Consider and evaluate, based on the two lectures I provided this week, the accuracy of the following statement: 
"The history of Nazi actions against the Jews proceeded systematically: Hitler came to power and, as soon as the chance arose, he and his minions began instituting a well determined, preconceived plan that had been drawn up over the past ten years. Between 1923 and 1933, Nazi 'Jewish experts' had ample opportunity to study the true situation of the Jews in Germany and, therefore, were well prepared to proceed based on facts and information derived from an empirical examination of the so-called 'Jewish problem.'"


The quote provided is only partially true. It's no secret that Hitler and the Nazis hated the Jews, and they did seem to proceed "systematically" as soon as "Hitler came to power" to take care of their perceived "Jewish problem." However, the Lecture Notes show how it's not 100% accurate that the Nazis really understood the "situation of the Jews in Germany," or that they were "well prepared to proceed" with their diabolical plans.

The "intentionalist" historians like Lucy Davidowicz have Hitler's own words in "Mein Kampf" to prove that for a long time he had imagined "Hebrew corrupters" being "held under poison gas" (Hoerle, lec. 7). However, most other historians, like Karl Schleunes, show how Nazi plans were actually more "topsy-turvy" and a "disorganized series of actions," or as he called it, a "twisted path" (Hoerle lec. 7). One example was the boycott of Jewish businesses in 1933, which did not work out like the Nazi's intended. The boycott was damaging to Germany's already shaky finances, and the German public found open brutality against the Jews distasteful. At that point, Hitler did not want any opposition from the public, so he stopped the boycott after only a day. Any likely criticism of Nazi activities died with Hindenberg in 1934, and "harrassment of the Jews on the streets" increased (Hoerle, lec. 7). However, even the passage of the "Nuremberg Laws" in 1935, shows a lack of thorough understanding by the so-called "Jewish experts", since just defining what it meant to be considered "Jewish" became so convoluted. It was after 1935 that the Nazis went full throttle against the "Jewish problem," but their "Jewish experts" still didn't really understand the complexities of the German economy. The involvement of Jewish businesses with foreign investors and/or "Aryan" partners made it more difficult for the Nazis to take wealth away from the Jews, and their ignorance delayed their plans for several years. In particular, the "Nazis were surprised to learn that some of Germany's greatest armaments manufacturers were largely owned by 'Jews'" (Hoerle, lec. 8). That certainly weakens the credibility of their alleged "Jewish experts."

The next phase was to get rid of the Jews by forcing them to leave Germany. However, " The problem was—and the Nazis had never thought of this—that no country would take them unless the emigrants could prove that they had resources (i.e., money) equal to their needs" (Hoerle, lec. 8). Since the whole point was to take wealth away from the Jews and keep it inside Germany, their forced "emigration policy ran into obstacle after obstacle" (Hoerle, lec. 8). Again, the Nazi "experts" seemed neither "well prepared" nor especially well-informed about how to accomplish this goal.

Based on this significant error, I wonder if Auschwitz would have even occurred, if other countries had been willing to take in the penniless Jewish refugees? Did those countries ever express any regrets for refusing to grant them asylum? The Nazis seemed intent on getting rid of the Jews, but their objective -- at this point in time -- seemed more focused on expelling them rather than exterminating them.

The Nazis were finally able to get some Jews settled into places like Palestine and Argentina, thanks to the efforts of Adolf Eichmann, but many Jews still remained inside German borders. It was Eichmann who later orchestrated the "final solution" to the "Jewish question" of how to rid Germany of the Jews (Hoerle, lec. 8). The beginning of the end took place on "Kristallnacht" (night of broken glass) in November of 1938, when "the most acute violence against Jews in Germany since the Middle Ages exploded" (Hoerle, lec 8). Auschwitz now loomed around the corner.

After all we've learned, there's little doubt that Hitler and the Nazis couldn't wait to get the Jews out of Germany, and didn't have any qualms at all about using ruthless violence. It's just that their plans and methods were not as well thought out or prepared from the beginning of their fiendish campaign, as this quote claims.

Hoerle, Professor W. Scott. Lecture Notes: 7 "The Twisted Road to Auschwitz" Part I; and 8 "The Twisted Road to Auschwitz" Part II – UML - Nazi Germany. Section 031-SU12R