich was collapsing. Posits that Hitler had created a cosmic Nazi "Weltanschauung", the two basic laws of which were "the Führer is always right" and "the Jews are the poisoners of the world". Most Germans accepted this view and were determined to follow it through, trying to kill as many Jews as possible even when they knew that they had lost the war. In his response, Steven Katz points out that Hitler’s Nazism attempted to remold reality to conform to a "world view", and therefore every last Jewish child had to be killed. Ze’ev Mankowitz states that human beings (e.g. Hitler) who claim to take the place of God or to be sovereigns in the universe will inevitably resort to mass murder in order to substantiate their claims.
Description / Table of Contents:
Katz, Steven Theodore. A philosophical response. 31-34.
Description / Table of Contents:
Mankowitz, Ze'ev. A historian's response. 35-37.
Note:
Appeared also in "Jewish Philosophy and the Academy" (1996) 191-203.
URL:
Locate this publication in Israeli libraries
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