Ideology of Death: Why the Holocaust Happened in Germany
by John Weiss
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A fundamental question facing any commentator on the Nazi era centers on the relationship between "ordinary" Germans and National Socialism. In 'Ideology of Death,' John Weiss contends that any understanding of the Holocaust must begin with the German and Austrian anti-Semitism that predated the emergence of National Socialism and paved the way to power for Hitler. Accounts of the Holocaust that start with Hitler either understate or fail to point out the culture of hatred that was show more commonplace in Germany and Austria prior to 1914. To substantiate his assertion that Hitler's racism resembled the racism of millions of Germans and Austro-Germans, Weiss outlines the peculiar development of German anti-Semitism that came to play an important role in the development of modern Germany. By the beginning of the twentieth century, virtually every level of German society was infected with an intense hatred for Jews. The pre-1914 anti-Semites spoke the "language of the death camps" and only modern Germany possessed the industrial and political power to act upon this hostility. This text portrays a Germany that was fully enthusiastic in its hatred for Jews, and that was ready, willing, and finally able to engage in an unprecedented slaughter. Readers come away with the sense of the breadth and depth of German and Austrian anti-Semitism. This understanding renders the appeal of Hitler and National Socialism much less mystical and much more intelligible, and it should also prove quite provocative in the ongoing discussions on the origins of National Socialism, its appeal, and the role of "ordinary" Germans in the Third Reich. show lessTags
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How could one of the most "civilized" of Western nations kill millions of innocent people? Weiss (The Facist Tradition, 1967) rejects the claim of "No Hitler, no Holocaust." Instead, he argues that anti-Semitism was a strong trait in every class in Germany; the anti-Semitism of "tens of thousands" of upper-class Germans was not "all that different from that of the Nazis themselves." Weiss traces anti-Semitism in western Europe and shows why it was so strong in Germany. He demolishes the old argument that most Germans knew nothing about the mass murders and were shocked when they learned the truth. He suggests that if the masses truly did not know and were as horrified as they claimed, "an outburst of patriotic indignation and revulsion show more and unstoppable desire to punish the guilty would have been inevitable. The opposite occurred." Weiss's clear and lucid style makes his book an excellent choice for classes or discussion groups on the Holocaust.
The Holocaust happened in Germany, historian Weiss argues, because "the special nature of German and Austrian history" gave an utterly racist form of anti-Semitism "immense power." Weiss examines anti-Semitism's "Christian legacy" in Europe; the role of Martin Luther; the weakness of countervailing Enlightenment ideas in Germany and Austria-Hungary; and the central fact that, throughout the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, "racism was increasingly used by upper-class reactionaries,...
Why the Holocaust happened in Germany is the subject of this stunning and disturbing exploration of the unique nature of German history and its culture of racism and anti-Semitism. show less
The Holocaust happened in Germany, historian Weiss argues, because "the special nature of German and Austrian history" gave an utterly racist form of anti-Semitism "immense power." Weiss examines anti-Semitism's "Christian legacy" in Europe; the role of Martin Luther; the weakness of countervailing Enlightenment ideas in Germany and Austria-Hungary; and the central fact that, throughout the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, "racism was increasingly used by upper-class reactionaries,...
Why the Holocaust happened in Germany is the subject of this stunning and disturbing exploration of the unique nature of German history and its culture of racism and anti-Semitism. show less
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6 Works 213 Members
John Weiss is professor of history at Lehman College and the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. A former Fulbright scholar, he has written widely on European anti-Semitism and fascism
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- Genres
- Nonfiction, History, Anthropology, General Nonfiction, Religion & Spirituality, Science & Nature
- DDC/MDS
- 305.892 — Society, government, & culture Social sciences, sociology & anthropology Social group - Age, Gender, Ethnicity Ethnic and national groups Other ethnic and national groups Semites
- LCC
- DS146 .G4 .W43 — History of Europe, Asia, Africa and Oceania Asia History of Asia Israel (Palestine). The Jews Jews outside of Palestine
- BISAC
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- Reviews
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- Rating
- (4.30)
- Languages
- English, German
- Media
- Paper
- ISBNs
- 4
