Suchergebnisse

Vrba, Rudolf: Die mißachtete Warnung : Betrachtungen über den Auschwitz-Bericht von 1944, in: Vierteljahrshefte für Zeitgeschichte (München), 44 (Januar 1996) 1, S. 1-24

The Holocaust has become a cultural code for the deadly combination of ideology with the technology, modernism, bureaucracy, and expertise to implement evil. The central role of Jews in Christianity turned the Holocaust into a virtual Christian suicide, and the Holocaust represents a global attack on Western civilization itself. The continuance of antisemitism and also the continuance of other forms of hatred leading, potentially, to genocide, often under the auspices of (semi-) governmental authority, underscore the centrality of genocide as a threat to civilization. The role of ideology is central in this threat, yet careful distinctions must be made: the destruction of Jews had a different ideological basis from that of the Nazi murders of other victims. Future prevention of genocide depends on careful analysis and on comparisons that are not hastily drawn. It is the responsibility of universities to provide an institutional framework for such analysis if the future prevention of genocide is to take root.

Argues that the Holocaust has become a cultural code in Western society for the deadly combination of ideology with the technology, modernism, bureaucracy, & expertise to implement evil. The Holocaust represents a global attack on Western civilization. The continuance of anti-Semitism & other forms of hatred potentially leading to genocide, often under the auspices of (semi)governmental authority, underscore the centrality of genocide as a continuing threat to civilization. Political & ethical conclusions are drawn. Adapted from the source document.

Abstract
In the discussions about the Holocaust, an increasing number of commentators — theologians, writers, as well as historians — argue that ultimately the Holocaust is a mystery, an inexplicable event in human history. Various expressions are used, such as 'tremendum', with its theological connotations, or 'abyss', and many others. They all indicate a measure of final incomprehension that such a horrible event could have occurred in the midst of a supposedly civilized European society. Nazi atrocities are usually referred to as 'beastly', or 'bestiality', and very commonly as 'inhuman'. The present paper tries to evaluate the explicability of the Holocaust from the standpoint of an historian.