Willing Executioners?

[jbor at bigpond.com]

On 27/09/2005 Otto wrote:

> [...]
> What made Goldhagen's book so important (for Germany at least) is the 
> fact that it challenged the myth that the nazis were only a special 
> brand of evil people and that all the other 'ordinary Germans' were 
> just decent people following orders.

What is still not clear is who, exactly, is referred to by the phrase 
"all the other 'ordinary' Germans". In fact, it's this ambiguity 
precisely that goes to the heart of the debate around Goldhagen's 
thesis, to the point where it seems as if it is an ambiguity which is 
being deliberately perpetuated.

best

> jbor at bigpond.com wrote:
>>
>> [...] it seems that there is general agreement that not all nor most 
>> nor the majority of Germans were responsible for the Holocaust, and 
>> that not all nor most nor the majority of Germans were racially and 
>> culturally predisposed to exterminationist anti-Semitism. Whether 
>> Goldhagen's book actually makes these arguments, either explicitly or 
>> implicitly, it's the arguments themselves which are incorrect. It 
>> might be an idea for those who believe that Goldhagen's book is 
>> saying something other than these things to explain what they think 
>> that is. It certainly hasn't been made clear to this point.