Modernity And The Holocaust Summary

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In AD Moses’ Modernity and the Holocaust, he analyzes the book Murder in Our Midst: The Holocaust, Industrial Killing, and Representation written by the historian Omar Bartov. In addition, he also briefly explains Zygmunt Bauman’s book Modernity and the Holocaust. Bauman was a major influence on Bartov’s understanding of the Holocaust, so Moses does a good job of bringing him into the analyzation process. Finally, Moses discusses an opposing position through the book Hitler’s Willing Executioners: Ordinary Germans and the Holocaust written by Daniel Jonah Goldhagen. This paper will discuss the themes and reasons behind the Holocaust brought up by Bartov, Bauman, and Goldhagen as well as other themes and reason from sources outside of this …show more content…

For the regime to succeed, they only need the majority of people to obey their laws and to promote their interests. In German-occupied areas, the people living there were hoping to receive special treatments if they complied with their rules and regulations. Throughout the course of the war, cooperation with the Nazi regime fluctuated. Fear of bad consequences was the main reason for cooperation. For most people, what happened to themselves rather than what happened to the Jews was their main priority. An example of one fear tactic used by Nazi leadership was executions of soldiers due to their lack of cooperation in killing unarmed civilians. This created conformity to the Regimes ideals and made simple guards into hardened killers. Another explanation was the potential gains that were available in the extortion of Jews, both individually and country-wide. Individuals were able to acquire stolen material goods from Jews. German-owned businesses were able to accrue capital from the liquidation of Jewish-owned businesses. Impoverish Germans were now able to seek employment and a means of survival. In Schindler’s List, Oskar Schindler is seen taking over a nice Jewish home that was evicted minutes before. This wasn’t an isolated incident. Property, homes, and household belongings were taken after the forced migration to Ghettos and were auctioned off to Germans. Another reason is the great respect given to authority. At the time, police and military were trained to follow a strict chain of command. If someone were to act out on self-interest, they would be jeopardizing their career. The willingness to follow such chain of command began at an early age and was a priority for the Nazi regime (Hitler Youth). Finally, there was major pressure to conform. True believer Nazi’s supported anti-Semitism. Very quickly, the culture began to Nazify, and the public began to accept the regime's ideals more rapidly because

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