Ideology of Death: Why the Holocaust Happened in Germany [Paperback]

John Weiss (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 1997

Despite all the thousands of studies of the Holocaust and the rise of Nazi Germany, we still have no satisfactory explanation of why this tragedy occurred in one of the most "civilized" of Western nations. John Weiss's Ideology of Death is the first book to explore the unique nature of German history, showing how it rejected the liberal ideals of the Enlightenment, and to trace the culture of racism and anti-Semitism among powerful elites and ordinary Germans over a long period of German history. In a stunningly lucid narrative, Weiss describes exactly how and why Christian anti-Semitism, in its unique form among German Protestants and Austrian Catholics, reinforced modern secular racism to create an explosive mix. Using the latest research, he details how the Nazis, building on traditional German anti-Semitism, were able to adjust it so as to appeal to a wide variety of social groups–crucial to their electoral success. And he explains the specific complicities of various German groups and institutions in the Holocaust, and why they voluntarily cooperated with the Nazis. In its clarity and compelling argument, Ideology of Death is certain to be one of the most important books for many years to come on the reasons behind the Holocaust.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

How could one of the most "civilized" of Western nations kill millions of innocent people? Weiss (The Facist Tradition, 1967) rejects the claim of "No Hitler, no Holocaust." Instead, he argues that anti-Semitism was a strong trait in every class in Germany; the anti-Semitism of "tens of thousands" of upper-class Germans was not "all that different from that of the Nazis themselves." Weiss traces anti-Semitism in western Europe and shows why it was so strong in Germany. He demolishes the old argument that most Germans knew nothing about the mass murders and were shocked when they learned the truth. He suggests that if the masses truly did not know and were as horrified as they claimed, "an outburst of patriotic indignation and revulsion and unstoppable desire to punish the guilty would have been inevitable. The opposite occurred." Weiss's clear and lucid style makes his book an excellent choice for classes or discussion groups on the Holocaust. This book should be in all academic and public libraries with strong Holocaust collections.?Dennis L. Noble, Sequim, Wash.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

The Holocaust happened in Germany, historian Weiss argues, because "the special nature of German and Austrian history" gave an utterly racist form of anti-Semitism "immense power." Weiss examines anti-Semitism's "Christian legacy" in Europe; the role of Martin Luther; the weakness of countervailing Enlightenment ideas in Germany and Austria-Hungary; and the central fact that, throughout the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, "racism was increasingly used by upper-class reactionaries, middle-class nationalists, and lower-class populists as a weapon against the growing influence of democratic liberalism, economic modernization, and calls for social reform." Weiss reviews the rise of the Nazi movement and its fuhrer, Hitler's relationships with German elites, German (and Austrian) involvement with the death camps, and the postwar efforts of many German leaders (often with Allied support) to hide their prewar racial attitudes. An effective overview of an essential subject. Mary Carroll --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 442 pages
• Publisher: Ivan R Dee; 1 edition (September 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1566631742
• ISBN-13: 978-1566631747
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.8 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #361,805 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #82 in Books > History > Europe > Austria

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Most Comprehensive and Fascinating, December 14, 1999

By 

S. Silverstein (Brooklyn, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ideology of Death (Hardcover)

There are thousands of books on this subject, many filled with fact, conjecture and feeling. This work has all of that and more: it convinces you that the Holocast was not the result of one man's demented ideology but that is was rather the result of a long history of racism and hate in Germany. While being scholarly, the book is not heavy-handed or dull. It lays out the scenario for murder with chilling detail, starting off with the Crusades and then running through the Reformation and Enlightenment before tackling Nazism, the end product of such ongoing thought. This book should be read by any and all desiring a full understanding of how the Holocaust came into being.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Well written, important history, June 3, 2000

By 

Alexander Tsesis (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Ideology of Death (Hardcover)

An exceptional book full of important historical detail. Weiss makes clear that Hitler's anti- semitism was not unique. That, in fact, German and Austrian society was permiatted for decades by hatred for Jews, Slavs, and Gypsys. He traces the roots of anti-Semitism. The writing is excellent and the presentation is logical and easy to follow. The only falt I found with this book is that Weiss mainly used secondary insead of primary sources.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Important work, January 21, 2006

By 

T. Kunikov (United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Ideology of Death: Why the Holocaust Happened in Germany (Paperback)

This was one of the first books I read on the historical anti-semitism in Germany. It is a great source beginning with the first Jews on German territories and their slow spiral toward the 'Final Solution" being initiated by the Germans in WWII. Although in fact many German Jews were converted or left and the majority of those Germans killed weren't Jews it is an important study to see how German anti-semitism was fostered throughout the centuries. Starting from the 'Hep! Hep!' riots in early 19th century the Jews of Germany were no longer reasonably safe within German territory and as a result some of the first immigrations to the US were German Jews. I found particularly interesting that rabid anti-semites would be seen walking the streets in Germany and mumbling to themselves "Jesus couldn't have been Jewish!" Even more interesting was that when Martin Luther saw he couldn't convert the Jews to his ideas he turned against them and in the end the Church itself labeled him a Jew for his ideas. An important work that will explain anti-semitism in Germany and how racist ideas came about and turned such a cultured and productive society into a genocidal machine during WWII.