wished to rid itself of the Jewish Problem.Chapter 16: Eliminationist Anti-Semitism as Genocidal MotivationGerman political culture had evolved to the point where an enormousnumber of ordinary, representative Germans became Hitlers WillingExecutioners. The rabid anti-Semitism which was ingrained in Germansociety, allowed an eliminationist ideology to take hold, and become a statesanctioned goal. On occasion after occasion, ordinary Germans took pridein their genocidal activities. What magical thinking could make areasonable 20th Century society take delight in such horrors. The answer,to Goldhagen is simple. Germanys historical anti-Semitism was motivationenough. Epilogue: The Nazi German RevolutionThe Nazi German revolution was the most brutal and barbarousrevolution of modern western history. The symbol of this barbarism is the camp.the camp proves to be an emblematic institution of the Nazi period. Just as theNazi revolution was one of sensibility and practice, so to was the establishmentof the camp system. To the ordinary German, a Jews life should be a livinghell, devoid of comfort. In these camps, ordinary Germans were the willinginstruments of genocide. They welcomed the chance to rid Germany of herJudenfrage. They were willing to perpetrate these atrocities in order to saveGermany from the ultimate danger -- Der Jude.Goldhagen draws from a large number of primary source documents tosupport his arguments. From eyewitness accounts, to official reports from campand police battalion personnel to the testimony of former Nazis, his sources arebeyond reproach. However, what may come into question is his interpretationsof these sources. Several of his academic peers have begun to disagree withhis interpretations of these sources. Goldhagen writing remains lucid and livelythroughout the book, but one can detect a certain level of anger. Goldhagen isobviously a biased individual, and I believe he allows his biases to c...
