Browning, Christopher R.
Description
Contains six lectures delivered at Cambridge University in 1999, examining three controversial issues of current Holocaust scholarship: decisions of a
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nd policymaking by the Nazi leadership, out of which emerged the Final Solution; the use of Jewish labor by the Germans, which is contradictory to the policy of genocide; and the attitudes and motivations of "ordinary" Germans who implemented Nazi policies at the local level. Surveying recent historical works on the genesis of the Final Solution, contends that this policy emerged in 1941 from Nazi demographic projects and "ethnic cleansings" which also involved mass resettlements of Slavs and Germans; the next crucial step was taken in April 1942 when the mass murders of German Jews began in the East. Views Nazi exploitation of the Jewish work force as an inconsistent policy. In 1940-early 1943 the Germans did not need Jewish labor; they simply attempted to create self-sustaining ghettos. In the process, many Jewish workers died. However, the foundation had been laid for the development of the ghetto industry, and in late 1943-44, with a shortage in the work force, the Nazis felt the need for Jewish labor and preserved some labor camps. Describes four such camps in Starachowice, Poland. Relating to the attitudes of "ordinary" Germans, discusses the role of local authorities and the Nazi police in the mass murder of Jews, including in Brest in Belarus and Marcinkonys in Lithuania. Contents:
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