ll be extinguished…” (Bauer, 352-3). Intentionalists rely heavily on the interpretation and ideology of the Third Reich, more specifically Hitler. He was indisputably anti-Semitic and quite vocal of with his opinions and beliefs. Many people view Hitler as prophetic, as seen in his speech to the Reichstag in January 1930 predicting “…the annihilation of the Jewish race in Europe.” He managed to convince an entire country to turn on each other. Hitler led his people. It seems virtually impossible that the mass murder of so many could have occurred without some sort of agreement or order by the Fuhrer, whether written or otherwise. The disagreement comes when debating when the plan actually came about. Intentionalists believe the Nazis had mass extermination in mind as early as March 1941. Functionalists are divided: some claim the Nazis had it planned by the summer of 1941 because of recent success in Russia, while others push it further until the autumn arising from disappointment in Russia (Marrus, 45). The time span, though small, makes all the difference. Did the Holocaust begin because of feelings over Russia or was it planned even before then? I find intentionalism to be a more convincing argument. This is for many reasons. Why would Hitler order “voluntary” sterilization if he wanted the Jewish race to continue? And even though I do believe that Hitler was irrational and spontaneous, I find the Holocaust to be meticulously planned and carried out. The killings were too intricate. I also do not believe that it is an accident that there is no written documentation of Hitler’s direct orders. I think he planned that carefully. And keep in mind that most of the Nazi archives were destroyed. But I do not think that Hitler acted alone by any means. If someone were to ask me if I thought the Shoah occurred simply because a turn of events, I would have to disagree. I thin...
