Ian Kershaw, “Hitler’s
Role in the ‘Final Solution’”
This article seeks to review both the
interpretations and the evidence relating to Hitler’s role in the
“Final Solution”, which has remained a contentious issue among
historians. It begins by looking at the intrinsic connection in
Hitler’s mind between the “removal” of the Jews and war. The way
Hitler’s role has been interpreted in major historical analyses is
then extensively surveyed. The article goes on to posit a dialectic
– to be clearly seen in the development of anti-Jewish policy in the
pre-war period – between the center of the regime and grass-roots
activism in creating a radicalizing dynamic. The last section seeks
a key to explaining how this dialectic worked in the unfolding of
the “Final Solution” by exploring the functioning of Hitler’s
so-called “prophecy” of January 30, 1939. It suggests that the
“prophecy”, repeated (and consistently misdated to September 1,
1939, the start of World War II) on numerous occasions, and in
public, as the Jews were being murdered offers a guide both to
Hitler’s mentality and to the ways he provided “directions for
action” in serving as the “unswerving champion and spokesman of a
radical solution.” |
