Ways To Understand A Catastrophe

1. Ways To Understand A Catastrophe Historiographical Frameworks For WWII

2. Intentionalism v. Functionalism Intentionalism Functionalism Marx: events are the product of larger forces, not individual men If you take Hitler out of the story, forces still exist Hitler was product of unique German anti-Semitism not its creator. But . . . • Great man theory • “No Hitler, no Holocaust” • Can we ascribe intent to Hitler for events? • Did he intend WWII? • Did he intend the Holocaust?

3. Geopolitical v. Ideological Geopolitical Ideological To understand a country, you must understand its ideas. You have to take what Hitler says seriously. Hitler insisted on Nazi expansion, not just German expansion • To understand a country, you must understand its surroundings. • Realpolitik: countries have interests that are bigger than ideology • Any German statesman would have identified same interests as Hitler

4. External v. Internal External Factors Internal Factors Internal forces drive foreign policy Elites want to maintain power and use trappings of nationalism to distract Example? Hitler uses national symbols for people and war pressure to control his cabinet • Primacy of outer foreign policy. • States respond to outside forces. • Internal power structures formed in reaction to external forces • (Compare England with France)

5. Sonderweg v. Continuity Sonderweg (“Special Path”) Continuity Look at continuous progression Germany isn’t that unusual It responds to many of the same situations as other states Examples? • Germany took a unique, exceptional course • Modern, educated, industrialized country with antiquated power structure • The resulting tensions made something like the Nazis inevitable