HW 24

Handout 13:

A)
1. There is good evidence that Hoss was "evil" presented in this chapter. Most persuasive to this argument is his ruthless and coldblooded examination of exterminating the Jews. He talks about more "efficient" ways to kill people, brags about the short time in which they die, and is proud of the fact that his gas chambers can kill up to 2,000 people at a time, rather than only 200. In general, he has a methodical look at genocide that suggests a certain inhumanity.

2. Despite the things he did at Auschwitz, Hoss could be considered not evil because of the indoctrination and propaganda the Nazis used. Jews were dehumanized; it doesn't make it acceptable, but the fact is that Hoss probably truly saw the Jews as less than human and as an actual threat. It's hard to call a person "evil", because if they are doing something it is most likely because they feel it's truly justified. Hoss probably thought he was doing something heroic, something that would save Germany and even the world. Indoctrination and propaganda may be more to blame here than simple "evil".

B)
I don't think I am either an intentionalist or a functionalist, and I think the answer lies somewhere between the two beliefs. I don't think that Hitler was a "weak dictator", but I do believe that he had a lot of his work done by his underlings. He dictated the bigger things (i.e. the extermination of the Jews), but didn't attend to the details. He was in charge, though. I don't know that I believe that Hitler didn't have the intention to kill the Jewish people of Germany. He did use them as scapegoats and breed a lot of hatred for them, but the concentration camps were mostly kept a secret from the public. So this means that HItler either started out with the intention of doing this and with the sincere belief that it was for the better, or he was pushed into it by circumstances, or he was taking some kind of strange psychological vengeance (self hatred complex). IN the end, its hard to answer without knowing Hitler's personal motives.