When World War II finally ended, everyone in the world, especially the entire Jewish community, were in desperate need for some kind of justice. The crimes that were committed by the Germans were absolutely revolting, hideous, gruesome and horrendous! Many Nazi leaders were held responsible for their actions at the Nuremberg trails. This would bring about a question that is still very controversial today. This question basically asks if the Nazi leaders were the only people responsible for the pogrom against the Jewish community.
With this being said, I personally believe that the main question that both Browning and Goldhagen are trying to answer is basically wanting to know exactly who was responsible for the actions and events that took place against the Jewish people. More specifically, I have found that they are both trying to ask and answer the question if the Nazi leaders were the only people responsible for this organized massacre aimed at the Jews.
German soldier's "Auf Wiedersehen" (LOC)
Auschwitz concentration camp, arrival of Hungarian...
German Doctors at Ellis Island (LOC)After reading Christopher Browning's book, "Ordinary Men,"� and the excerpt of Daniel Goldhagens "Hitler's Willing Executioners,"� I established a good grasp to both of their responses to the question that was stated earlier. In "Ordinary Men,"� Browning says that "the average German was not responsible for the genocide."� In contrast, Goldhagen's Hitler's Willing Executioners says that "the average German willingly participated in the mass slaughter of Jews."� Browning continues to state that the average German did not willingly participate in the killing of Jews. He also believes that the "Germans were coerced into killing, followed orders blindly, succumbed to peer pressure, or simply were unaware of the ongoing genocide."� Browning also claims that the anti-Semitic half truth, started by the Nazi's in 1933, forcefully persuaded the Germans into killing the Jews. Goldhagen, on the other hand, believes that the German's harsh...