Auschwitz, 17. Juli 1942 : der Weg zur europäischen "Endlösung der Judenfrage"

Chs. 1-5 (pp. 10-89) deal with Germany before World War II: antisemitism in the Weimar Republic and in the NSDAP, the Nuremberg Laws, the expulsion of the Jews from the German economy, and the "Kristallnacht" pogrom. The rest of the book deals with the war period. 17 July 1942 was the date of Himmler's visit to Auschwitz, where he witnessed a selection and gassing and decided that the deportation and liquidation of all the Jews of Nazi-occupied Europe could and should be inplemented at once and not be put off (as Hitler thought) until the final victory. Describes developments that made this possible: the segregation of Jews from the rest of the population; the passivity of the German public and the vicious antisemitism and collaboration in Ukraine and the Baltic States; brutalization caused by the war; ideological fanaticism, intoxication with power, career ambitions and group solidarity of the perpetrators. The original rationale for the deportations, with the intention of resettlement, was Himmler's vision of gathering all the ethnic Germans into an expanded Reich. When resettlement proved infeasible, mass murder took its place. The liquidation of entire communities at the initiative of local commanders caused Himmler to see the possibility of total liquidation of the Jews. Globočnik, with Himmler's support, launched Operation Reinhard for the extermination of all the Jews in the Generalgouvernement. Hitler furnished only the ideology; he avoided the practical details. He never gave an order for the extermination of Jews, though this was understood to be his wish. The energy came from below, in the interaction between Himmler, Heydrich, and Eichmann with the men on the spot. Originalausg. 235 pages ; 20 cm.