ALEXANDER KIMEL - HOLOCAUST UNDERSTANDING & PREVENTION

Who ordered the killings? Was it Hitler? The Nazi party? The German army? The truth is that six million Jews were put to death without a written order, without dissent or public discussions. No voices of protest were raised. To this date there is no trace of written document ordering the executions. The killings were based on an oral order given by Hitler. It is unbelievable, that an oral command, issued by one man, could cause such a carnage.

Hitler's Germany was a totalitarian state, a state without a check and balance systems. All the legislative, executive and judicial powers were concentrated in the hands of one man, Hitler. The Reichstag, the German parliament, was a rubber stamp institution and the country was run, by haphazardly created Nazi institutions, like the SS, the Gestapo, the Propaganda Ministry, etc.

When Hitler gained power, he did not have a blueprint for the organization of a Nazi state. In Mein Kampf he simply stated that the society should be run by a superior leader, who would make all the decisions. In a modern society there a millions decisions to made, and one man can't make them. Hitler relied on his cronies, who in the process of fighting for power, created new institutions. For example, Goering organized the Gestapo, Himmler created the SS, Goebels headed the propaganda machine, Heydrich organized the concentration camps.

Hitler approved each major innovation, but he did not actively run the country. It might be surprising, but Hitler did not run the country. He was the source of power and on a moment's notice, he could remove or kill any Nazi luminary. After infighting developed, Hitler's court resembled the mythical Teutonic world of Wagner: The Chief God Woltan, surrounded by demigods, dragoons and mortals, fighting, cheating, raping each other.

Hitler maintained his power by playing off the luminaries, one against the others. The Nazi dignitaries initiated the persecution of Jews to gain Hitler's favors. Hitler's wishes were the law of the land, and nobody dared to question his most absurd orders. In such an environment, an oral order sufficed to put six million people to death. The question arises why did Hitler kill the Jews?

kimel@systec.com