We are all are shaped and formed by the values, rituals, beliefs of the prevailing culture, and willingly or unwillingly we are the product of the society we live in. It seems to me that to understand the Holocaust we have to consider the existing background conditions, embedded in the western civilization, that made the mass killing possible. The general characteristics of the Western civilization that existed in the time of the Holocaust and exist still today, are:

1. GENERAL INDIFFERENCE TO THE PLIGHT OF OTHERS.

In 1918 1.5 - 2 millions of Armenians were killed by the Turks, and the world remained silent. About fifteen years later, Stalin starved about two million Ukrainians to death, and the world was indifferent. Fifteen years later, six million of Jews were killed, and the world look on silently. About fifteen years later, Pol Pot murdered 1-2 millions of Cambodians., and there was no reaction.

Soon other genocides occurred, like Uganda, Rwanda, Bosnia. Could it be that the western civilization places a redeeming value on sufferance, especially on the sufferance of others, and this is the cause of our indifference? We are definitely not our brother's keepers.

Hitler knew about the Armenian genocide and knew that the world took in stride this genocide. He rightfully assumed that the destruction of the Jewry, done in relative secrecy, will not elicit any response. As Roosevelt stated: "Winning of the war is our first priority. We will punish the perpetrators later." Later a dozen of perpetrators were hanged and in the meantime millions perished.

2. ACCEPTANCE OF STATE-SPONSORED VIOLENCE.

The western civilization was laced with violence and intolerance from the onset (325 AD). The chain is quite long: The Aryans, Donatists, Montanists, Ebionites, The Crusades, Inquisition, Wars of Reformation, Napoleonic wars, WWI, WWII, Vietnam, etc., It looks like that we give the state the right to suspend all religious injunctions against killing. Violence sponsored by a state is considered a patriotic duty.

3. LACK OF MORAL RESTRAINS.

The basic function of civilization is curbing of the instinctual drives by developing a conscience, superego as defined by Freud, morality, integrity, ethics, or whatever on call it. It is possible to create a culture in which religion can safeguard Law and Order. Josephus, the ancient Jewish historian describes how 2000 years ago the Jews obeyed the Law (Oral) and were willing to die for it:

"There should be nothing astonishing in our facing the death on behalf of our laws with a courage which no other nation can equal (Against Apion II:328- 35).....And from these laws of ours nothing has had the power to deflect us, neither fear of our masters, not envy of the institutions esteemed by other nations. We trained our courage, not with a view of waging war for self-aggrandizement, but in order to preserve our laws. To defeat in any other form we patiently submit, but when pressure is put upon us to alter our statutes, then we deliberately fight, even against tremendous odds, and hold out under reverses to the last extremity. (Against Apion II:271-73)."

"Robbed though we be of wealth, of cities, of all good things, our Law at least remains immortal: and there in no a Jew so distant from his country, so much in awe of a cruel despot, but has more fear of the Law than of him. (Against Apion II:277-78)."

It is ironic but the people who resemble the model described by Josephus are not the Jews but Christians : Jehovah Witnesses and Seven Day Adventist. It means that it is possible to have a society in which Law and Order is safeguarded by religion.

HITLER'S EXECUTIONERS.

It is true that the German Nazi state helped by some Germans, caused the destruction of the Jewry, while other Germans stood by and did nothing. But the picture is deceiving. In Nazi Germany one man, Hitler, made all the decision and the Germans could only yell "Yawohl." Hitler achieved a godlike statue in Germany with the help of clever propaganda, reckless spending, mass hysteria. Once this occurred, the Germans individually or collectively had nothing to say.

Hitler was a master of deceptions, he fooled everybody . Hitler fooled Hindenburg, Chamberlain, Stalin, Benesh, Schuschnigg, the German Generals, and the German people. The master manipulator fooled and tricked everyone, with the exception of Heydrich. Heydrich in turn manipulated Hitler, playing on his Judeo-phobia.

And it was Heydrich who organized and trained the Einsaztgrouppen, using his usual deceptive methods. The volunteers were not told about their assignments, but were heavily indoctrinated with the Nazi ideology, and told that they will receive important and extremely difficult assignments. No details were given.

Once the killing started, they became mass killers. The difficulty in mass killing lies in the first killings, afterwards it becomes a routine. It is scary but it is true. As a matter of fact in the beginning the Einsatzgrouppen took their job seriously, carefully aiming at the victims, later they were nonchalant and sloppy. Many victims were not hit, but fell alive into the pits, some survived while others drowned in blood.

Hitler's executioners are a good example how law abiding citizens with weak , consciences, accepted state induced violence and became mass killers.

GRADUALISM.

To understand the reaction or lack of reaction of the Germans, we have to understand the gradualism of poisoning the Germans with violence. The Final Solution started with the boycott of Jewish stores, then came the beatings, Kristallnacht, expulsions, concentration camps , Einsatzgruppen, all culminating with the gas chambers. It was a slow, irreversible process. Antidotes to poison are developed by graduate increasing the amount of poison. Violence is induced in a similar manner.

CRUELTY

Deliberate cruelty, deception, humiliation leading toward dehumanization of the victims were deliberately used by Heydrich during the Final Solution. The main purpose was the degrading of the victims in the eyes of the killer, to make his job easier. It was Primo Levy that formulated this idea. Cruelty is very contagious. The "Homo Sapiens" spent millions of years hunting, and only a short time of a few thousand years as a "civilized man" and the patina of civilization curbing his instinctual drives, is very thin.

THE TOTALITARIAN STATE

To understand the mechanics of the Holocaust, we have to recognize the overbearing power that a Totalitarian state has over his citizens.
Stalin:
Stalin starved, shot or froze to death about 20 millions Russians. He had plenty of willing executioners but nobody is questioning his responsibility for the carnage.

Somehow, we cannot accept Hitler's sole responsibility for killing about 10 million people, because it was done secretly and deceitfully. We forget that Hitler was a master of deceit.

kimel@systec.com