A compilation of the major historians in the intentionalist, structuralist, functionalist, and synthesis schools of thought. Includes direct quotes from the historians and a summary of their key arguments. Useful for CIE A-Level History Paper 3.
Summary of Holocaust Historiography
Interpretations:
● Intentionalist
o Interpretations that assume that Hitler/Nazis planned to exterminate the Jews from the star
● Structuralism
o Interpretations that argue the nature of the Nazi state produced genocide
▪ No coherent plan
y
▪ Chaotic competition for Hitler’s approval between different elements of leadership
produced a situation in which genocide could occur
ja
▪ Due to the particular Nazi policies of Aryan supremacy and the way by which each
Nazi leader interpreted Hitler's wishes
● Functionalism
o Closely related to structuralism
an
o Holocaust was an unplanned, ad hoc response to wartime developments in E. EU when
Germany conquered areas with large Jewish populations
● Synthesis
o Interpretations that show characteristics of more than one of the above (internationalism,
structuralism, functionalism)
● Cause of the Holocaust: Intentionalist (I)
.S
Lucy Dawidowicz ● Extreme intentionalist
● “Straight road to Auschwitz”
● “Hitler’s early speeches indicate beyond doubt his ultimate goals for the
destruction of the Jews”
● “Since 1918, Hitler conceived his master plans”
● Believed that Nazi anti-semitism was derived from Hitler’s own personal
hatreds
A
● Hitler’s intention was always to use the disorder of war as a cover
○ “Plans for destroying the Jews were always part of Hitler’s thinking”
● The war against Poland was twofold – traditional war of conquest for land
and raw materials and the ideological war against the greatest enemy of the
Reich: the Jews
a
Daniel Goldhagen ● Germany has “eliminationist anti-semitic nature” & Hitler always intended to
kill the Jews
● Popular opinion in Germany was already sympathetic to a policy of Jewish
extermination
ni
○ Germany enthusiastically welcomed persecution of Jews
■ Had its roots deep German anti-Semitism
○ Hitler was the driving force behind anti-Jewish policies
Andreas ● Hitler was obsessed with destroying Bolshevism
So
Hilgruber ○ In Hitler’s mind, Bolshevism was inseparable from international
Judaism
● Hitler was the driving force behind the Holocaust
● FS emerged out of war against Russia
● Everything that happened after Operation Barbarossa was part of a master
plan Hitler developed in the 1920s
Karl Dietrich ● Hitler was an anti-semitic fanatic who controlled the party expertly
Bracher ○ Aim: to use the state to achieve his personal agenda
● Nazi state was less organised than outward appearances
○ Hitler intentionally created multiple departments & encouraged
, Compiled by Sonia Sanjay (printsbysonia)
competing interests
○ Aim: ‘divide & rule’ in order to see his will done
Eberhard Jäckel ● Nazi anti-semitism was derived from Hitler’s own personal hatreds
● Nuremberg Laws, Kristallnacht & other events directly flowed from Hitler’s
hatred of the Jews
● No single killing order
○ Extermination was divided into several phases & covered a wide
variety of methods/victims
y
Richard Breitman ● Hitler was the architect of the Final Solution
● Hitler decided on the Holocaust in late 1930s to no later than 1939/41
ja
Saul Friedlander ● “In all its major decisions, the Nazi regime depended on Hitler”
● Nazi goals were systematically pursued & rapidly achieved
Carrie Supple ● Hitler & the Nazis planned the systematic genocide of Jews from the start of
Chancellorship
an
○ Not an ad hoc reaction to political, social & economic problems in
Germany
Gerald Fleming ● Unbroken continuity of specific utterances from early manifestations of
anti-semitism to liquidation directly ordered during the war
.S
● Hitler decided at an early stage to commit genocide
○ Characterises Hitler as a secretive man who “refused to confide in
others”
● Himmler mentioned a ‘Fuhrer-Order’ concerning annihilation of Jews
○ Indicated Hitler verbally issued a command on the subject
● Cause of the Holocaust: Functionalist/structuralist (F)
A
Raul Hilberg ● No written order; Third Reich was governed by announcement
○ There was empowerment to proceed
○ Genocide of the Jews was an administrative processtaken at the
initiative of “countless decision makers in a far found bureaucratic
machine”
a
○ Administrative machinery gathered momentous, finding the shortest
path to the final goal
● Perpetrators worked together in a mechanised fashion
○ No master plan/blueprint
ni
○ A consensus for mass murder emerged an=mongst these
bureaucrats
■ Developed a “shared comprehension of consonance &
synchronisation”
So
Chirstopher ● “Jewish problem” was self imposed
Browning ● There was no plan for dealing with the Jews by deportation East as late as
1941
● Genocide was planned in the early stages of Barbarossa, rather than once
this campaign had failed
● Emigration couldn’t be done & invading other countries meant more Jews
● “If one wanted to know what Hitler was thinking, one should look at what
Himmler was doing”
○ While Hitler was the author behind the Holocaust, it was Himmler
that was able to translate Hitler’s ideology into a concrete program
● Himmler would have had to receive some form of authorisation (even if it
The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:
Guaranteed quality through customer reviews
Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.
Quick and easy check-out
You can quickly pay through credit card or Stuvia-credit for the summaries. There is no membership needed.
Focus on what matters
Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!
Frequently asked questions
What do I get when I buy this document?
You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.
Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?
Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.
Who am I buying these notes from?
Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller soniaasanjay. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.
Will I be stuck with a subscription?
No, you only buy these notes for $10.04. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.
