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"The
Goldhagen Phenomenon" (a review essay on Daniel J. Goldhagen,
Hitler's Willing Executioners: Ordinary Germans and the Holocaust)
Hilberg
finds Goldhagen's research and analysis faulty at every turn. Two of
the main points in Goldhagen's book were already widely known long
ago: the shooters were willing, and generally they were not
specially selected for their task. The reviewer also takes issue
with a third major point in the book - Goldhagen's presentation of
German antisemitism. Contrary to Goldhagen, Hilberg asserts that
German antisemitism was weaker than the East European variety prior
to the Nazi assumption of power. Moreover, the many killers from
other nations were hardly products of German antisemitism, which
casts doubt on the German antisemitism explanation of the Holocaust.
The book was popular because it gave general readers a simple, pat
explanation for the Holocaust. However, for the specialists, his
"explanation" settled nothing. |
