Why Study the Shoah?

"We must be careful in the process of looking to destroy monsters that we do not become monsters ourselves; and that as we stare into the abyss, the abyss stares back at us." Nietzche

The reasons for the Shoah, as we have already mentioned are varied.
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Socio-Economic Causes

The economic/social causes of any society are by necessity intertwined. While most persons are well aware of the anti-semitism and hatred that led to the Shoah, few are aware that it was the economic condition of Germany and also of Europe that led to the empowerment of Hitler, the establishment of the Third Reich and the willingness of the German people to yoke themselves under tyranny after attempts at a Republic. The main reason Hitler was able to get an economic foothold in the German legislature was the prevailing depression-recession following WWI. Up until WWI, Germany had a strong Military-Monarchy of Kaisers who provided strong but often despotical rule over the politics and economy of Germany. Following WWI, Germany was in ruins, financially and in many other ways. Loans from foreign nations including the US who were also experiencing economic depressions (ie. the stock market crash) placed Germany in even further financial decline. As the economy declined, employment declined. The employment crunch and 'hard times' fell most devastatingly on the blue collar middle class and the poor. There were not enough jobs. Hitler came into office making many political and economic 'deals' with different segments of the society. He promised and arranged better conditions for labor, he paid the pensions of Church Officials and Germany began to recover. In a cruel dealing though, as he deported massive numbers of German Citizens and enforced race laws against them rendering them unable to get work, German employment increased greatly, and there was almost no unemployment. By the end of the war, foreign workers had to be hired and brought in.

Political Causes

The Political Causes of the Shoah are varied. Events conspired to bring about even the possibility that the National Socialists or Nazis, could even come to power! In the 1920's, the Nazis were a small fringe group known for violent rhetoric and and demonstrations, bookburning and extreme fascist views. In 1920s they garnered less than three percent of the vote. Many issues pressed Germany during those next ten years. Unemployment was high, Hitler and the Nazis promised a remedy. The Labor Unions were dissatisfied: Hitler promised to work things out. The Church, once a formidable power had become lukewarm; Hitler promised and followed through on paying pastors' pensions if they would go along with him on other unpopular policies. The Weimar Republic which had developed after World War I had replaced the strong and somewhat tyrannical Kaiser system; but the republic faltered with the looming social problems and the fragmented party system which now included over 30 parties in a smaller country vying for control. Businessmen, Labor, Military personnel and others were extremely unhappy: the economic system was hurting everyone. Hitler promised law and order, a return to the pride of Nationalist Germany, a new morality, a unified Germany etc. Within ten years the Nazi party rose from 3% of the vote, to around 80% as Germans looked for a better lifestyle. Many were willing to dismiss his radical religious views and vile anti-semitism in favor of greater comfort and certainty. Others were strongly in favor of his polices of judenreinor the ridding of Jews from Europe as prejudice and anti-Semitism ran high in Europe at the time, with the Jews equated with "Bolshevism or what we now call Communism. Hitler scapegoated the Jews politically and religiously with all the ills facing the German People. Additionally, Hitler and other National Socialists gained many seats and eventually controlling power in the German Parliament. Other circumstances gained even more power for Adolf Hitler: previous to this point there were both a Chancellor and a President: this afforded a division of power with one having control over the military and the other levying other controls. When Hindenburg died Hitler had enough power in the legislature and enough 'deals' made with political factions to consolidate the powers of Chancellor and President into one position. This led to his despotic rule, for he was able to gain control over economics, politics, and the military, effectively erasing the hope of healthy opposition.^1-3

Historical Causes

Historical causes leading to the Shoah, of course overlap with political and religious causes. Only modern historical causes will be mentioned because of space constraints, but the history of Germany is a fascinating study.^x

The Prussian State & the Kaisers: Germany had the distinction in Europe as having strong Military-based "Kings" or Kaisers, who were most certain Monarchs with the powers therein, but who were also essentially the head of the German Military like our Chiefs of Staff in the Pentagon would hold. This both held Germany together as a strong national identity, but also served to create an often less than benevolent dictatorship. The Kaiser system was still prominent during the the turn of the century when the Tsarist reign in Russia, complete with Rasputin was toppled giving way to Lenin-Trotsky Communism, then called Bolshevism. The Revolution which rocked centuries of Church-State rule in Russia in the Bolshevik Revolution was parallel to the culmination of the Kaiser system in Germany, the first World War, and the beginning of the Weimar Republic. This is important, because all the elements and people of multiple systems: Military People, Kaiser-loyalists, Bolsheviks(communists), old-school russians, and republic-seeking "new" Germans were present to set the stage upon which Hitler was to emerge. The Kaiser system fractioned even further into many parties including labor parties, Arts-related factions, and what was first fringe parties such as the brown-shirted National Socialists or Nazis. Hitler regained a Kaiser-like role as mentioned elsewhere by consolidating the Chancellorship and Presidency, giving him leadership over the legislature, and military, which led to complete veto power in law-making. This clever, but dangerous strategy led him to be able to enact the Nuremberg Laws and other vile Anti-Semitic restrictive Laws which would have been unheard of even in the Prussian era. Additionally several events conspired to bring Hitler to power. see Hitler Timeline The weakened Weimar Republic, Unemployment and recession, and the rise of "Bolshevism" in the Soviet Union and other places in Europe figured prominently in setting the "Zeitgeist" or "Spirit of the Times" in Germany. In 1923, the growing party of the National Socialists in southern Germany and Bavaria attempted a coup against the Weimar Republic which began with the closing of the Anti-semitic, fascist newspaper "The Volkische Beobachter" and the Beer-Hall Putsch Hitler and other were thrown in jail over the attempted coup. Later, while in jail Hitler outlined his "Plan" in Mein Kampf and upon exiting prison, developed a firm and growing backing growing from a 3% vote in the 1920s to a majority by 1933. Two things happened then which gave HItler despotical powers: the Death of Hindenberg, which resulted in Hitler's control over the military and legislature, and the Burning of the Reichstag which paved the way for suspending civil rights and disempowering the Communist vote in the parliament. (See ) By the time the legislature reconvened, Hitler had full power.

Sociological Causes

Sociological Causes can be difficult to separate from economic, psychological and religious because all are synthesized in the social milieu. Perhaps though the two greatest sociological trends which contributed to the progression of the rise of the Reich was 1) the deprecation of national morale and identity and almost conversely, 2) the debut of an emerging 'zeitgeist' which introduced or reintroduced philosophies, ideas, and aspects of nordic culture which were either new, such as racial sciene and Darwinism, or renewed interests such as runes, the occult, norse mythology, and peculiarly German sensibilities such as ties to the land. (See Nazi Beliefs or Blut und Boden)

"Psychological" Causes

Psychological causes were many and had to do with a collective conscientiousness and mindset of not just individuals but the German People. After WWI, German was also in 'psychological' ruin: it's morale and concept of who they were as a people and nation was devastated. In the early days of the Third Reich, around the 1920s, with a weak moral and political landscape in the Weimar republic, people in Germany were torn between wanting representational government and wanting economic, emotional and national stability and safety. Hitler and his propagandist Goebbels were adept at human concept, reasoning and what effected emotion. A common enemy was chosen: the Bolsheviks or Communists, and the Jews, who Hitler and his men targeted as the mechanism for threatening Bolshevism in the German political scene. Both were to be hated and feared: they would, he taught vehemently bring about the destruction of Germany and the German lifestyle: Bolshevism would produce tyranny and lower lifestyles, and the Jews were reviled as a degenerate people who could ruin Germany and Europe( they had actually done the opposite.) IN the next 10 years, through a variety of events, Hitler rose to power, capturing reign over all aspects of military, police, labor, media, and domestic control: he began to re-psychologize the people of Germany. He taught them they were a great people, a part of the "Volk", a superior people to other races. He preached a gospel of Hubris, in which the German people would again take Europe and then the world. He 'showed' them they were a physically superior and 'beautiful' people, re-defining beauty and aesthetics in the rhetoric of the 3rd Reich. He made them part of something big and powerful and wonderful, hardening their heart to the cause of the "Other" and teaching the "Fuhrerprinzip and "Befehlnotstand" or "blind obedience The Superior would always take responsibilty for the action, therefore the subordinate was able to act in complete obedience, without moral consequence. This principle occured in the military, schools, government, and even the church in Germany and filtered into the family where a strong patriarchal principle had always been in place. It was taught exclusively to the Hitler Youth Party, the Hitlerjugend who grew to become the families and soldiers of the "New Germany'. Additionally, with the removal of normal conscience, re-definition of 'moral's and values, and the instilling of personal hubris, the "psychology" of Germany entering the war was to the point of delusional. This coupled with the lifelong teaching of hatred for "inferior" races, lead not only to genocide, but to the destruction of Germany as well.

Religious Causes

It may seem at first odd to think that there were religious causes of the holocaust, or Shoah, but the aetiology, or causal history of the Shoah is not complete without understanding the religious climate of Europe, Germany and other Western powers at the beginning of the century. The Church in Europe was not as diversified as the Church in the United States. Much of Europe was Catholic or Formal Protestant. Germany was somewhat unique in the prevailing Church membership being that of the German Christian Church: which was essentially the historic Church established by Martin Luther, and akin to Lutheranism. Other much lesser segments of the religious community in Germany included the German Bretheren, Hugenots(based in France), Jehovah's witnesses, Baptists, and other forms of 'anabaptists'. Many reform Jews were well-integrated into German Society, others such as Orthodox and Hasidic Jews kept their distances more both culturally and morally. This was the face of religious life in Germany prior to World War II.

The Catholic Church was a powerful influence in Germany although membership in GCC was greater. Catholics were greatly influential in the German government: there are now many debates as to how influential certain Jesuits were in the Third Reich⁴ and what degree of financing for the German war effort may have come from Vatican sources.⁵

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The Humanities Causes

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Academic Causes

Most are not aware that the Modern, Western paradigm for the University, was German in conceptual inception. Early in the history of University, there were limited and defined studies. While