Language:
English
Year of publication:
2000
Titel der Quelle:
The Holocaust; Origins, Implementation, Aftermath
Angaben zur Quelle:
(2000) 92-105
Keywords:
Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)
;
National socialism Philosophy
Abstract:
Many historians have pointed to the irrationality, in particular the economic senselessness, of the Nazi Holocaust, depicting it as "destruction for destruction's sake". An examination of the decision-making process in Nazi Germany shows that the regime relied, to a great degree, on academically trained advisers, who made recommendations on the economic, social, demographic, etc. restructuring of Germany and the conquered territories. For instance, in Austria, annexed in 1938, according to estimates by these advisers, there were 50,000 economically unnecessary Jews. In the view of these specialists, the rationalization of the economies of the newly conquered territories in the East (Poland, USSR) demanded a removal of tens of millions of "surplus" people; five million Jews constituted an important part of this mass. Although racial considerations played a prominent role in Nazi "demographic" decisions, economic considerations also played a role: the "unproductive" population was the first victim of the Nazi demographic policies in the Reich and in the East.
Note:
Appeared previously in "Confronting the Nazi Past; New Debates on Modern German History" (1996) 140-153.
URL:
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