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The Holocaust and the Neo-Nazi Mythomania
© 1978, The
Beate Klarsfeld Foundation
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Page 69 |
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The ordinance of October 9, 1942, vividly revealed
the frame of mind in which a German citizen, were he to think about what the
Hitlerian regime was doing with the Jews, could see the "final solution." The
German citizen had to reflect not on the deportation to a Jewish reserve, be it
in Africa, Madagascar or Siberia, but rather on the meaning of the immediate or
imminent deportation very far east, in the German vital space, from which at
the same time all the Jews were to disappear. The direction of the Party had
not the intention of making the German citizen believe that it was simply a
transfer of a labour force. The ordinance of October 9, 1942, stated precisely
that it was necessary to specify that only a part of the deported Jews remained
for the work, that is in the first stages of its deportation; whereas another
part was transported "farther east." Nothing was said of the objective for this
other part, were it not the general objective of the disappearance of the Jews.
The question may be raised as to whether the officials of the Sipo-SD
in the Reich and in its branches abroad could reasonably claim to have had less
information on the "final solution" than that contained in the ordinance
conceived with the worried German citizens in mind. The same question must be
asked to the German diplomats who worked closely with the Sipo-SD. The only
reasonable supposition is that, given their functions, the extent of their
knowledge of this matter largely exceeded the minimum of information contained
in the ordinance of October 9, 1942.
It is to be noted that the
ordinance of October 9, 1942, of the Chancellery of the Party contented itself
with defining what was to be revealed to those troubled by news of the killing
of Jews in the occupied Soviet regions. But the Hitlerian propaganda also
manifested its intention of going ahead of the curiosity of the citizens. This
intention is found in the directives given by O. Dietrich, Pressechef [sic] of
the Reich and of the Party. He worked directly with Hitler, all while belonging
to the Ministry of Propaganda of Goebbels as a Secretary of State.
In
the beginning of 1943, O. Dietrich gave instructions to the daily press and to
the periodicals for the intensification of their anti-Jewish propaganda. A
directive of February 5, 1943, stated (136):
"The anti-Jewish propaganda is on the same
level as the anti-Bolshevik propaganda. The treatment of this theme is part of
the campaign lately designated as necessary to provoke feelings of hatred...
The accent must be put on the work for which the "German Weekly Service" gives
ample suggestions and proposals of themes, that in contrast with what goes on
among other peoples, there are in Judaism not just some isolated crimes;
Judaism entirely stems from a criminal root and it is criminal in its
predisposition (Anlage)... The extermination (Vernichtung) of Judaism is not a
loss for humanity, it is useful for the peoples of the earth in the same way as
the death penalty or the detention for security (Sicherheitsverwahrung) is for
the criminal delinquant [sic] (kriminelle Verbrecher)." This
directive indicated that it was necessary to make public opinion understand
that Judaism was delivered over to the death penalty or to internment, the
death penalty occupying the first place in this perspective
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The Holocaust and the Neo-Nazi Mythomania
© 1978, The
Beate Klarsfeld Foundation |
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Page 69 |
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