Plumbing the Depths: Marxism and the Holocaust

Alex Callinicos (2001)

Nothing challenges Marxism more directly than the Holocaust. [1] As at once heir and critic of the Enlightenment, Marx sought to expose the social limits of its aspiration to universal emancipation through the po er of reason !y tracing the material roots of its ideals to hat he called the "hidden a!ode# of production. At the same time, he radicali$ed these ideals into the ethical and political drive to rid the orld of all forms of exploitation and oppression% hat as a young man he proclaimed to !e "the categorical imperative to overthrow all conditions in hich man is a de!ased, enslaved, neglected and contempti!le !eing.# [&] 'he Holocaust is%for good reasons ( need not rehearse here%generally held to !e the most extreme case of human evil. All the different )inds of domination fused together in Ausch it$%racism, directed at *e s, +lavs, and ,oma- the economic exploitation of slave la!our- the oppression of gays and omen- the persecution of dissenting minorities such as .ommunists and *ehovah/s 0itnesses. No human phenomenon can put a stronger demand on the explanatory po ers of Marxism. (ndeed, it might !e reasona!le to dou!t hether any social theory can thro light into the dar)ness of Ausch it$. xplanation and !ilence +ome of course thin) that it is rong even to try. 1or the Ausch it$ survivor and No!el 2ri$e inner Elie 0iesel, the Holocaust "negates all ans ers,#"lies outside,if not !eyond, history,# "defies !oth )no ledge and description,# is "never to !e comprehended or transmitted.# [3] +imilarly any attempt to compare the Holocaust ith other atrocities is denounced. 'hus, according to 4e!orah 5ipstadt, casting dou!t on the uni6ueness of the Holocaust is "far more insidious than outright denial. (t nurtures and is nurtured !y Holocaust7denial.# [8] 'his attitude seems to me profoundly mista)en. (t should !e o!vious that any serious attempt to demonstrate the uni6ueness of the Holocaust can only proceed !y, if only implicitly, dra ing comparisons !et een the Na$i genocide and other cases of mass murder. [9] :ften the refusal to compare conceals less a religious respect for the victims than more mundane ideological and political

motives.'hus in 1;<& the (sraeli government persuaded 0iesel and other prominent American *e s to ithdra from a ma=or international academic conference in 'el Aviv !ecause a session on the Armenian genocide of 1;19 ould em!arrass that good ally of (srael and the >nited +tates, the 'ur)ish state. [?] More fundamentally, the point of Holocaust commemoration is surely not only to ac)no ledge the suffering of the victims !ut also to help sustain a political consciousness that is on guard against any signs of the repetition of Na$i crimes. @ut any informed =udgement of the pro!a!ility of such a repetition depends on an understanding of the forces that produced it in the first place. 'he slogan of the Anti7 Na$i 5eague%"NEAE, ABA(NC#%is meaningless unless e have some idea of the nature of hat e ant to stop happening again. 0.B. ,unciman has dra n a useful distinction !et een the explanation and the description of a social event. 'he first see)s to identify the causal mechanismDsE responsi!le for that event- the second, !y contrast, see)s "to understand ... hat it as li)e for the agent to do# the actions in 6uestion%to reconstruct the experiences of the participants. [F] 4escri!ing the Holocaust in this sense%sho ing hat it as li)e to !e a victim, or indeed a perpetrator or a !ystander%is perhaps !est left to auto!iography of different )inds and to art Dthough there is, of course, a ma=or de!ate over the ays in hich it is appropriate to represent itE. [<] 'hat social theory can help to explain ho Ausch it$ as possi!le is sho n !y a fe distinguished or)s, perhaps most nota!ly Gygmunt @auman/s Modernity and the Holocaust. @ut it must !e said that the direct contri!ution that Marxism has made to this !ody of or) is very limited. :n the hole the Holocaust has !een cited in Marxist riting as the most extreme case of the general evils of modern capitalist society. 'he @elgian 'rots)yist Ernest Mandel D ho as a young ,esistance activist !arely escaped consignment to Ausch it$ himselfE can !e ta)en as representative of the classical Marxist tradition. Norman Beras, in an important critical essay to hich ( shall return, characteri$es Mandel/s position thusH"According to him, the destruction of the *e s of Europe is rationally explicable as the product of imperialist capitalism, and as such it is manifestly comparable to the other !ar!arisms hich this socio7 economic formation.# [;] 'hus Mandel argues that "the germ of the Holocaust is to !e found in colonialism/s and imperialism/s extreme racism,# interacting in the context of total ar ith "the peculiar%and increasingly destructive% suicidal com!ination of Iperfect/ local rationality and extreme glo!al irrationality hich characteri$es international capitalism.# [1J] As Beras o!serves,"Mandel offers preciously little sense, and certainly

no attempt at an ela!oration, of the singularity or specificity of the +hoah.# [11] @ut it is important to see that a similar lac) of specificity is characteristic of less orthodox Marxists than Mandel. 'hus in Dialectic of Enlightenment Max Hor)heimer and 'heodor Adorno devote a famous essay to "Elements of Anti7+emitism# hich essentially treats Na$i ideology and the murder of the *e s as an exemplification of the general tendency to ards rationali$ation that they claim is characteristic of modernityH nature, repressed and dominated ithin the frame or) of the "totally administered society,# returns in a !ar!arous and irrational form. 'he Holocaust is there!y reduced to a symptom of a more universal disorder. [1&] (n Age of Extremes, a much more recent and idely praised Marxist narrative of the "+hort ' entieth .entury# D1;18% ;JE, Eric Ho!s!a m similarly treats the extermination of the *e s as merely the !est7)no n case of the epoch/s slide into !ar!arityH his discussion of the impact of fascism focuses on the 2opular 1ronts initiated in response !y the .ommunist 2arties rather than on the atrocities perpetrated !y National +ocialism. [13] 'his lac) of focus on the Holocaust itself as a specific phenomenon is, of course, far from peculiar to Marxism. 'he paradoxical tendency for the extermination of the *e s to !ecome a more intense preoccupation the further its actual occurrence recedes into the past is a stri)ing feature of 0estern culture at the end of the &Jth century that has recently itself !ecome an o!=ect of historical interpretation and controversy. @ut if this preoccupation re6uires explanation, so too does the comparative silence on the Holocaust in the first decades after the ar, hen memories of the horrors inflicted !y the Na$is ere still fresh. En$o 'raverso, ho has, li)e Norman Beras, has made an important contri!ution to developing a distinctively Marxist response to the Holocaust over the past fe years, argues that, on the left at least, this silence reflected the rene ed hold of Enlightenment optimismH
'he defeat of Na$ism, the ,ed Army/s advance into .entral Europe and the impressive gro th of .ommunist parties in countries here they had played a leading role in the ,esistance all encouraged a return in the immediate post ar period to a philosophy of progress.'his left little room for thin)ing through the catastrophe.Marxism as thus characteri$ed !y its silence on the su!=ect of Ausch it$. [18]

'his seems to me, as a general explanation, 6uite rong. 2eter Novic) in his outstanding study of representations of the Holocaust in the >nited +tates argues that !oth during and immediately after the +econd 0orld 0ar the extermination of the *e s as conceived not as a singular event !ut rather in "universalist# terms, as no dou!t the orst of the Na$is/ crimes !ut not one that could !e distinguished from the atrocities perpetrated against gentiles. [19] 'o drop !riefly

into the auto!iographical mode, ( gre up in the 1;9Js and 1;?Js in a social environment from hich *e s ere almost completely a!sent, !ut here )no ledge of the Na$is crimes as shared !y adults personally ac6uainted ith them%my father lived in Breece under the Berman occupation, hile my !est friend/s parents had experienced !oth Na$i and +talinist rule in their native 2oland. ,emem!ering ho e tal)ed and hat e read a!out the ar, my dominant impression is that of a continuity of atrocity%a areness of Ausch it$ as part of a !roader sense of the horrors inflicted !y the Na$is on *e and gentile ali)e. (t is at the very least open to argument that hether more "particularist# preoccupation ith the Holocaust as a specifically *e ish experience that has gained strength in recent decades necessarily constitutes a more profound understanding of the Na$i genocide. @oth Novic) and Din a much more pro!lematic ayE Norman 1in)elstein have documented the mundane geopolitical and even economic interests that have invested the proliferating discourse on the Holocaust. [1?] 'his is not to say that 'raverso is rong to indict Marxism for its failure to confront the Holocaust in its specificity. @ut the explanation may lie else here than in the evolutionary and determinist optimism that he holds responsi!le. 'im Mason, perhaps the greatest Marxist historian of the 'hird ,eich, confessedH
( have al ays remained emotionally, and thus intellectually, paralysed in front of hat the Na$is did and hat their victims suffered.'he enormity of these actions and these sufferings !oth imperatively demanded description and analysis, and at the same time totally defied them. ( could neither face the facts of genocide, nor al) a ay from them and study a less demanding su!=ect. ( find it almost impossi!le to read the sources, or the studies and testimonies hich have !een ritten on the su!=ect. ( )no that many other historians of Na$ism have had a similar experience. [1F]

'his )ind of paralysis of imagination !efore the Holocaust may have more than personal roots. Mason as a leading figure in the school of "history from !elo # that emerged under the inspiration of Ed ard 'hompson, .hristopher Hill, and others in the 1;?Js and 1;FJs. 'his intellectual current sought to recover the episodes of resistance hidden from Dor perhaps !etter !yE more conventional versions of historiography. Mason/s o n or) constituted a particularly remar)a!le case of such restitution as he reconstructed the forms ta)en !y or)ing7class struggle under the Hitler regime. (t is not hard to see ho a historical intelligence preoccupied ith the capacity of the exploited to assert their interests even in the most unfavoura!le conditions might have found it hard to contemplate the comprehensive eradication of all hope in the death camps.

"acing

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'he lacuna hose presence Mason retrospectively ac)no ledged in his o n ma=or ritings%"[t]he a!sence of !iological politics and genocide#%has certainly !een removed in the contemporary historiography of National +ocialism. [1<] ,aul Hil!erg/s great pioneering or) The Destruction of the European Jews no longer stands aloneH a host of excellent studies, increasingly contri!uted !y Berman historians, have greatly enhanced our understanding of the nature and driving forces of the Holocaust. [1;] @ut can Marxism contri!ute anything to this understandingK Norman Beras and En$o 'raverso in their ritings on the Holocaust !oth ta)e as their main intellectual and political reference points the classical Marxist tradition of Marx and Engels, 5enin and 'rots)y, 5uxem!urg and Bramsci. @ut they argue, from different theoretical perspectives, that this tradition, at least as presently constituted, is of little help in ma)ing sense of the Holocaust. ( share ith them this same tradition, !ut disagree ith the conclusion they !oth dra . 'o !ring out hy ( thin) Marxism can help illuminate even the Na$i genocide, it may !e helpful to consider the reasons that Beras gives for holding Marxism anting. D( return to 'raverso !elo .E Beras, as e have seen, !elieves that the )ind of historical contextuali$ation practised !y Mandel, hich explains the Holocaust in terms of more general features of capitalism such as racism, colonialism, and instrumental rationality fails to capture hat is specific to the murder of the *e s. +uch analyses slide over a crucial feature of the perpetrators/ motivations that Beras argues as ell captured !y 'rots)y, riting decades earlier, hen he descri!ed the pogroms perpetrated !y the 'sarist @lac) Hundreds in reaction to the ,ussian ,evolution of 1;J9. Beras has in mind in particular this truly stri)ing passageH
Everything is allo ed him [the mem!er of the anti7+emitic gang], he is capa!le of anything, he is the master of property and honour, of life and death. (f he ants to, he can thro an old oman out of a third7floor indo together ith a grand piano, he can smash a chair against a !a!y/s head, rape a small girl hile the entire cro d moves on, hammer a nail ... He exterminates hole families, he pours petrol over a house, transforms it into a mass of flames, and if anyone dares to escape, he finishes him off ith a cudgel ... 'here exist no tortures, figments of a feverish !rain maddened !y alcohol and fury, at hich he need ever stop. He is capa!le of anything, he dares everything. [&J]

'his experience of the !ar!arous impulses unleashed !y counterrevolution made it possi!le, Beras argues, for 'rots)y thirty years later to anticipate the Holocaust, predicting in 4ecem!er 1;3<

that "the next development of orld reaction signifies ith certainty the physical extermination of the Jews.# [&1]
Already long !efore 1;3< 'rots)y had seen into the depths. He had seen the spirit of limitless excess, the exaltation people can feel in exercising a merciless po er over others and the "total7ness# there can !e in a humiliation%!oth the horror and the =oy that is ta)en in inflicting it, lethal couple in hat is already an annihilation. He had seen also one of the most terrifying faces of human freedom, self7consciously turned against its other, !etter faces. (n all of this he had seen part of hat ould su!se6uently !e in the +hoah, including the element of an irreduci!le choice. 'he preconditions and the surrounding context of this )ind of choice can and al ays must !e explored and descri!ed. @ut it remains in the end hat it isH underdetermined, a choice. [&&]

'hough this as the insight of hat he calls a "po erful and creative Marxist intellect,# for Beras it goes !eyond the limits of a conventional Marxism, preoccupied as that is ith precisely the "preconditions and surrounding context# to hich the ill to destroy revealed in !oth the 'sarist pogroms and the Holocaust itself cannot !e reduced. (t highlights that aspect of the Holocaust that he !elieves tends to get neglected in interpretations such as @aumann/s that stress the role played characteristic structures of modernity%for example, the !ureaucratic division of la!our and the large7scale use of technology%in allo ing many perpetrators to distance themselves emotionally as ell as physically from the crimes they ere helping to commit. Beras argues that such analyses fail to give proper eight to "the cruel desires and sense of an unusual elation, ...the emotional charge produced%and may!e re6uired%!y the assault upon the innocent# evident in many descriptions of Na$i atrocities."'here is something here that is not a!out modernity- something that is not a!out capitalism. (t is a!out humanity.# [&3] As this last sentence implies, Beras/s argument rests ultimately on a certain vie of human nature. Else here he ma)es this assumption explicit, contending that a capacity for evil is an intrinsic feature of human nature co7existing ith more !enign traits, and that socialist theory and practice must ta)e proper account of this potential. [&8] 'he intuition expressed in the passage from 'rots)y that Beras cites is indeed one that any proper understanding of mass murder must accommodate. A remar)a!ly similar analysis of the psychological mechanism descri!ed here !y 'rots)y as recently offered from the perspective of an idiosyncratically 5acanian Marxism !y +lavo= LiMe)H
although, on the surface, the totalitarian Master ... imposes severe orders, compelling us to renounce our pleasures and to sacrifice ourselves to some higher 4uty, his actual in=unction, discerni!le !eneath the lines of his explicit ords, is exactly the opposite%the call to unconstrained and unrestrained transgression . 1ar from imposing on us

a firm set of standards to !e o!eyed unconditionally, the totalitarian Master that suspends DmoralE punishment%that is to say, his secret in=unction is You may H the prohi!itions that seem to regulate social life and guarantee a minimum of decency are ultimately orthless, =ust a device to )eep the common people at !ay, hile you are allo ed to )ill, rape and plunder the Enemy, let yourself go and excessively en=oy, violate ordinary moral prohi!itions ... in so far as you follo MeC [&9]

+o a real insight is present here. (t is, ho ever, only a partial one. :n its o n it suffers from the same lac) of specificity for hich Beras ta)es to tas) Mandel/s interpretation of the Holocaust. +imply to invo)e a human capacity for evil, the perverse li!eration e can en=oy through the unrestrained infliction of suffering on the :ther, in order to explain the extermination of the *e s fails to connect ith the fact that this episode%ghastly !eyond imagining though it as% as precisely that, a historical episode limited in time and space. :n its o n this idea recalls one of my favourite 0oody Allen characters, 1rederic), the melancholic artist played !y Max von +ydo in Hannah and Her !isters, ho dismisses as idiotic all the agoni$ing over hy the Holocaust happened, since the real 6uestion is hy it doesn/t happen all the time. 1ormally Beras can accommodate this o!=ectionH his aim, as he ma)es clear, is to offer a corrective to other, more social explanations invo)ing capitalism and modernity. @ut filling the picture in can/t !e =ust !e a matter of adding the )ind of list of material, social, and ideological preconditions of the Holocaust that Mandel, for example, sets out. 'hin)ing that it can ould imply conceiving the role of the social context merely as providing the precipitant that releases the destructive impulses lur)ing !eneath the surface. 'he context ould then !e the form filled !y the urge to transgress. @ut the relationship !et een social and psychological mechanisms is much more complex and dynamic than is suggested !y these metaphors. (n the case of the Holocaust, the )ey mediating element is provided !y the nature of National +ocialism itself. [&?] $e#olution and Counter%$e#olution Here e must come to terms ith one of the greatest achievements of classical Marxism, 'rots)y/s analysis of fascism, developed in the early 1;3Js as the Na$is made their play for po er. ,emar)a!ly, !oth Beras and 'raverso, despite the great respect they accord 'rots)y, effectively deny the relevance of this analysis to an understanding of the Holocaust.'hus 'raverso ritesH"'he *e ish genocide cannot !e understood in depth as a function of the class interests of !ig Berman capital%this is, in truth, the interpretive criterion Iin the final

analysis/ of all Marxist theories of fascism%it can only !e caricatured.# [&F] @ut this criticism effectively caricatures 'rots)y/s theory. 'he idea that Na$ism%and fascism more generally% as the instrument of !ig capital as indeed an incontesta!le dogma of the .ommunist (nternational under +talin. 'he thought as expressed in more or less crude ays%for example, !y *ohn +trachey hen he called fascism "one of the methods hich may !e adopted !y the capitalist class hen the threat of the or)ing class to the sta!ility of monopoly capitalism !ecomes acute,# and !y Beorgi 4imitrov, offering the official .omintern definition of fascism as "the open terrorist dictatorship of the most reactionary" most chauvinistic and most imperialist elements of finance capital## [&<] 'he same idea as visually dramati$ed in *ohn Heartfield/s famous photomontage "'he ,eal Meaning of the Hitler +alute,# here capitalist gold is seen pouring into the 1Nhrer/s outstretched hand. [&;] 2articularly hen focused on the rise of National +ocialism 'rots)y/s analysis avoids such crude portrayals of Hitler as a mere puppet of !ig capital. (ts originality lies in 'rots)y/s appraisal of Na$ism as a mass movement, hich can !e !rought out !y considering t o contrasting historical interpretations of National +ocialism. :ne of the most distinguished recent attempts to arrive at a totali$ing understanding of the Holocaust is Arno Mayer/s $hy Did the Heavens %ot Dar&en' Mayer/s argument, summed up !y the title of the Berman translation of his !oo)%Der (rieg als (reu))ug DThe $ar as *rusadeE%rests on a comparison !et een hat he calls the "*udeocide# and the idespread massacres of *e s that accompanied the 1irst .rusade at the end of the 11th century. He contends that :peration @ar!arossa%Hitler/s invasion of the +oviet >nion in *une 1;81% as a modern anti7@olshevi) crusade supported !y the upper classes of continental Europe desperate to eradicate the ,ed menace. (n an earlier study Mayer had argued that the ancien regime in its essential features%the social and political dominance of landed elites% survived until 1;18. [3J] 0hat he calls "the Beneral .risis and 'hirty Oears 0ar of the t entieth century#%the epoch of catastrophe !et een 1;18 and 1;89%represented the crisis of the ancien regime. (ts main characteristic as the counter7revolutionary resistance of the old elites to the threat represented to their privileges !y the ,ussian ,evolution and the international .ommunist movement it inspired. Even National +ocialism as an expression of this impulse. "0hile he [Hitler] drummed up mass support for Na$ism among those in the middle orders of Berman society ho ere, or felt themselves victims of moderni$ation, he found his essential colla!orators among mem!ers of the old elites ho ere moved less

!y political faith than !y material and personal interest.# 'his pattern, set !y the time Hitler sei$ed po er, as also operative during @ar!arossaH"the Na$is loudly proclaimed that the ar against +oviet ,ussia as a +laubens&rieg [ ar of faiths] against I*udeo!olshevism,/ hich initially earned them considera!le sympathy and support among conservatives, reactionaries, and fascists throughout the .ontinent.# (t as the failure of this enterprise that prompted Hitler and his henchmen to vent their rage and despair on the *e s !y unleashing the HolocaustH"the escalation and systemati$ation of the assault on the *e s as an expression, not of soaring hu!ris on the eve of victory, !ut of !e ilderment and fear in the face of possi!le defeat. (ndeed, the decision to exterminate the *e s mar)ed the incipient de!acle of the Na$i @ehemoth, not its imminent triumph.# [31] 'his last thesis%that the "*udeocide# as a !y7product of Na$i plans for the con6uest of the East going a ry%has provo)ed considera!le criticism from other historians of the Holocaust. [3&] Mayer/s overall interpretation of National +ocialism has nevertheless the undou!ted merit of underlining the complicity of traditional Berman elites, not merely%as is ell )no n%in Hitler/s attaining the .hancellorship, !ut also in his regime/s later crimes. 'hus it as the Army High .ommand that drafted the so7called ".ommissar :rder# of ? *une 1;81, hich decreed that in the interests of "[t]he struggle against @olshevism,# +oviet political commissars ere to summarily shot. [33] 'his order provided the authority for the massacres carried out !y the ++ Einsat)gruppen after the invasion of the >++,. 'he image of a "good# $ehrmacht that, on the hole, )ept its hands clean has not survived historians/ scrutiny. (n +er!ia, for example, it as the $ehrmacht that murdered all adult male *e s and ,oma. [38] 'he formative as ell destructive po er of counter7revolution occupies the centre of Mayer/s historical imagination. [39] @ut, hatever e may thin) of this as an interpretation of modern European history, it leads him into a much too undifferentiated vie of National +ocialism. (n particular, he underestimates the conflicts dividing the Na$is from the dominant class. 'o cite merely the most o!vious exampleH some of the proudest names of the Berman aristocracy% among them @ismarc), Metternich, and MPlt)e% ere implicated in the plot to assassinate Hitler on *uly &J 1;88- the savage revenge su!se6uently ta)en !y the ++ cut a s athe through the upper echelons of the 2russian military. [3?] (n his history of the resistance to Hitler, *oachim 1est argues that it is a misunderstanding of "the real nature of the Na$i revolution# to thin) that "National +ocialism as essentially a conservative movement. (n

reality it as egalitarian and destructive of traditional structures.# [3F] 'hough 1est rites for the conservative ,ran&furter Allgemeine -eitung his vie of Na$ism can claim support from studies of everyday life produced !y historians at the opposite end of the political spectrum that highlight the extent to hich moderni$ing processes already under ay in the (aiserreich and the 0eimar ,epu!lic continued, and sometimes accelerated under Hitler. [3<] ,evolution and counter7revolution%these contrasting images of National +ocialism !y the conservative =ournalist 1est and the "leftdissident historian# Mayer%sum up the difficulties in grasping the nature of this regime and therefore the sources of its crimes. [3;] @oth interpretations can cite historical evidence in their support, !ut neither seems really satisfactory. (t is here that 'rots)y/s analysis is of help. :ne might summari$e his vie as follo sH National +ocialism as the most developed form of fascism is counter. revolution in the guise of revolution. [8J] (t is counter7revolutionary inasmuch as in ta)ing po er it see)s to eradicate the organi$ed or)ing class%"ra$ing to their foundations all the institutions of proletarian democracy,# political parties, trade unions, and other more informal associations. [81] (t as his recognition of the mortal threat that Na$ism represented to the Berman or)ers/ movement that gives 'rots)y/s ritings of the early 1;3Js their urgency and their prophetic po er as he pressed, in vain, for a united front of the left against Hitler. As Nicos 2oulant$as notes, he as "almost alone in predicting, in an astonishing fashion, the unfolding of the process in Bermany.# [8&] @ut it as his understanding of the nature of the threat that constituted 'rots)y/s most important insight.'he aim of destroying the organi$ed or)ing class as one of the points of convergence !et een the Na$is and many leading industrialists, !an)ers, generals, and lando ners. Oet the Na$is as a mass movement represented a far more effective means of carrying out this tas) than the conventional forces of the stateH
At the moment that the "normal# police and military resources of the !ourgeois dictatorship, together ith their parliamentary screens, no longer suffice to hold society in a state of e6uili!rium, the turn of the fascist regime arrives. 'hrough the fascist agency, capitalism sets in motion the masses of cra$ed petty !ourgeoisie, and !ands of the declassed and demorali$ed lumpenproletariat- all the countless human !eings hom finance capital itself has !rought to desperation and fren$y. 1rom fascism the !ourgeoisie demands a thorough =o! ... And the fascist agency, !y utili$ing the petty !ourgeoisie as a !attering ram, !y over helming all o!stacles in its path, does a thorough =o!. [83]

'his as the historic contri!ution of National +ocialism. (t fused into a movement the petty !ourgeoisie%small !usinessmen, hite7

collar employees, and peasants%traumati$ed !y orld ar, revolution, inflation, and orld depressionH
0hile the Na$is acted as a party and not as a state po er, they did not 6uite find an approach to the or)ing class. :n the other side, the !ig !ourgeoisie, even those ho supported Hitler ith money,did not consider his party theirs.'he national "renaissance# leaned holly upon the middle classes, the most !ac) ard part of the nation, the heavy !allast of history. 2olitical art consisted in fusing the petty !ourgeoisie into oneness through its common hostility to the proletariat.0hat must !e done in order to improve thingsK 1irst of all, throttle those ho are underneath. (mpotent !efore !ig capital, the petty !ourgeoisie hopes in the future to regain its social dignity through the ruin of the or)ers. [88]

'rots)y/s analysis of the class !asis of National +ocialism, hich portrays it as the mass movement of those caught !et een !ig capital and organi$ed la!our, is supported !y recent historic research. [89] Oet if the social meaning of Na$ism as to direct the negative energies released !y Mayer/s "general crisis of the &Jth century# onto the or)ers/ movement, it as only a!le to do so !y means of a po erful pseudo7revolutionary rhetoric. 'his involved hat 4aniel Buerin called "demagogicanti.capitalism.# [8?] Na$i ideology as anti7capitalist in the restricted sense of holding "*e ish finance capital# responsi!le for all the ills of Berman society. .ounterposed to 0eimar realities as the >topia of the /ol&sgemeinschaft%of a racially pure national community here Berman capital and la!our ere reconciled and the small producer finally in the saddle. Here e see the centrality of racism to National +ocialism. 'heir supposedly common !iological "race# united Bermans of all classes against the alien *e s and against other inferior races, especially the +lavs, ith hom, according Hitler/s +ocial 4ar inism, Bermans ere in competition for territory and resources in the East. [8F] 'his racist, pseudo7revolutionary ideology provided the cement of National +ocialism as a mass movement. 'rots)y noted that the ple!eian, anti7capitalist character of Na$i ideology made using Hitler ris)y for the Berman ruling classH"this method has its dangers.0hile it ma)es use of fascism, the !ourgeoisie nevertheless fears it.# Else here he roteH"'he political mo!ili$ation of the petty !ourgeoisie against the proletariat ... is inconceiva!le ithout that social demagogy hich means playing ith fire for the !ig !ourgeoisie.# @ut, though thus sensitive to the conflicts !et een the Na$is and the ruling class,'rots)y assumed these ould tend to !e overcome once the former too) po er, hen the specificity of fascism as a distinctive type of mass movement ould progressively disappearH"as the (talian example sho s, fascism leads in the end to a

military7!ureaucratic dictatorship of the @onapartist type.#'his implies a significant difference !et een Na$ism out of and in po erH
Berman fascism, li)e (talian fascism, raised itself to po er on the !ac)s of the petty !ourgeoisie, hich it turned into a !attering ram against the organi$ations of the or)ing class and the institutions of democracy. @ut fascism in po er is least of all the rule of the petty !ourgeoisie. :n the contrary, it is the most ruthless dictatorship of monopoly capital. [8<]

@ut, far from finishing up as a military dictatorship, the Na$i regime massacred the generals after the *uly 1;88 plot. 2oulant$as, critici$ing 'rots)y among others for having failed to grasp the specificity of fascism as a variant of the "exceptional# form of the capitalist state, argued that a sta!ili$ed fascist regime as characteri$ed !y the dominance ithin the state apparatus of the political police. [8;] .ertainly this corresponds ell to the final phase of the Na$i regime, in hich the ++ and its police arm, the ,+HA D,eich Main +ecurity :fficeE, ac6uired ever greater prominence, a process sym!oli$ed !y Himmler/s appointment on &J *uly 1;88 to command the reserve army, in hat 1est calls "a ell7calculated gesture of contempt# on Hitler/s part to ards the officer corps. [9J] @ut hile 2oulant$as/ criticisms of 'rots)y seems to me correct here, his general approach%stressing as it does the idea of the "relative autonomy of the state#%does not capture the complexity of the relationship !et een National +ocialism and Berman capital. 'his is !est characteri$ed as a conflictual partnership. [91] (t as !ased on a limited convergence of interests !et een the Na$is and sections of Berman capital Dparticularly those associated ith heavy industryE ho shared common o!=ectives, nota!ly the destruction of the organi$ed or)ing class and a imperial program of expansion into the East. Even !efore the onset of the Breat 4epression, the leaders of heavy industry ere in revolt against the 0eimar repu!lic, denouncing it as a "trade union state# hose commitment to social elfare and institutionali$ed collective !argaining imposed excessively high costs on Berman capitalismH in this respect the iron7 and7steel loc)7out of Novem!er 1;&< mar)ed a turning point. [9&]1rom the fall of the Brand .oalition in March 1;3J on ards, the industrialists/ intransigence against the !ac)ground of a spectacularly deteriorating economic situation helped to doom li!eral democracy in Bermany. (an Qersha ritesH
4uring the 4epression, democracy as less surrendered than deli!erately undermined !y elite groups serving their o n ends.'hese ere no pre7industrial leftovers, !ut%ho ever reactionary their political aims%modern lo!!ies or)ing to further their vested interests in an authoritarian system. (n the final drama, the agrarians and the army ere more influential than !ig !usiness in engineering Hitler/s ta)eover. @ut !ig !usiness also, politically myopic and self7serving, had

significantly contri!uted to the undermining of democracy that necessary prelude to Hitler/s success. [93]

as the

'he relationship !et een !ig !usiness and the Na$is after Hitler/s accession to the .hancellorship as riddled ith tensions. 'he conservatives/ hopes of incorporating the Na$is as =unior partners ere soon dashed. Hitler and his follo ers used the reign of terror they launched against the organi$ed or)ing class !oth to demonstrate their usefulness to those ho had !rought them to po er and also to con6uer exclusive control of the state D ith the exception of the 0eichswehrE. 'o 6uote Qersha once againH
:nly Hitler, and the huge%if potentially unsta!le%mass movement he headed, could ensure control of the streets and !ring a!out the "destruction of Marxism,# the !asis of the desired counter7revolution. Oet precisely this dependence on Hitler and eagerness to !ac) the most ruthless measures adopted in the early ee)s and months of the ne regime guaranteed that the ea)ness of the traditional elite groups ould !e laid !are in the years to come as the intended counter7 revolution gave ay to the Na$i racial revolution in Europe and opened the path to orld conflagration and genocide. [98]

'he Night of 5ong Qnives D3J *une 1;38E assuaged elite fears of Na$i ple!eian radicalism !y eliminating Ernst ,Phm and other leaders of the +A Dstorm7troopersE ho advocated a "+econd ,evolution,# !ut at the price of entrenching the Na$is in po er and, in particular, allo ing the ++ D ho carried out the massacre ith the help of the armyE, to extend their control of the security apparatus. 'he months of 1;3F%< sa a further radicali$ation of the regime made possi!le !y the removal of the chiefs of the military D@lom!erg and 1ritschE and of H=almar +chacht, ho had previously dominated the regime/s economic policy. 'hese personnel changes, hich significantly increased the control of the state exercised !y Hitler and other top Na$is, ere accompanied !y a more determined pursuit of economic autar)y and !y the adoption of a more aggressive foreign policy%moves that, of course, formed the context of the train of events leading to the out!rea) of the +econd 0orld 0ar.[99] 'here has !een considera!le de!ate among historians of the 'hird ,eich a!out the role played !y the domestic pro!lems of the Na$i regime%including class conflict%in fuelling the drive to ar. [9?] 'he leading Marxist contri!utor to this de!ate, 'im Mason, has also famously put for ard the thesis that the Na$i regime as characteri$ed !y the "primacy of politics#H
1rom 1;3? on ards the frame or) of economic action in Bermany as increasingly defined !y the political leadership. 'he needs of the economy ere determined !y political decisions, principally !y decisions in foreign policy, and the satisfaction of these needs as provided for !y military victories ...'he large firms identified themselves ith National +ocialism for the sa)e of their o n further economic develop7ment.'heir

desire for profit and expansion, hich as fully met !y the political system, together ith the stu!!orn nationalism of their leaders, did, ho ever, !ind them to a government on hose aims, in as much as they ere su!=ect to control at all, they had virtually no influence. [9F]

Mason/s formulation has the considera!le merit of closing the door to any vulgar Marxist attempt to reduce the Holocaust and other Na$i crimes to the economic needs of Berman capital. @ut it is too simple to try to map the distinction !et een the National +ocialist regime and Berman private capital onto a !roader one !et een politics and economics. 1or a )ey feature of the "radicali$ation# of the regime in 1;3F%< as the development of the state as an independent source of economic po er. +chacht/s fall as accompanied !y BPring/s emergence as the dominant figure in Na$i economic policy7ma)ing. 'he shift to greater state direction and to some extent replacement of private enterprise as sym!oli$ed !y the esta!lishment of the 1our7 Oear 2lan, ith BPring at its head. (n some ays more significant as the development of the ,eichs er)e, also headed !y the ,eichsmarschall, into a state7controlled multinational corporation that competed ith private firms, often ith great success, in order to gain control of the productive assets made availa!le !y Berman territorial expansion east ards into Austria, .$echoslova)ia, and 2oland, and est ard into 1rance during 1;3<%8J. ,ichard :very argues that "the Berman economic empire as not on and held !y private capitalism on !ehalf of the Imonopoly capitalists/ !ut as firmly under the control and in large part o ned and operated, !y the BPring economic apparatus.# [9<] (t is important for anyone old enough to remem!er the Marxist de!ates a!out the state during the 1;?Js and 1;FJs to see that this is the opposite of hat the "stamo&ap# Dstate monopoly capitalismE theory then popular among the .ommunist 2arties ould predict. 'his involved a pretty crude form of instrumentalism in hich the state !ecomes the tool of a handful of !ig monopolists. [9;] Here rather the Na$is Dor, given the fragmentation of the ,1hrerstaat, a section of the National +ocialist regimeE used their control of the state to gain direct access to the accumulation process. 'his helps to explain hy the Na$is did not simply, as 'rots)y predicted, collapse into a conventional military dictatorshipH they converted political into economic po er. 'his achievement puts Mason/s "primacy of politics# into a different light.'he Hitler regime/s success in setting the parameters for private capital as no mere act of ideological levitation, !ut as rather closely associated ith its success into entrenching itself in control of a large and expanding state capital. [?J] 'his ay of putting it also helps to place the evolution of National +ocialism in a ider context. 1or the 1;3Js ere mar)ed !y the

disintegration of the orld mar)et, the contraction of foreign trade, and a general drive !y the state to supplant private enterprise that as idely seen !y left and right ali)e as having failed.'he most extreme case of this tendency to ards state capitalism as, of course, the +oviet >nion during the so7called "+talin revolution# of the late 1;&Js and the 1;3Js, !ut the Ne 4eal in the >nited +tates and the nationali$ations carried out even !y the 'ory7dominated National Bovernment in @ritain are other examples. 'he Na$is/ drive to autar)y and to ar must !e seen against this !ac)groundH the increasing difficulties faced !y a largely closed Berman economy in o!taining scarce ra materials through foreign trade undou!tedly played a part in pushing the regime to ards sei$ing them through territorial expansion and military con6uest. [?1] @ut the Na$is leaders/ =udgement that long7term survival depended on an imperial drive into eastern and central Europe as an assessment they shared ith )ey sections of !oth !ig capital Dparticularly in heavy industryE and the military. [?&] A!ove all, Na$i radicalism respected certain limitsH most importantly, the !asic structure of economy remained untouched. Bermany under Hitler remained an industrial capitalist society, ith economic po er concentrated in the hands of !ig capital. 1rom the perspective of the !asic structure of class relations, hether that capital too) the form of private enterprise or state concerns as a secondary matter. 'he >topia of a racially pure, socially homogeneous /ol&sgemeinschaftremained =ust that. As 4etlev 2eu)ert puts it, "National +ocialism adapted readily to long7term trends to ards moderni$ation. (n terms of long7range socio7 economic statistical data, the years of the 'hird ,eich Dor at least the years of peace up to 1;3;E sho no divergence, either positive or negative.# [?3] 'he or)ing class, though atomi$ed and su!=ect to the end to the surveillance and terror of the +ecurity 2olice, ere a!le to use the conditions of full employment produced !y the rearmament drive to put on pressure for age7increases in 1;3<%;. Hitler to the end as haunted !y the fear that ar7time privation ould provo)e another revolution li)e that of Novem!er 1;1<. [?8] @ut the development of hat 2eu)ert calls a "cartel of po er elites from industry, the armed forces and the Na$i party# did not represent the disappearance of Na$i radicalism. [?9] After the cur!ing of the +A, it as concentrated no in the ++, hich developed into a !ureaucratic empire centred on the ,+HA, !ut creating its o n military ing Dthe 0affen ++E and the 0AHA DEconomic7 Administrative Main :fficeE responsi!le for administering the vast system of concentration camps. (ts chiefs, Himmler and Heydrich Dhead of the ,+HAE, sa themselves as custodians of Na$i ideology.

Himmler in particular as o!sessed ith restoring the traditional Berman peasantry through a vast programme of agrarian resettlement schemes in the East, as it fell to Berman arms. 'his peculiar fusion of racial >topia and security apparatus in the ++ !ureaucracy is, as e shall see, critical to understanding the Holocaust. [??] &deolog' and (enocide 'he development of research into the Holocaust over the past fe years has, in my vie , definitively settled the long7running de!ate among historians of the 'hird ,eich !et een "functionalists/ and "intentionalists.# [?F] 'he extermination of the *e s, rather than emerging fully formed from Hitler/s long7term plans, as a piecemeal process driven to a large extent,"from !elo ,# !y initiatives from rival po er7centres ithin the highly fragmented Na$i !ureaucracy. 'o say this is not to a!solve Hitler of responsi!ility for the Holocaust. His notorious "prophecy# to the ,eichstag on 3J *anuary 1;3;%"if international finance *e ry inside and outside Europe should succeed in plunging the nations once more into a orld ar, the result ill !e not the !olshevi$ation of the earth and there!y the victory of *e ry, !ut the annihilation of the *e ish race in EuropeC#% as fre6uently cited !y !oth Hitler and his su!ordinates as they sought to fulfil his prediction. [?<] @ut recognition of Hitler/s role is not inconsistent ith an analysis that highlights the complexity of the process that led to Ausch it$. 'o that extent, the portrayal of the Holocaust !y Martin @ros$at and Hans Mommsen as the outcome of hat the latter famously called a "cumulative spiral of radicali$ation# is correct. [?;] 'hus, to start ith, it seems clear that mass murder of the *e s as not the only option considered !y Na$i decision7ma)ers in the efforts to use the opportunity offered !y the orld ar to rid Europe of the *e s%proposals to deport the *e s to Madagascar or to the Arctic .ircle Donce the >++, had !een con6ueredE ere seriously discussed, though these plans al ays envisaged the death of many *e s through the physical deprivations caused !y their forced removal and inhospita!le destination. @ut it as the invasion of the >++, on && *une 1;81 that created context in hich the 1inal +olution actually developed. :peration @ar!arossa reflected the long7term aims, not =ust of Hitler Das expressed, for example, in Mein (ampfE !ut of also )ey sections of the Berman ruling classH the 1;1< 'reaty of @rest7 5itovs) forced on +oviet ,ussia had !riefly given Bermany control of 2oland, the >)raine, and the @altic states. 1rom the start the Na$i leadership made it clear that this as not =ust going to !e =ust another

ar !ut a /ernichtungs&rieg% ar of extermination% aged against inferior races%the su!human +lavs and their "*e ish7@olshevi)# masters%to in 2ebensraum for the Berman /ol&. Mass murder as !uilt into the operation from start. Berman military planners predicted that thirty million +oviet citi$ens ould die as result of the diversion of food supplies to meet the needs of the Na$i ar machine. [FJ] 'he .ommissar order, as e have seen, authori$ed the Berman invasion forces to execute the "*e ish7@olshevi) intelligentsia# hether or not they ere engaged in actual com!at. (t as as part of this ar of extermination that the Einsat)gruppen ere sent into the +oviet >nion alongside the $ehrmacht. 'he mass machine7gunnings of *e s that they carried out in the summer of 1;81 are generally seen as the !eginning of the Holocaust. @ut in fact even here these massacres only approached full7scale genocide through a series of stages. (n 5ithuania, for example, the initial shootings in *une%*uly 1;81, in hich a!out 1J,JJJ%1&,JJJ predominantly *e ish victims perished, ere confined mainly to *e ish men and .ommunists. (t as only in August 1;81 that the massacres extended to virtually the entire rural *e ish population and su!stantial num!ers of *e ish to n7d ellers. At least 1&J,JJJ *e s perished, hile some 89,JJJ%9J,JJJ more ere allo ed temporarily to survive the selections in the to ns in order that they might or) for the Berman ar industry. .hristoph 4iec)man argues that a decisive factor in the radicali$ation of Na$i policy to ards the *e s of 5ithuania as the unexpectedly slo progress of the ar. 'his forced the revision of the earlier "starvation plan# as the occupied parts of the +oviet >nion !ecame important !ase areas for the 0ehrmacht. .hronic food shortages encouraged the Na$i authorities to give priority to those hose la!our they neededH rather than feed those *e s hom they regarded as "useless mouths# they murdered them. [F1] 'his case study illustrates the diverse factors responsi!le for the extermination of the *e s.Aarious pragmatic considerations played their part. :ne, as e have =ust seen, as the development of local food shortages in the context of the Na$is/ failure to in the rapid victory over the >++, they had expected. Another as competition !et een rival Na$i !ureaucracies, in hich the ++ used their success in inning overall responsi!ility for the *e ish Ruestion to sta)e their claim for increased political po er and access to scarce resources. A further complication as introduced !y the fact that the scale of the Berman victories !et een autumn 1;3; and summer 1;81 placed larger and larger num!ers of *e s on the Na$is/ hands. 'his conflicted ith Himmler/s grandiose plans Das ,eich .ommissioner for the .onsolidation of Berman NationhoodE to

resettle ethnic Bermans from all over .entral and +outh7Eastern Europe in the ne territories !eing con6uered !y Berman arms. 'he result as hat BPt$ Aly calls an "ethnic domino effect,# in hich the demands from Himmler to find living space for disgruntled ethnic Bermans often stuc) in resettlement camps and from Na$i +auleiter eager to ma)e their areas3udenfrei saddled the Berman occupation authorities in 2oland ith increasingly unmanagea!le num!ers of pauperi$ed *e s. [F&] Mass murder came to seem to Na$i officials as the only ay out of hat they experienced as a managerial nightmare. [F3] Aly argues that, after plans for the holesale deportation of the *e s of Europe to the more inhospita!le parts of the +oviet >nion Ditself, as he notes, a "comprehensive plan for medium7term !iological extermination#E had gone a ry than)s to dogged +oviet resistance, a consensus developed in Na$i officialdom to murder them. (t as against the !ac)ground of this decision, ta)en according to Aly in the autumn of 1;81, that gassing as chosen as the main instrument of industriali$ed annihilation, that @el$ec, +o!i!or, 're!lin)a, .helmno, and Ma=dane) ere developed as extermination camps, and that Ausch it$7@ir)enau too) on, in addition to its existing function as a forced la!our camp, also too) on the role of a site for mass murder. [F8] Ausch it$ indeed in its varying functions sums up the plurality of determinations that produced the Holocaust. +trategically cited at a =unction of the .entral European rail ay system that had made it in the late 1;th and early &Jth centuries a )ey stopping off point in the seasonal movement of 2olish agricultural la!ourers to or) in Bermany and Austria, the little Balician to n of :s iecim !ecame the site of, first, a ++ concentration camp to service the Na$i terror in freshly con6uered 2oland- then a centre for Himmler/s plans to resettle ethnic Bermans in the farms stolen from their expelled 2olish o ners- then, !ecause of its proximity to the >pper +ilesian coalfield and the availa!ility of +oviet prisoners of ar as slave la!ourers, (.B. 1ar!en/s !una synthetic ru!!er plant- and, finally, the extermination camp into hich so many of the *e s of Europe vanished. [F9] Aly descri!es the process from hich the Holocaust emerged as an instance of hat he calls the Na$is/"practice of pro=ective conflict resolution#H
'he conflicts of interest !et een the various po er centres of the 'hird ,eich, hich ere constantly losing or gaining importance and influence, arose out of the tension !et een differing and generally hypetrophied goals Dof con6uestE, saniti$ed social utopias, and the notorious scarcity of the materials necessary for these. Even hen the representatives of the various institutions pursued conflicting, mutually exclusive interests, they ere illing to or) together to resolve the conflicts necessarily

produced !y their divergent strategies%especially the intended speed of their implementation% ith the help of theft, slave la!our, and extermination. [F?]

.ritical to this process as the often only implicit role played !y !iological racism in providing the frame or) of de!ate and the !asis on hich decisions could !e legitimi$ed. 'he follo ing remar) of Hitler/s to Himmler in 1;8& comes as close as he ever did to ac)no ledging the Holocaust, !ut it is also highly revealing of the character of this ideologyH"'he discovery of the *e ish virus is one of the greatest revolutions that have ta)en place in the orld.'he !attle in hich e are engaged is of the same sort as the !attle aged, during the last century, !y 2asteur and Qoch. Ho many diseases have their origin in the *e ish virusC ...0e shall regain our health only !e eliminating the *e .# [FF] 'his medical language Dalso present in the common Na$i use of the ord "cleansing# as a euphemism for mass murderE is symptomatic of a pseudo7scientific ideology that posited a hierarchical orld of races from hich the "unfit# should !e eliminated. (t as in virtue of this ideology that Hitler authori$ed the secret '78 "euthanasia program# under hich !et een FJ,JJJ and ;J,JJJ mentally ill patients ere murdered in 1;3;%81H the personnel used and expertise ac6uired in this operation ere later transferred to the :peration ,einhard camps D@el$ec, +o!i!or, and 're!lin)aE. [F<] 'he same !iological racism%a modern ideology, not traditional anti7+emitism% motivated the murder of the ,oma and +inti, largely through the initiative of the .riminal 2olice Da separate ing of the ,+HA from the +ecurity 2oliceE and despite Hitler/s lac) of personal interest in the "Bypsy Ruestion.# [F;] @ut it as the *e ish "virus,# as Hitler called it, that represented the most deadly danger to the health of the Berman /ol&. As 2aul Qarl +chmidt, press chief of the Berman 1oreign :ffice, put it in 1;83H "'he *e ish 6uestion is no 6uestion of humanity and no 6uestion of religion, !ut a 6uestion of political hygiene. *e ry is to !e com!ated herever it is found, !ecause it is a political infectant, the ferment of disintegration and death of every national organism.# [<J] 'hus hen it came to devising actual policies for the "final solution of the *e ish 6uestion,# murder as the Na$is/ default position, set !y an ideology that identified the *e s as a deadly threat.'he Holocaust as the outcome of a !ureaucratic pro!lem7 solving process over7determined !y the !iological racism that constituted the ideological cement of National +ocialism. 'he primacy of Na$i ideology in the development of the Holocaust is critical to understanding that, even if even if economic pressures% for example, food shortages in the occupied >++,%may have helped

motivate particular murder campaigns, the extermination of the *e s cannot !e explained in economic terms. ,aul Hil!erg argues that "in the preliminary phase [the isolation and expropriation of the *e s] financial gains, pu!lic or private, far out eighed expenses, !ut ... in the )illing phase receipts no longer !alanced losses.# [<1] 1rom the standpoint of the ar effort, the Holocaust destroyed scarce s)illed or)ers and diverted rolling stoc) from military purposes. (ndividual capitalist firms such as (.B. 1ar!en undou!tedly profited from the extermination of the *e s, !ut, ho ever instrumentally rational the !ureaucratic organi$ation of the Holocaust may have !ecome, this crime as dictated !y considerations neither of profita!ility nor of military strategy. [<&] @iological racism also played a crucial role in motivating the perpetrators. Norman Beras, as e have seen, has sought to highlight the importance of the Na$is/ li!eration of the urge to transgress. No one can see evidence of this, nota!ly in the more pogrom7li)e massacres% for example, during the radicali$ation of the murder of 5ithuanian *e s in the summer of 1;81, hen the Einsat)gruppen exploited local anti7+emitism, encouraging 5ithuanian popular participation in the )illings. [<3]@ut anti7 +emitism% hether in the pseudo7scientific form it too) in Na$i ideology or in a more traditional version% as re6uired in order to transform the *e s into the o!=ectified :ther against hich these passions could legitimately !e expressed. 'heir commitment to Na$i ideology helped to sustain in the ++ elite the com!ination of callous efficiency and self7control that seems to have !een hat Himmler meant !y "decency# in his notorious speech of 8 :cto!er 1;83 to ++ +ruppenf1hrer in 2o$nan, hen he declaredH "Most of you )no hat it means hen 1JJ corpses lie there, or 9JJ lie there, or 1JJJ lie there. 'o have gone through all this and%apart from the exceptions caused !y human ea)ness%to have remained decent, that has hardened us. 'his is a page of glory in our history never ritten and never to !e ritten.# [<8] As >lrich Her!ert puts it,
the intellectual anti7semitism, so to spea), is detecta!le, especially in the leaders of the +ecurity 2olice and the Einsat)gruppen . Here, in genocide/s hard core, enmity to ards the *e s is recogni$a!le as a manifestation of a radical v4l&isch orld7vie ... seeing their o n actions ithin the context of such a orld7vie not only insulated them against interference !y other agencies, it also provided that exculpatory discourse that lessened inhi!itions and offered an avenue of self7 =ustification !y representing one/s o n actions as the necessary means to a higher end, thus suspending ac6uired humanitarian principles. [<9]

'he overdetermining role played !y Na$i ideology in the Holocaust might seem to rule out any Marxist interpretation. +uch seems to !e the implication of Her!ert/s declarationH",acism as not a Imista)en

!elief/serving to conceal the true interests of the regime, hich ere essentially economic. (t as the fixed point of the hole system.# [<?] @ut it is a caricature of historical materialism that reduces it to the attri!ution of economic motives to social actors. [<F] Marx famously replied to an o!=ection to his theory that "this is all very true for our o n times, in hich material interests are preponderant, !ut not for the Middle Ages, dominated !y .atholicism, nor for Athens and ,ome dominated !y politics,# !y sayingH "it is the manner in hich they gained their livelihood hich explains hy in one case politics, in the other case .atholicism, played the chief part.# [<<] +imilarly one might say that a historical materialist account of the Holocaust must proceed, not !y denying the central role played !y !iological racism in the extermination of the Holocaust, !ut !y explaining hy this ideology assumed such centrality in National +ocialism. Much of the contemporary historiography of the 'hird ,eich seems, in correcting for an earlier neglect, to treat racism as a )ind of !rute datum that does not itself re6uire explanation. :vercoming this ea)ness re6uires that e situate the Holocaust in the larger evolution of the National +ocialist regime. Here the most important contri!ution has !een made !y Martin @ros$at, ho places the radicali$ation of the regime, the so7called "racial revolution,# in the context of the Na$is/ failure to reconstruct Berman societyH
'he more or less corporatist ideals of National +ocialism, the pursuit of a comprehensive ne order for agriculture ..., the ideas for reforming the ,eich and the proposals for a revolutionary recasting of the army, civil service and =udicature%none of this could !e achieved.'he strength of the National +ocialist movement as only sufficient to endanger the existing state of affairs and partially to undermine it ... @ut the less chance there as of converting National +ocialism/s ideological dogma to the tas)s of constructive reorgani$ation, the more exclusively that ideological policy focused only on the negative aspects and aims hich primarily affected only legal, humanitarian and moral principles, !ut hich appeared to !e socially or politically unimportant ... @ut since the practical Drather than the propagandistE activity of the ideological movement as almost exclusively geared to these negative aims, the only conceiva!le further development had to !e !y ay of a continued intensification of the measures against the *e s, the mentally ill and anti7social elements. @ut discrimination could not !e stepped up ad infinitum . As a result the "movement# as !ound to end up !y rea)ing physical destruction. [<;]

@ros$at/s argument provides, in my vie , the !est !asis on hich to understand the "cumulative radicali$ation# of National +ocialism that he and Hans Mommsen have highlighted. (an Qersha offers an alternative interpretation that stresses the personal role of Hitler ithin the regime. (ndeed, for Qersha , the defining characteristic of Na$ism seems !e to Hitler/s uni6ue authority, hich he considers an instance of hat Max 0e!er called charismatic domination.'he

initiatives !y individual Na$i officials that played such a critical role in, for example, the development of the Holocaust legitimi$ed their actions !y claiming to !e Das one of them put itE " or)ing to ards the ,1hrer#H the =ustification provided !y such an invocation of Hitler/s authority helped to fuel the elter of centrifugal initiatives that drove the Na$i regime into increasing !ar!arity and progressive disintegrationH
4octors rushing to nominate patients of asylums for the "euthanasia programme# in the interests of a eugenically "healthier# people- la yers and =udges $ealous to cooperate in the dismantling of legal safeguards in order to cleanse society of "criminal elements# and undesira!les!usiness leaders anxious to profit from preparations for ar and once in ar !y gra!!ing of !ooty and exploitation of foreign slave la!ourthrusting technocrats and scientists see)ing to extend po er and influence !y =umping onto the !and agon of technological experimentation and moderni$ation- non7Na$i military leaders )een to !uild up a modern army and restore Bermany/s hegemony in central Europe- and old7fashioned conservatives ith a distaste for the Na$is !ut an even greater fear and disli)e of the @olshevi)sH all ere, through their many and varied forms of colla!oration, indirectly at least " or)ing to ards the ,1hrer .#'he result as the unstoppa!le radicali$ation of the "system# and the gradual emergence of policy o!=ectives closely related to the ideological imperatives represented !y Hitler. [;J]

'his passage !rings into focus the feeling that gradually develops a!out the metaphor of " or)ing to ards the ,1hrer# hile reading Qersha /s fine !iography of Hitler%namely that a concept that ithin certain narro limits may !e 6uite useful is !eing stretched to the point of meaninglessness.'here ould often have !een a discrepancy !et een the actual motivations of the actors listed a!ove and the reasons that they gave in order to legitimi$e their actions ithin the "pu!lic sphere# of the 'hird ,eich. Qersha covers himself against this )ind of o!=ection !y treating these cases as ones " here ideological motivation as secondary, or perhaps even a!sent altogether, !ut here the o!=ective function of the actions as nevertheless to further the potential for implementation of the goals hich Hitler em!odied.# [;1] @ut hat criterion is one to use in order to determine hether particular actions had this "o!=ective function#K Qersha tal)s of Hitler "representing# or "em!odying# certain "ideological imperatives,# !ut this simply pushes the pro!lem !ac)H ho are e esta!lish hat these imperatives ereK 'o refer to Hitler/s personal goals ould collapse into the )ind of intentionalism that the metaphor of " or)ing to ards the ,1hrer# is presuma!ly meant to avoid. (n a manner familiar to any student of Hegel, o!=ectivism ris)s sliding into its polar opposite,su!=ectivism.'he only ay to avoid this trap is, in my vie , to place at the !asis of one/s interpretation of National +ocialism, not Hitler/s personal role as

charismatic leader, !ut rather the specific nature of Na$ism as a distinctive )ind of mass movement. [;&] Here e return to 'rots)y/s analysis of fascism. National +ocialism represented a particular response to the intense social and economic contradictions undergone !y Berman society at the onset of Mayer/s "Beneral .risis and 'hirty Oears 0ar of the t entieth century.#0hile mo!ili$ing its follo ers in support of a counter7revolutionary pro=ect%the destruction of organi$ed la!our and the reha!ilitation of Berman imperialism%it promised them an apparently revolutionary vision of a/ol&sgemainschaft, a racial >topia from hich !oth class conflict and alien races Dthe t o united in Na$i ideology in the figure of the *e setting Berman against BermanE had !een !anished. 4enied fulfilment in the shape of a genuine reconstruction of society hen Hitler too) po er, Na$i radicalism as displaced onto the *e ish 6uestion. 'he energies of the movement could safely focus on hat @ros$at calls the "negative aspects# of National +ocialist ideology%the drive to eliminate the :ther. ,acial policy did not threaten the uneasy pact struc) !y the Na$is and !ig capital. .rudely put%National +ocialism failed to create the /ol&sgemeinschaft, !ut at least the ++ could exterminate the *e s. 'he interpretation s)etched out here dovetails in ith some suggestive remar)s !y +lavo= LiMe). He rites that "the true horror of Na$ism lies in the very ay it displacedSnaturali$ed social antagonism into racial differences.# [;3] Else here he argues that "Ipolitical extremism/ or Iexcessive radicalism/ should al ays !e read as a phenomenon of ideologico7political displacementH as an index of its opposite, as a limitation, of a refusal actually to Igo to the end./# [;8] 'he "cumulative radicali$ation# of the Na$i regime as thus not simply a conse6uence either of its o n internal fragmentation or of Hitler/s personal role. (t reflected the structural ina!ility of National +ocialism to "go to the end#%to remove the social contradictions to hich it as a response and for hich it had promised a cure. 'his is one respect in hich there is a connection !et een the Holocaust and the capitalist mode of production. (t is, of course, as ( have already noted, not the case that the extermination of the *e s can !e deduced from the economic needs of Berman capitalism. @ut National +ocialism !ecame a mass movement during hat is still the orst economic crisis in the history of the capitalist system. More than that%to escape from this crisis and to crush the or)ing class, Berman !ig !usiness allied itself to a movement hose racist and pseudo7revolutionary ideology drove it to ards the Holocaust, particularly !ecause of its failure to transform Berman society. 'hus% not directly, !ut in this nonetheless important ay%capitalism as

causally implicated in the process that led to the extermination of the *e s. [;9] Mechanisms and Murder 'his )ind of explanation, invo)ing as it does economic and political structures, social classes, ideologies and mass movements, may not satisfy many see)ing to ma)e sense of the Holocaust. 'o return to the !eginning of this essay, Norman Beras complains of Ernest Mandel/s structural explanation of the extermination of the *e s that it "seems to me to fall far short of the thing it purports to address. None of these causes spea)s directly to the aim of wiping out a people.# [;?] No it is indeed true that Mandel sees "the Holocaust as the ultimate expression of the destructive tendencies existing in !ourgeois society, tendencies hose roots lie deep in colonialism and imperialism.# [;F] @y contrast, the interpretation ( have offered here tries to fill out the specificity that is anting in Mandel/s account in particular !y giving hat seems to me its proper eight to the dynamics of National +ocialism as a mass movement. @ut this might still not satisfy Beras. ( can thin) of t o reasons hy it mightn/t. :ne is that Das is all too possi!leE it =ust isn/t a very good explanationH it fails to ta)e into account, or lay sufficient stress on, factors crucial to a proper understanding of the Holocaust. And may!e this failure reflects a deeper myopia inherent in Marxism as a social theory. 2erhaps this is soH hether or not it is ill emerge from the critical de!ate inherent in historical en6uiry. 'here is, ho ever, another reason hy the interpretation of the Holocaust set out here might fail to satisfy Beras Dor indeed anyone elseE. And that is =ust that no explanation of the extermination of the *e s can really satisfy, not !ecause the explanation is necessarily false !ut !ecause of the enormity of the event that it see)s to ma)e sense of. +uch an inherent discrepancy !et een cause and effect is presuma!ly at least part of hat Hannah Arendt as trying to get at hen she put for ard her cele!rated thesis of the "!anality of evil.# 'his gap !et een the event of the Holocaust and our attempts theoretically to comprehend it is the rational )ernel in the idea, articulated !y Elie 0iesel among others, that it is !eyond history and understanding. +ilence is certainly one legitimate response to hat happened at Ausch it$, !ut, ( have tried to argue, it is not enough. 'heoretical generali$ation is re6uired, and not only to help capture the Holocaust in all its specificity. 1or Mandel isn/t simply rong to see) to situate the extermination of the *e s in the context of the !roader history of capitalism as an economic and social system, even if such contextuali$ation is insufficient. Mi)e 4avis has sho n in his

stunning ne !oo) 2ate /ictorian Holocausts ho @ritish imperial policies in (ndia designed to minimi$e government expenditure and encourage industrious ha!its among the poor helped to turn the great droughts of 1<F?%; and 1<;?%1;J& into human catastrophes of appalling proportionsH the com!ined (ndian death7toll from famine and disease in these t o droughts is estimated at !et een 1& and 3J million Dmany millions more died in .hina and else hereE. [;<] No plainly 5ord 5ytton and 5ord .ur$on%respectively the @ritish viceroys of (ndia during these t o droughts%and the Home governments they served aren/t the same as Himmler and Heydrich. 'he deli!erate intention to exterminate millions as missing in their case. [;;] @ut are e to conclude that those ho pursued policies that in their o n ay ere as callous and ideological as the Na$is/, even though the inspiration came from +mith, Malthus, and +pencer rather than from the strange !re concocted !y Hitler, and hose conse6uence as the avoida!le death of millions !elong to a completely different moral universe from the racist !ureaucrats of the ,+HAK .onsider, for example, these ords of the highly respecta!le :xford philosopher Hastings ,ashdall, pu!lished in 1;JFH
( ill no mention a case in hich pro!a!ly no one ill hesitate. (t is !ecoming tolera!ly o!vious at the present day that all improvement in the social condition of the higher races of man)ind postulates the exclusion of competition ith the lo er races. 'his means that, sooner or later, the lo er 0ell7!eing%it may !e ultimately the very existence%of countless .hinamen or negroes must !e sacrificed that a higher life may !e possi!le for a much smaller of hite men. [1JJ]

+uch comparisons introduce a further complication. 1or 4avis argues that the disasters he chronicles did not simply result from the malign interaction of eather systems ith imperial policy and li!eral ideology, !ut also reflected the transformation of hitherto prosperous regions of Asia, Africa, and 5atin America into "famished peripheries of a 5ondon7centred orld economy.# [1J1] 'he su!ordination of small7holding peasantries to the rhythms of a orld mar)et !eyond their comprehension or control, and the inde!tedness of their rulers to European and American !an)s increased the vulnera!ility of entire societies to extreme eather events. Here tracing the thread of responsi!ility !ecomes even more complicated. :nce again, there is plainly no ill to exterminate on the part of !an)ers and !ro)ers, !ut all the same their decisions may have played a critical role in outcomes that destroyed entire communities thousands of miles a ay. +o ho then are e morally to =udge actors ho en=oy a privileged role in impersonal economic mechanisms that have devastating conse6uences for othersK 'his is, of course, not simply a historical 6uestion. 0e live at a time hen the ideology of laisse) faire that

legitimi$ed Aictorian indifference to (ndian starvation has en=oyed a come!ac) in the shape of the neo7li!eral "0ashington consensus# that no rules 0estern finance ministries and multilateral !odies such as the (M1 and 0':. Qen 5ivingstone caused much indignation hen, during last year/s mayoral elections in 5ondon, he said that capitalism )ills more people every year than Hitler did. [1J&] @ut a much more so!er figure, the sceptical li!eral historian 2eter Novic) has pointed out the "curious anomaly# that, amidst more and more ela!orate Holocaust commemorations, !et een 1J and 1& million children die each year !ecause "they lac) the food and minimal medical facilities that ould )eep them alive,# a cause that it is ell ithin human po er to remove. [1J3] 'he point of these comparisons is not to relativi$e the Holocaust out of existence, or to deny the historical specificity of the extermination of the *e s. Much of this essay has, after all, !een devoted to addressing this specificity. 'he point is rather that avoida!le, socially caused mass death is a chronic feature of the modern orld.'he mix of causes of these mass deaths%economic structures, !ureaucratic callousness, collective ideologies, deli!erate policy, and emotions as diverse as hatred, greed, fear, indifference, and the en=oyment of a perverted li!eration%varies from case to case. (f the Holocaust represents one extreme%that of deli!erate, industriali$ed mass murder, contemporary child mortality represents another%that of impersonal structural causation. [1J8] @ut !oth are avoida!le, and !oth arose ithin modern capitalism. +tudying the extermination of the *e s is important. 0e need to remem!er the victims and to remain alert against movements reviving the o!scene ideology of National +ocialism. @ut understanding the Holocaust can also help to prevent the mass murders that are happening no , and stop us from !eing mere !ystanders. )otes
1. 'his text provided the !asis of my inaugural lecture at the >niversity of Oor) on & March &JJ1. 'he interpretation it offers as originally given in a tal) at Marxism ;3 Dorgani$ed !y the +ocialist 0or)ers 2arty in 5ondon in *uly 1;;3E. ( am grateful to 'om @ald in, Norman Beras, 4onny Bluc)stein, and *ulie 0aterson for their comments. ( should also ac)no ledge t o de!ts that date !ac) to the 1;FJs, to the late 'im Mason, for his personal )indness and the intellectual inspiration he offered, and to .olin +par)s for the informal tutorials he gave me Damidst much friendly railleryE in the Marxist theory of fascism. &. Q. Marx, Early $ritings DHarmonds orthH 2enguin, 1;F9E, &91. 3. N. 1in)elstein, The Holocaust 5ndustry D5ondonH Aerso, &JJJE, 89. 8. 2. Novic), The Holocaust and *ollective Memory D5ondonH @looms!ury, &JJJE, 33J%1, n. 1JF.

9. 'he pro!lem of comparison as effectively dealt ith !y some of the saner contri!utions to the Berman Histori)erstreit of the 1;<JsH see especially H. Mommsen,"'he Ne Historical .onsciousness and the ,elativi$ing of National +ocialism,# in ,orever in the !hadow of Hitler' DAtlantic Highlands, N*H Humanities 2ress, 1;;3E. ?. Novic)., Holocaust and *ollective Memory, 1;3. F. 0. B. ,unciman, A Treatise on !ocial Theory D.am!ridgeH .am!ridge >niversity 2ress, 1;<3E, (. &J. <. +ee, for example, +. 1riedlander, ed., 6robing the 2imits of 0epresentation D.am!ridgeH Harvard >niversity 2ress, 1;;&E, and N. Beras, "5ife 0as @eautiful Even 'here,# 5mprints 9 D&JJJE. ;. N.Beras,"Marxists !efore the Holocaust,#in id., The *ontract of Mutual 5ndifference D5ondonH Aerso, 1;;<E, 183%88. :n Mandel/s artime !rush ith death see "'he 5uc) of a .ra$y Oouth,# in B. Achcar, ed., The 2egacy of Ernest Mandel D5ondonHAerso, 1;;;E, here Beras/s piece also appears. 1J. E. Mandel, The Meaning of the !econd $orld $ar D5ondonH Aerso, 1;<?E, ;J%;3. +ee also id., "Material, +ocial and (deological 2reconditions for the Na$i Benocide,# in Achcar, ed., 2egacy of Ernest Mandel. 11. Beras, "Marxists !efore the Holocaust,# 18F. 1&. M. Hor)heimer and '.0. Adorno, Dialectic of Enlightenment D5ondonH N5@, 1;F;E, 1?<%&J<. En$o 'raverso documents an even more extreme failure to register the Holocaust in +artre/s Anti.!emite and JewH see his "'he @lindness of the (ntellectuals# in id.,7nderstanding the %a)i +enocide D5ondonH 2luto, 1;;;E. 13. E. *. Ho!s!a m, Age of Extremes D5ondonH Michael *oseph, 1;;8E, 9J%9&, and ch. 9. A contrasting focus on the fascist challenge to li!eral democracy is the main strength of Mar) Ma$o er/s other ise disappointing history of &Jth century Europe, Dar& *ontinent D5ondonH Allen 5ane, 1;;<E. 18. 'raverso, 7nderstanding the %a)i +enocide, 88. 19. Novic), Holocaust and *ollective Memory, esp. chs. 1%8. 1?. (n particular 1in)elstein/s cavalier dismissal of the political threat represented !y Holocaust denial and !y the far right%as hen he declares that "there is no evidence that Holocaust deniers exert any more influence in the >nited +tates than the flat earth society does# DHolocaust 5ndustry, ?<E%seems to me very seriously mista)en. 1F. '.0. Mason, !ocial 6olicy in the Third 0eich D:xfordH @erg, 1;;3E, &<&, from his posthumously pu!lished Epilogue to a !oo) that first appeared in Berman in 1;FF. 1<. (!id., &<&. 1;. +ee especially the research summari$ed in the contri!utions to >. Her!ert, ed., %ational !ocialist Extermination 6olicies DNe Oor)H @erghahn, &JJJE. &J. 5.4. 'rots)y, 89:; DHarmonds orthH 2enguin, 1;F3E, 19J%91. &1. Beras,"Marxists !efore the Holocaust,# 13;. &&. (!id., 19;%?J. &3. (!id., 19<, 1?3, 1?8. 1or a sample of such descriptions, see the repellent narratives assem!led in E. Qlee et al., <The +ood =ld Days>?The Holocaust as !een by its 6erpetrators and @ystanders DNe Oor)H Qonec)y T Qonec)y, 1;;1E. &8. N.Beras,"+ocialist Hope in the +hado of .atastrophe,#in .ontract of Mutual (ndifference.

&9. +. LiMe), The Tic&lish !ub3ect D5ondonH Aerso, 1;;;E, 3;1. &?. +imilar considerations ould apply to other attempts to explain the Holocaust directly from hat are held to !e universal characteristics of human nature%for example, the need for identity that, according to B.A. .ohen, underlies the varieties of national, ethnic, religious, and racial identificationsH see id.,",econsidering Historical Materialism,# in A. .allinicos, ed., Marxist Theory D:xfordH :xford >niversity 2ress, 1;<;E. &F. 'raverso, 7nderstanding the %a)i +enocide, ?J. &<. *. +trachey, The *oming !truggle for 6ower D5ondonH Bollanc$, 1;38E, &?1B. 4imitrov, 0eport to the !eventh *ongress *ommunist 5nternational 89A;? ,or the 7nity of the $or&ing *lass against ,ascism D5ondonH ,ed +tar 2ress, 1;F3E, 8J. Extensive critical discussion of the .omintern/s analysis of fascism ill !e found in N. 2oulant$as, 1ascisme et dictature D2arisH +euil, 1;F8E. &;. ( appreciate that use of "fascism# as a generic term for a particular type of movement and regime rather than specifically to refer to the (talian case is no regarded as vieux =eu !y historians. ( have found nevertheless this usage unavoida!le%first, !ecause ( am discussing Marxist theories of fascism conceived in this !road sense, and, secondly, !ecause ( regard the refusal in principle to engage in comparative analysis designed to illuminate the similarities and differences that connect not merely Berman National +ocialism and (talian 1ascism !ut also more recent far7right movements to !e the orst sort of historical o!scurantism. 1or a discussion of "the disappearance of theories, or articulated concepts, of fascism from research and riting a!out the 'hird ,eich,# see '.0. Mason,"0hatever Happened to I1ascism/K# in id., %a)ism" ,ascism and the $or&ing *lass Ded. *. Qaplan- .am!ridgeH .am!ridge >niversity 2ress, 1;;9EH 6uotation from 3&3. 3J. A. *. Mayer, The 6ersistence of the =ld 0egime DNe Oor)H 2antheon, 1;<1E. ,estricted to the Berman case, Mayer/s thesis amounts to a version of the idea, idely influential among 0est Berman left7li!eral historians, of the +onder eg. 'his interpretation of Berman history Dat least prior to 1;89E having follo ed a "special path# reflecting the dominance of pre7modern agrarian elites has, in my vie , found its definitive refutationH see 4. @lac)7!ourn and B. Eley, The 6eculiarities of +erman History D:xfordH :xford >niversity 2ress, 1;<8E. +ee, for an alternative account of late 1;th century Europe, E. *. Ho!s!a m, The Age of Empire 1<F9%1;18 D5ondonH 0eidenfeld T Nicolson, 1;<FE. 31. (d., $hy Did the Heavens %ot Dar&en' DNe Oor)H 2antheon, 1;;JE, 31, 33, 38, &39. Mayer/s detailed account of the Holocaust ill !e found in i!id., 2art 'hree. 3&. +ee, for example, ..,. @ro ning, "'he Holocaust as @y7productK# in id., The 6ath to +enocide D.am!ridgeH .am!ridge >niversity 2ress, 1;;9E. 33. (. Qersha , Hitler D5ondonH Allen 5ane, 1;;<%&JJJE, ((. 39F%9;. 38. 0. Manosche),"'he Extermination of the *e s in +er!ia,# in Her!ert, ed., %ational !ocialist Extermination 6olicies. +ee more generally :. @artov, HitlerBs Army D:xfordH :xford >niversity 2ress, 1;;&E. 39. +ee, for example, A.*. Mayer, The ,uries? /iolence and Terror in the ,rench and 0ussian 0evolutions D2rincetonH 2rinceton >niversity 2ress, &JJJE. 3?. 'he aristocratic monde involved in the plot to )ill Hitler is ell evo)ed in some of the memoir literatureH see, for example, .. @ielen!erg, The 6ast is Myself D5ondonH .orgi, 1;<8E and The @erlin Diaries 89C:D89C; of Marie EMissieB/assiltichi&ov D5ondonH Methuen, 1;<FE.

3F. *. 1est, 6lotting HitlerBs Death DNe Oor)H Henry Holt, 1;;?E, 1;. 3<. +ee, for example, 4. 2eu)ert, 5nside %a)i +ermany DHarmonds orthH 2enguin, 1;<;E and, for a general survey of the literature, M. Nolan,"0or), Bender, and Everyday 5ifeH ,eflections on .ontinuity, Normality and Agency in ' entieth7.entury Bermany,# in (. Qersha and M. 5e in, eds., !talinism and %a)ism D.am!ridgeH .am!ridge >niversity 2ress, 1;;FE. 3;. Mayer, $hy Did the Heavens %ot Dar&en', 89?. 8J. (ronically enough in the light of his later evolution, this characteri$ation of National +ocialism is very close to Ernst Nolte/s definition of fascism as "revolutionary reaction#H see Three ,aces of ,ascism DNe Oor)H Mentor, 1;?;E. 81. 5. 4. 'rots)y, The !truggle against ,ascism in +ermany DNe Oor)2athfinder, 1;F1E, 19;. 8&. 2oulant$as, ,ascisme et dictature, ?;%FJ. 83. 'rots)y, !truggle against ,ascism, 199. 88. (!id., 8J&. 89. +ee the careful analysis of the evidence in 4. Bluc)stein, The %a)is" *apitalism and the $or&ing *lass D5ondonH @oo)mar)s, 1;;;E, ch. 8, and (an Qersha /s summary of the state of popular opinion on the eve of the Na$i sei$ure of po erH Hitler, (. 8J8%1&. 8?. 4. Buerin, ,ascism and @ig @usiness DNe Oor)H Monad, 1;F3E, F?. 8F. 4espite the immense value of (an Qersha /s Hitler as a compellingly ritten and scholarly synthesis of a vast literature, 1est/s older !iography Dperhaps !ecause his conservatism attunes him more to the nuances of Berman cultural lifeE paints a more convincing portrait of Hitler as a racial revolutionary ho, hen his Machiavellian engagement ith the realities of po er finally failed at +talingrad, relapsed into the >topianism of the pre71;&3 period, em!racing hat 1est calls "the strategy of a flam!oyant do nfall,# Hitler DHarmonds orthH 2enguin, 1;FFE, ???. +ee also, for example, i!id., ?J;%13. 8<. 'rots)y, !truggle against ,ascism, &<&, 881, &F<, 8J9. 0hen 4onny Bluc)stein approvingly cites the last t o sentences 6uoted he is, ( thin), mista)en, even though ( agree ith the argument that surrounds this 6uotationH Bluc)stein, %a)is" *apitalism" and the $or&ing *lass , 1?&. 8;. 2oulant$as, ,ascisme et dictature, 2t. F,ch. (A. 9J. 1est, 6lotting HitlerBs Death, 33&. 91. (n my vie this is also the !est ay of conceptuali$ing the relationship !et een the state and capital as suchH see ,. Mili!and,"+tate 2o er and .lass (nterests,# %ew 2eft 0eview 13< D1;<3E and .. Harman,"'he +tate and .apitalism 'oday,# 5nternational !ocialism &.91 D1;;1E. 'he analysis put for ard !y Henry Ash!y 'urner in +erman @ig @usiness and the 0ise of Hitler D:xfordH :xford >niversity 2ress, 1;<9E, though offered as a refutation of Marxist accounts of Na$ism, therefore actually provides detailed support for the interpretation developed here. 9&. 4. 2eu)ert, The $eimar 0epublic DHarmonds orthH 2enguin, 1;;1E, 1&9%&F, &&;%3J. 93. Qersha , Hitler, (.8&9. 98. (!id., (.83?- see generally i!id., (, chs. 11 and 1&. 99. +ee i!id., ((, ch. 1.

9?. 1or a lucid summary of the issues,see :.@artov, "1rom @lit$)rieg to 'otal 0ar,# in Qersha and 5e in, eds., !talinism and %a)ism, 1?<%F3. 9F. '.0. Mason, "'he 2rimacy of 2olitics,# in id., %a)ism",ascism and the $or&ing *lass, F1%&. 9<. ,. :very, +oering D5ondonH ,Q2, 1;<8E, esp. chs. 3%?- 6uotation from 111. 9;. 1or a comparatively sophisticated version of stamo)ap theory see 2. @occara, Etudes sur le capitalisme monopoliste dBEtat" sa crise et son issue D2arisH Editions +ociales, 1;F3E. 1or criti6ues, see N. 2oulant$as, 2es *lasses sociales dans le capitalisme au3ourdhuiD2arisH +euil, 1;F8E and @. *essop, The *apitalist !tate D:xfordH Martin ,o!ertson, 1;<&E. ?J. 1or a very similar analysis to that put for ard in this and the preceding paragraph, see Bluc)stein, %a)ism" *apitalism and the $or&ing *lass, ch. F. ?1. +ee '. .liff, !tate *apitalism in 0ussia Drev. edn., 5ondonH @oo)mar)s, 1;<<E, and .. Harman, Explaining the *risis D5ondonH @oo)mar)s, 1;<8E, ch. &. ?&. 1or a pioneering Marxist study that offers a differentiated account of Berman capitalist interests particularly in Hitler/s programme of territorial con6uest, see A. +ohn7,ethel, The Economy and *lass !tructure of +erman ,ascism D5ondonH 1ree Association @oo)s, 1;<FE. ?3. 2eu)ert, 5nside %a)i +ermany, 1<&. At most, 2eu)ert argues, !y undermining traditional institutions and !eliefs, National +ocialism contri!uted to ards the emergence of a more individuali$ed and privati$ed society that !lossomed fully during the 0est Berman 0irtschafts under of the 1;9JsH see esp. i!id., ch. 13. 1or a thorough criti6ue of the idea that Hitler presided over a "social revolution,# see Bluc)stein, %a)is"*apitalism and the $or&ing *lass, ch. ?. ?8. Mason, !ocial 6olicy, passim. 0or)ing7class resistance as, ho ever, much ea)er during the ar itself. (nvolved in this shift ere the divisive effects of the presence in Bermany of D!y August 1;88E over seven and a half million foreign slave la!ourersH as a result, >lrich Her!ert rites, "the practice of racism !ecame a daily ha!it, part of everyday life, ithout individual Bermans having to participate in active discrimination or oppression,# HitlerBs ,oreign $or&ers D.am!ridgeH .am!ridge >niversity 2ress, 1;;FE, 3;?. ?9. 2eu)ert, 5nside %a)i +ermany, &89. ??. +ee H. HPhne, The =rder of the DeathBs Head D5ondonH +ec)er T 0ar!urg, 1;?;E. ?F. +ee, for an overvie of this de!ate, see '.0. Mason,"(ntention and ExplanationH A .urrent .ontroversy a!out the (nterpretation of National +ocialism,# in id., %a)ism" ,ascism and the $or&ing *lass. ?<. Qersha , Hitler, ((. 193. +ee i!id., ((. 9&J%&3, on Hitler/s a areness of D!ut refusal explicitly to ac)no ledgeE the extermination of the *e s. ?;. H. Mommsen, ,rom $eimar to Auschwit) D.am!ridgeH 2olity, 1;;1E, 1F9-see esp.id.,"'he ,eali$ation of the >nthin)a!le,# in i!id., and M. @ros$at,"Hitler and the Benesis of the I1inal +olution,/# in H. Qoch, ed., Aspects of the Third 0eich DHoundmillsH Macmillan, 1;<9E. FJ. ..Berlach, "Berman Economic (nterests,:ccupation 2olicy,and the Murder of the *e s of @elorussia, 1;81%3,# in Her!ert, ed., %ational !ocialist Extermination 6olicies, &1&%1F. F1. .. 4iec)mann, "'he 0ar and 'he Qilling of the 5ithuanian *e s,# in Her!ert, ed., %ational !ocialist Extermination 6olicies.

F&. B. Aly, <,inal !olution> D5ondonH Arnold, 1;;;E, 1??. Aly/s earlier or) ith +usanne Heim on Na$i population policy has provo)ed much controversyH see, for example, .. @ro n7ing,"Berman 'echnocrats,*e ish 5a!our,and the 1inal +olution,# in id., 6ath to +enocide. @ro ning/s criticisms do not, ho ever, seem to apply to this !oo). F3. 'he attitude of Na$i officials to ards hat they defined as administrative pro!lems as al ays permeated !y racism. >lrich Her!ert argues that the occupation authorities in 2oland consciously adopted un or)a!le *e ish policies such as ghettoi$ation in order "to pressuri$e the authorities in @erlin to find a final,radical solution,#"5a!our and ExterminationH Economic (nterest and the 2rimacy of $eltanschauung in National +ocialism,# 6ast F 6resent 13< D1;;3E, 1?J. F8. Aly, "1inal +olution#, chs. F%11 D6uotation from 1F?E, and "I*e ish ,esettlement/H ,eflections on the 2olitical 2rehistory of the Holocaust,# in Her!ert, ed., %ational !ocialist Extermination 6olicies. 'here is considera!le controversy among historians over !oth the precise timing of the decision to murder the *e s and hether it as ta)en, as Aly argues, as a result of frustrated expectations of victory, or in the euphoria occasioned !y early Berman military successes against the ,ed Army. 1or an influential statement of the latter vie , see ..,. @ro ning, ,ateful Months DNe Oor)H Holmes T Meier, 1;<9E and "Hitler and the Euphoria of Aictory,# in 4. .esarini, ed., The ,inal !olution? =rigins and 5mplementation D5ondonH ,Q2, 1;;8E. F9. +ee ,o!ert *an van 2elt/s and 4e!Urah 4 or)/s compelling study, Auschwit) 8GH: to the 6resent DNe HavenH Oale >niversity 2ress, 1;;?E. F?. Aly, <,inal !olution"> &9;. FF. HitlerBs Table Tal& 89C8D89CC D5ondonH 0eidenfeld T Nicolson, 1;93E, 33&. F<. +ee, for example, H.1riedlander, "Euthanasia and the 1inal +olution,#in .esarani,ed., ,inal !olution, id., The =rigins of %a)i +enocide D.hapel HillH >niversity of North .arolina 2ress, 1;;9E, and Qersha , Hitler, ((. &9&%?1. Aly stresses the role of "pragmatic goals#% clearing hospital space, saving money, etc., in '78, !ut he ac)no ledges that "[i]deology did, ho ever, remain important in so far as it sufficiently undermined the moral and legal !arriers in the minds of the perpetrators,# <,inal !olution"> &;. F;. M. Gimmermann,"'he National +ocialist I+olution of 'he Bypsy Ruestion,/# in Her!ert, ed., %ational !ocialist Extermination 6olicies. 'he centrality of racism to the National +ocialist regime is systematically developed in M. @urleigh and 0. 0ipperman, The 0acial !tate D.am!ridgeH .am!ridge >niversity 2ress, 1;;1E.'he modernity of National +ocialism is one of the main themes of 2eu)ert/s 5nside %a)i +ermany. <J. ,. Hil!erg, The Destruction of the European Jews Drev. edn., 3 vols., Ne Oor)H Holmes T Meier, 1;<9E, ((. F3;. <1. (!id., (((. 1JJ?. As an example of the role played !y economic factors in specific cases .hristian Berlach arguesH"'he various li6uidation programmes in @elorussia,particularly those against non7*e ish population groups, ere in large part responses to pressures related to food economics,#"Berman Economic (nterests,# &&F. <&. (t is a ea)ness of 4onny Bluc)stein/s generally excellent account of National +ocialism that he tends to relax the tension !et een ideology and economics in the HolocaustH see The %a)is" *apitalism and the $or&ing *lass, 1<3%;J. Nevertheless, even during the last phases of the ar, Hitler/s opportunism could

still override ideological considerationsH in April 1;88, long after the ,eich had !een made 3udenfrei, he authori$ed the deployment of over 1JJ,JJJ Hungarian *e s to or) in the Berman arms industryHHer!ert,"5a!our and Extermination,# 1<;%;&. <3. 4.2orat,"'he Holocaust in 5ithuania,#in .esarini,ed., ,inal !olution. <8. Hil!erg, Destruction, (((. 1J1J. +ee also on perpetrators/ motivations, i!id., (((. 1JJF%&;, and .hristopher @ro ning/s outstanding study, =rdinary Men DNe Oor)H Harper2erennial, 1;;3E. <9. >.Her!ert,"Extermination 2olicy,#in id.,ed., %ational !ocialist Extermination 6olicies, 33. <?. (d.,"5a!our and Extermination,# 1;9. <F. 1or a recent example of this error see N. 1erguson, The *ash %exus D5ondonH Allen 5ane, &JJ1E, (ntroduction. <<. Marx, *apital, ( DHarmonds orthH 2enguin, 1;F?E, 1F? n. 39. +ee 5. Althusser and E. @ali!ar, 0eading *apital D5ondonH N5@, 1;FJE, &1F%1<. <;. M. @ros$at, The Hitler !tate D5ondonH 5ongman, 1;<1E, 399, 39F. ;J. (. Qersha , "I0or)ing 'o ards the 1Nhrer,/# in Qersha and 5e in, eds., !talinism and %a)ism, 1J9. ;1. (!id., 1J8. ;&. +ee, for further discussion of these issues ith respect to the second volume of Qersha /s Hitler !iography,A..allinicos,"*ust a .ase of @ad (ntentionsK# !ocialist 0eview DNovem!er &JJJE. ;3. LiMe), Tic&lish !ub3ect, &&<. ;8. (d.,".lass +truggle or 2ostmodernismK Oes,2leaseC#in *.@utler et al., *ontingency" Hegemony" 7niversality D5ondonH Aerso, &JJJE, 13J n. 1F. ;9. 'his indirect connection as ell expressed !y *oel Beier, spea)ing at Marxism 1;;3H "Berman capitalism didn/t need the Holocaust. @ut it needed the Na$is, and they needed the Holocaust.# ;?. Beras,"Marxists !efore the Holocaust,# 1?? n. 83. ;F. Mandel,"Material,+ocial and (deological 2reconditions,# &&;. ;<. M. 4avis, 2ate /ictorian Holocausts D5ondonH Aerso, &JJ1E. ;;. (ndeed, 4avid Boodhart, .ur$on/s latest !iographer and an admirer of the @ritish ,a=, praises "[t]he energy and thoroughness ith hich .ur$on handled the famine crisis,# .ur$on D5ondonH Macmillan, 1;;8E, 1F3. 1JJ. Ruoted in *eremy 0aldron, "' o Essays on @asic E6uality# D1;;;E, <, availa!le at .la .nyu.edu. ( am grateful to .hris @etram for this reference. 1J1. 4avis, 2ate /ictorian Holocausts, &;1. 1J&. +ee,for example,,.@ennett,"5ivingstone 4efiant over Hitler .laims,# ,inancial Times, 1& April &JJJ. 1J3. Novic), Holocaust and *ollective Memory, &99. 1J8. 'he mass murders perpetrated !y the +talinist regime in the >++, during the 1;3Js represent an intermediate case, since they com!ined the deli!erate elimination of perhaps t o million real or imagined political enemies ith millions more deaths caused mainly !y the pursuit of policies that did not aim at this outcome though it as their predicta!le conse6uence.+ee E.'raverso,"'he >ni6ueness of Ausch it$,#in id., 7nderstanding the %a)i +enocide, and, for a

recent study of the +talinist 'error that dra s on ne evidence, *.A. Betty and :.A. Naumov, The 0oad to Terror DNe HavenH Oale >niversity 2ress, 1;;;E.