FAQ: Did Hitler Know?
"'Once I really am in power, my first and
foremost task will be the annihilation of the Jews"
Adolf Hitler has become the symbol of despotism and tyranny
in the 20th century, and the man, Hitler is lost in the portrayal of the epitome of evil.
While he was certainly that and perpetrated the greatest genocide of history, one often
loses sight of the fact that before the events occurred, he was viewed not as the monster
he became, but as just another political figure, although one with a grandiose nationalistic
view.Studies of the holocaust have revealed and continued to reveal, the massive plan and operation of the killing of the Jews and other disfavored groups in Europe. Even 60 years later, new killing and atrocity centers are still being discovered, new mass graves opened. Still, a popular plank of Historical Revisionists, or those who downplay or deny the events of the Shoah is that Hitler was a great soldier, the leader of a Nation at war, and that these atrocities were either not known to him, or not known in severity. One holocaust-denier even offered a huge sum of money to whoever could prove that Hitler actually knew about the massive effort of the killing centers. Hitler however did know, and nothing took place without his knowledge or permission. While a few of those in his inner circle may have veiled a few things for their own benefit, the numbers killed was not veiled, and was taken as a sign of triumph over the enemies of Germany.
The FuhrerPrinzip and Hitler
The Fuhrerprinzip is described elsewhere as a principle employed by the nazis in the military, party and social order, in which organization was hierarchal, with a small group, a leader, a greater leader, and so on from the smallest person in the organization up to Hitler. The word "fuhrer" means 'leader' but has more the connation of 'lord'. The German expression Fuhrerprinzip means literally, the 'Fuhrer' or Leader Principle: it was the guiding principle in Germany in WWII. In sum, it means that personal responsibility for an action was removed, and was held by the commander or leader who gave the command. (see Nazi Organization). This principle was so inculcated in German youth and young men in the service, that it made possible the radical cruelty and obedience to genocidal acts and atrocities committed by the Nazis. The training for the principle began in the Hitlerjugend. Ultimately, the principle was carried to such extremes, that it meant that Hitler bore the utter responsibility for every act. The paradox and hypocrisy of the the principle, was that those at the top blamed their subordinates, and claimed that 'they could not know' what was going on everywhere. Hence, Germany managed a colossal pseudo-atonement for all the sins of genocide.In answering the questions about whether Hitler knew about the actions of atrocities and the killing centers, the answer can only be an unqualified 'Yes' due in part to the Fuhrerprinzip, the issue of leadership, and "Befehlnotstand" the blind obedience to authority which went hand in hand. It would have been virtually unthinkable, a capital offense, for information of that magnitude not to have been carefully detailed to Hitler. Even Himmler and Goering had to abide by the principle. The head of the Einsatzgruppen, reponsible for 1.5 million deaths, Heydrich, reported directly to Himmler. Himmler gave the orders for the aktions. Himmler reported directly to Hitler. Communiques regarding instructions from the aktions were from Berlin. The notion that Hitler did not know, given the line of authority and principle of authority would have been ludicrous.
Direct Evidence
Direct evidence that Hitler knew about the atrocities comes from several directions.1. The first is the pre-war intentions of Hitler and his followers found in speeches and writings, particularly "Mein Kampf". As the quote at the beginning of this writing indicates, there can be no doubt that it was Hitler's early intentions to eradicate the Jews, making Germany and then Europe "Judenrein".2. The second round of evidence is in the documents and records during the time of the war and his regime. These are somewhat problematic because while there were extensive plans and efforts to eradicate the Jews and others, they were seldom made public or put in writing. When put in writing, they were cautiously worded such that those involved understood directions, but those in the general public would not. The Nazis while keeping copious records on their own actions, also kept them diligently hidden: they meant to exact their plans fully before the radical end of their plans was known. This second issue is the reason many scholars disagree: the scholars who say Hitler and others never mentioned the atrocities are usually referring to war time documents available at the federal level: there were reasons there was little or no mention of "Endlosung", or the "Final Solution" and what that actually meant.
3. The third grouping is that of subsequent finds of historical documents and other information which has been made known since. During Hitler's administration, few knew of the extent of the killings and atrocities until after the war. Even today, there are new finds of killing centers and subcamps----just a year or two ago, another mass grave near Belzec was uncovered. There is also now far more knowledge of what the Nazi's planned to do, and what they believed. (see Nazi Beliefs)
4. The fourth pillar of support lies in Nazi Beliefs at the time of WWII. While many Nazis were Nazis in name only due to threats of ruin and violence, most of the members of the Nazi party especially towards the higher echelon of the party shared beliefs regarding race, that provided a major motivation for Hitler to seek to eradicate the Jewish population of Europe, and later the world. One of the central beliefs was that the Aryan peoples were directly descendant from and due to lead to a Master race of people with skills, abilities and inherent traits that would lead to a new day and utopia. They believed among other things that 'Polar People' were superior (above the equator) to racial groups which gravitated to 'lower' points on the earth, and that these groups were remnants of 'root races', the lowest or one of the lowest of which was the Jew. (See Root Race Theory) The intrinisic assumption was that these lower 'root races' contributed little but a degenerative effect on human living and culture and that when they were 'bred out' of the human race, a utopian society and life would be possible. While many argue that Hitler's main motivation in ridding Germany and Europe of the Jews was political, or even religious, there was even a far deeper motive to purify aryan bloodlines, to issue in a new day of nordic superiority. Hitler and his cohorts also believed the Greeks were descendants of a Master race (s) of the Thule, Hyperboreans and Atlanteans. He aligned himself closely with the Greeks, stating in one interview "I am a Greek" proverbially, and when the Nazis invaded Greece, the planted a swastika upon Mt. Olympus and surrounded the mountain. To think that this basic belief of the Nazis did not influence Hitler would be ludicrous, for it was indemic in Hitler's training and thinking. While publicly Hitler made political statments about the threat of the Jew, equating it with
'bolshevism' or communism, it was his clear aim that he wished all Jewish influence, teaching and DNA out of Germany and its conquered provinces.
REFERENCES
11) Josef Hell, "Aufzeichnung," 1922, ZS 640, p. 5, Institut für Zeitgeschichte. Der Gerade Weg.