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Discussion: MMW 6 Reading Response, C08, Alison Thompson
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MMW 6 Reading Response, C08, Alison Thompson
Apr 29 2009, 4:25 AM EDT
In the article “Ordinary Germans” and the Holocaust, Eric Johnson discusses Nazi Terror in Germany and different interpretations and evidence pertaining to discovering who truly holds responsibility for these atrocities. Many people such as Schafer, the earlier leader of the Cologne Gestapo, “maintained that he had only adhered to the existing laws” and that it was due to German laws that “the Jews were placed outside of the German community because of the laws” (Johnson 22). It is thought that it was indeed the leadership and philosophy that was to blame, but their actions are undeniably questionable. German society as a whole, as well as propaganda, Hitler personally, the extent of the power of the Gestapo, have also been called to research and questioned. This article also discusses that others besides Jews, were suffering at the hands of the Nazis, such as Communists, Women, religious sects, homosexuals, and the disabled. These German citizens were considered to be social outsiders and a threat to the Nazi party. Johnson continues to argue that despite the fact that the leadership of the Nazi regime began the terror throughout Germany, “its implementation and effectiveness depended on the voluntary choices and local actions of individual German citizens” (Johnson 239). As more time lapses, scholars gain a greater understanding of the Nazi Party throughout Germany, as can be seen by 3 stages that scholars have already been through studying the Nazi terror.
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