Adolf Hitler, the Jews, and Mimetic Theory
Although raised in a Catholic home, Adolf Hitler may be more of a charismatic opportunist than a religious zealot. However, his strong persona allowed him to employ a quasi-Christian view to set in motion the atrocities of the Holocaust. His tactic centered on turning the people against their Jewish brothers and sisters. The German Jews were contributing citizens in Germany, many of whom were educated and business owners. Hitler viewed the "chosen people" not worthy of that title nor German citizenship, thus, Hitler used centuries of Jewish/Catholic friction and perceived economic inequality to leverage the German population against the Jews, resulting in the murder of millions of Jews in Germany and …show more content…
In this period, Germans just suffered defeat in the Great War; consequently, the moral of the military was low. It was during this time of defeat that the Jews were emancipated. Omer Bartov of the American Historical Review reveals that the Jews fell under scrutiny due to underrepresentation in the military during the war (777). The German citizens began to question the Jewish motives in Germany, as can be seen by the Jewish successes in their well to do professions while the country suffered a major defeat. These are the tiny seeds that will ultimately sprout into a mighty oak as the Jews are the target of the Reich.
The Jewish comprised about a one percent constant of the German population during this time period (Committee 3). Despite such a small representation of the populace, the Jews maintained a disproportionate number of high paying jobs. Prior to emancipation the Jews wanted to contribute to their country; however, due to restrictions that denied them public service or political jobs, they gravitated towards business and finance focused professions. To illustrate, approximately 500,000 were Jewish residents, while native Germans comprised of approximately 63 million (Committee
Although raised in a Catholic home, Adolf Hitler may be more of a charismatic opportunist than a religious zealot. However, his strong persona allowed him to employ a quasi-Christian view to set in motion the atrocities of the Holocaust. His tactic centered on turning the people against their Jewish brothers and sisters. The German Jews were contributing citizens in Germany, many of whom were educated and business owners. Hitler viewed the "chosen people" not worthy of that title nor German citizenship, thus, Hitler used centuries of Jewish/Catholic friction and perceived economic inequality to leverage the German population against the Jews, resulting in the murder of millions of Jews in Germany and …show more content…
In this period, Germans just suffered defeat in the Great War; consequently, the moral of the military was low. It was during this time of defeat that the Jews were emancipated. Omer Bartov of the American Historical Review reveals that the Jews fell under scrutiny due to underrepresentation in the military during the war (777). The German citizens began to question the Jewish motives in Germany, as can be seen by the Jewish successes in their well to do professions while the country suffered a major defeat. These are the tiny seeds that will ultimately sprout into a mighty oak as the Jews are the target of the Reich.
The Jewish comprised about a one percent constant of the German population during this time period (Committee 3). Despite such a small representation of the populace, the Jews maintained a disproportionate number of high paying jobs. Prior to emancipation the Jews wanted to contribute to their country; however, due to restrictions that denied them public service or political jobs, they gravitated towards business and finance focused professions. To illustrate, approximately 500,000 were Jewish residents, while native Germans comprised of approximately 63 million (Committee