Tuesday, March 21, 2017

Why Did The Einsatzgruppen Reports Give False Reasons for Shooting Jews?

The reasons given in the Einsatzgruppen Reports [hereafter EMs] are sometimes used by Mattogno et al to deny that Jews were shot "because they were Jews." For example, on page 226 of this screed, Mattogno responds to the extermination remarks of Thomas in EM 133 [here] by stating that "The extermination was therefore motivated by the fact that the Jews were considered a "breeding ground [Nährboden]" and "germ bearers [Bakterienträger]” of Bolshevism." Mattogno simply takes Nazi excuses and pretexts at face value. Below I show a rational method for analyzing such pretexts.

Firstly, it should be noted that the Thomas pretext was not used in all cases, therefore it was adapted to justify one particular set of killings, in this case those of Einsatzgruppe C. In the very same report, Einsatzgruppe B in Smolensk notes that because of "numerous complaints about their provocative behavior in Gorki (northeast of Mogilev) as well as in the surrounding area, a total of 2,200 Jews of all ages were liquidated ["2200 Juden aller Altersklassen liquidiert;" see scan below]." These were not rational or proportional reasons for shooting Jews, and the inclusion of children "of all ages" shows that Jews were infact shot "because they were Jews."

I would propose four reasons why the Nazis used pretexts:

1) The need to conceal the origins of killing orders. Stahlecker' 6.8.41 draft said the orders "cannot be discussed in writing."

2) The report writers wanted to blame the Jews for their own murders

3) The reports were being circulated beyond the SS so reasons had to be given; authors could not just rely on internal understanding within the SS

4) Sheer perverse pleasure in making up crap about Jewish misbehaviour

Readers may wish to add their own points.

Figure 1: EM 133, copy at T/331, p.4

 

3 comments:

  1. > "The extermination was therefore motivated by the fact that the Jews were considered a "breeding ground [Nährboden]" and "germ bearers [Bakterienträger]” of Bolshevism."

    Which still means that Jews were exterminated *as Jews*, with some imaginary reason ascribed to all Jews (incl. children).

    Boy, is Mattogno dumb.

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  2. Mattogno's intention is to justify the shootings using underhand arguments. He is using a "dog whistle" (to borrow a phrase) that the Jews really were agitators, saboteurs, conspirators, etc, and that this characteristic was congenital to all Jews and could thus understandably justify killing women and kids. But Mattogno then covers his arse and disguises this intention behind a denial that women and children were actually shot systematically, which means having to deny Jaeger, Magill, Stahlecker, EM 133, EM 151 (Rumbula), all the Babi Yar evidence, war diaries, Bila Tserkva and countless other sources.

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  3. Some Jews did resist the Nazi invasion. Who can blame them? Killing children is obviously another matter on any analysis except biological extermination. Mattogno seems to skate over non-German auxiliaries or anti-Semites when looking at the death-toll capabilities.

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