Was the outbreak of World War 2, the most important reason for the Holocaust?

There has been much debate amongst historians as to what caused the Holocaust. The main reason behind this is the lack of concrete, solid evidence. Due to the nature of how the regime operated, there is no official document that tells historians who authorised the mass killings of a single race, nor why. In addition to this, the regime was careful to use euphemisums such as 'Final Solution' in order to ensure total secrecy.

Many historians believe that the Second World War was the catalyst that resulted in the Holocaust. Its outbreak had meant that the Nazis had to change their plans from mass emigration of Jews. As the war progressed, Germany gained more Jews so a plan had to be made for their removal from their new lands. It can also be said that the outbreak of war almost ordinary people accustomed to killing.

It also justified murder as people believed that their enemies were being stopped in their tracks. From the invasion of Poland in 1939 to the invasion of the USSR in 1941, the Jews were being rounded up and killed. However, anti-Semitism was not just present due to the war, nor does the outbreak of war justify it. The anti-Semitic policies were present all through the Third Reich, such as the Nuremburg Laws in 1939, so not just due to war. Not only was anti-Semitism present in Germany but other European countries such as Romania and Croatia who also begun extermination policies during the bar.

The historian Goldhagen proposed that the reason behind the rise in anti-Semitism and eventually the Holocaust was not due to the outbreak of war. He said that 100,000 ordinary Germans took part in the Holocaust. This was due to a range of reasons such as the fact that they accepted it due to the propaganda and were unconcerned about minority groups.

The other side was that they were unaware of what was going on due to insufficient evidence and the Nazis ensuring the exterminiation camps were far in the East. Goldhagen's belief in the people as 'Hitler's Willing Executioner's is an example of an intentionalist historians belief. This referred to the idea that the Holocaust was Hitler's plan right from the start and so not due to the War.

However, Goldhagen's view is not so readily accepted as he does not take into account anti-Semitism in other countries. His views are also said to encourage racism and hatred towards the Germans.

Structuralists however believe that the Final Solution was not a long term plan. Schleunes said that the Final Solution as it emerged in 1941 was 1942 was not due to grand design. Rather, it was due to the chaos and confusion of the government.

In conclusion it is hard to say whether the Holocaust was caused by one specific factor such as war.

The Nazis leadership was haphazard and with no clear programme, nor was there a written order. it is also important to remember that anti-Semitism was not just in Germany, but into other European countries.

Many ordinary Germans also believed that killing Jews was to be justified due to old prejudices, albeit maybe not on the scale Goldhagen made out to be , but certainly there were those with those beliefs.

In conclusion, I think that the war helped to bring about the Holocaust, however I do not think hat it would have happened to the same extent.

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