No Hitler: No Holocaust How far is this statement by the historian Michael Marrus accurate and comprehensive in attributing responsibility for the Final Solution?

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Fiona Crookshank

“No Hitler: No Holocaust” How far is this statement by the historian Michael Marrus accurate and comprehensive in attributing responsibility for the Final Solution?

One of the greatest tragedies of the twentieth century is undoubtedly the mass annihilation of the Jews during the Holocaust, with over six million being killed between 1939 and 1945. But for whom can be held responsible for the Final Solution and therefore the Holocaust?

Marrus’s quote implies that without Hitler the Holocaust would not have occurred and post 1945 there has been a convenience to blaming Hitler also. However there are also other individuals and groups, such as the Nazi elites, The SS and Einzatzgruppen and the German population, who to their own extent could be held responsible for the Holocaust too and therefore the full accuracy of this statement can be opposed. Context of the Nazi State plays a huge role in assessing the full accuracy of this quote, including the Nazi structure, decision making within the State, ideology and cumulative radicalisation. Whilst mentioning context of the Nazi State, Germany during the 1930s faced economic and political problems (post world war 1) and saw a society desperate for structure, allowing a few minorities to suffer for the sake of the nation.

Historians differ as to where the responsibility for the Holocaust lies.  historians such as  argue that Hitler planned the extermination of the Jewish people from as early as 1918, and that he personally oversaw its execution.  such as  have argued that the extermination plans evolved in stages, as a result of initiatives and improvisations from bureaucrats who were responding to other policy failures.

 In this essay Hitler’s responsibility will be assessed in terms of context, chronology and historiography, along with what implications other groups had on Hitler’s responsibility.

Marrus stating “No Hitler: No Holocaust” is someways accurate as Hitler himself certainly held a firm position within the responsibility for the Holocaust, however it’s been questioned whether this position was higher in reality or via inspiration. In terms of ideological responsibilty Hitler played a huge part. It was he himself who created the core concepts for the Nazi ideology, inspiring thousands throughout Germany alone.

The Nazi ideology’s core concept was coherent around race, the motivation for all other concepts such as social Darwinism and volksgemeinschaft, and central to every policy. The ideologys aim was power via any means possible, providing evidence that perhaps Hitler would have gone to any lengths, including genocide. It was Hitler’s vision and conviction which was the driving force for others and therefore to a far extent, without Hitler’s promotion of the race concept, the Jews would not have necessarily been targeted from the beginning and up until the Holocaust.

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Structuralists, such as Broszat, without denying  Hitler’s influential role and responsibilty, however base their argument more on the focus of the contextual causes. Causes such as the structure of Nazi government and decision making.  

On the basis of structure of government and decision making, Hitler was Fuhrer and so his will was law. He was a kind of absolute monarch, surrounded by officials all competing with each other and this Fuhrer system meant that there was no need for a decision making structure and therefore decision making was informal. Hitler provided the overall vision, which was then interpreted ...

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