Hitler Final Solution

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Christopher Browning believes that Hitler did not have a pre-existing plan to liquidate the Jews but rather, the Final Solution was a reaction to the cumulative radicalization amongst the German nation from 1939 to 1941. Although Hitler was notoriously one of the most anti-Semitic people to walk the Earth, he had not intended to mass slaughter the Jews, but rather attempted to find another solution to the Jewish problem. Hitler had such an obsession on finding this solution, that he promised one way or another he would reach his goal in perfecting a Judenfrei Germany (Browning 424). The first solution to the Jewish problem in Germany was through emigration. Once Hitler seized power he imposed the Nuremberg Laws, which stripped the Jews of all of their rights, expecting the Jewish people to comprehend the message and leave the country. The German officials even supported emigration and Zionistic movements. By 1939 only half of the Jews had left so the Jewish problem still rested unfinished. In September of 1939, the German declared war on Poland in an attempt to conquer Lebensraum. [Living space] After starting the war, they decided they could no longer let the Jews emigrate (Browning 12). By capturing Poland they inherited three million Jews. Hitler summoned all of the Jews in the German empire into ghettos in Poland until he could find another plan. Himmler, Hitler’s right hand man, proposed two plans to expel the Jews to either Lublin or to Madagascar. Hitler approved both but neither was put into affect. The Nazis’ inability to solve the Jewish question once again disappoints them. The obligation to solve the problem still weighed heavily upon them, which lead to frustration, which lead to the radical decisions to liquidate th... ... middle of paper ... ... it finally came into affect. The Final Solution to the Jewish question resulted in indisputably the worst genocide the world has ever seen. Historians have been debating for years on its origins. The two schools of thoughts disagree on when the blueprint was designed and who enforced it in 1942. Lucy Dawidowicz and Richard Breitman agree with the Intentionalist school of thought. They both agree that Hitler had intended to eliminate the Jews from the world and enforced it by 1939. Christopher Browning agrees with the Functionalist point of view. He believes that the final solution was a reaction to this situation is Russia. Bauer is able to bring both schools of thoughts together. Whatever side people choose, this debate will never end unless concrete evidence is found. For now both schools of thought will continue to try to understand this topic better.

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