Who made the decision to murder the Jews? Was it Hitler, or others?
German society in the 1930s was permeated by antisemitism, racism, a utopian vision of humanity organized under German hegemony, and a deep-seated and basic callousness towards human life. All of these elements contributed to the form of warfare waged by Nazi Germany and were themselves reinforced by the war. Large and varied segments of this society accepted the basic tenet that the Jews had to disappear. Although the way to effect this disappearance was not clear, humanitarian considerations were in any case irrelevant. In this atmosphere, the idea of encouraging Jews to emigrate evolved into a policy of deportation, then brutal deportation, and finally deportation for the purpose of murder. It is not clear whether Hitler instigated these developments or simply allowed them to happen, as his underlings on various levels took independent initiatives in order to interpret and carry out their superiors’ wishes. When the SS and other agencies, including the army, efficiently murdered hun
