Student Question
Do you agree with Doris Bergen's claim that the Holocaust wouldn't have been possible without World War II? Why or why not?
Quick answer:
There are many examples in Doris Bergen's book that highlight the inextricable link between the Holocaust and World War II. One example is Lebensraum, or “living space.” In this example, the war is tied to racial purity, which connects to the Holocaust. Another example is that of "normalization." The brutality of war made the brutality of the Holocaust seem acceptable, tolerable, and normal.
As you're clearly already aware, Doris Bergen is a thoughtful and forceful Holocaust historian. Her histories about the Holocaust, World War II, and Nazi Germany are scholarly and powerful.
In War and Genocide, Bergen provides the reader with an array of examples that link the Holocaust to World War II.
One example that stands out is Nazi Germany's emphasis on Lebensraum. Bergen defines Lebensraum as "living space." Bergen tells how Hitler and the Nazis believed that they needed “space to expand." Since Hitler believed German Aryans were the pure and supreme race, he believed their right to space and land took priority over the rights of races that were deemed to be inferior.
To seize more lands for the superior German Aryans, Hitler, as Bergen argues, needed World War II. As Bergen writes, "Only war would redeem the Aryan race." That war would be fought in the "name...
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of racial purity and in the quest for living space."
As the Nazis invaded other countries, they faced a problem. They had to figure out what to do with the inferior races living on the land that was meant for the superior Germans. That problem was solved with summary executions, mass killings, and the Holocaust.
For another example of the inextricable link between the Holocaust and World War II, you might want to look into how Bergen links the brutality of war to the brutality of the Holocaust. In the preface, Bergen writes, "War provided killers with a cover or an excuse for murder." Bergen seems to be arguing that the violence and murder of war was required to make the violence and murder of genocide acceptable, tolerable, or normal.
Whether or not you agree with Bergen's thesis is up to you. If you wanted to contest Bergen's claim, you might be able to argue that Germany’s prevailing antisemitism could have made it possible for Hitler to carry out the Holocaust without a corresponding war.
Bergen notes that Nazis expanded upon "existing prejudices in ways that were extreme but not unique." Perhaps you could claim that such prejudices would have lead the German people to tolerate a brutal genocide outside of the context of a brutal war.