Now however a 34-year old Berlin historian [translator's note: Geschichtswissenschaft is science of history] has precisely answered the old question. And to say it right up front: the proof is ingenious. He didn't publish it in one of the eternally boring academic tomes and in so doing made the right choice. The work appeared in Volume 18 (6th year, November 1997) of the unorthodox, independent magazine "Werkstatt Geschichte." Written with practically mathematical precision, the essay covers 37 pages, including 223 source notes. The title is: "The Wannsee Conference, the fate of German Jews and Hitler's fundamental political decision to murder all European Jews." The

On the other side of the world, Japan had not, as the German treaty partner had suggested and hoped, made war on the eastern Soviet Union, but had attacked the USA. Germany had to react with a declaration of war on the USA on December 11. For Hitler, the world war had now begun. It was all or nothing. At this time, Hitler assumed the supreme military command ("the little bit of leading the operations"), ordered draconian harshness in the occupied European countries ("death penalty fundamentally appropriate"), and to the soldiers of the east front he only had to offer the call for "fanatical resistance."

Apart from the question of whether an order preceded the Holocaust, confusion reigned as well about the date of the decision. Some historians opined with good reasons for March 1941, others increasingly for September/October of the same year. The predominant opinion was nonetheless that "at the high point of the expectation of victory" in the eastern war on July 31, 1941 "all had become clear." Regardless however whether they saw Hitler as the originator or the moderator, almost all researchers held that the "Final Solution" had developed out of anti-Jewish measures. They emphasized the primacy of the ideological, and thus foreclosed on the possibility of even considering the moderating effect of other political and military factors on the policy towards the Jews. That held good for the externally changing occupation and germanisation policy, for the war, economic and food situations. Abandoned as well was the inductive interaction of people and leadership that Victor Klemperer so painstakingly reported on.

Already Hans Mommsen, the foremost Holocaust researcher, grumbles: the young man is to be sure "exceptional," has however "gone astray," using "outdated methods," and above all, makes "too much noise." In fact Gerlach - in no way naive - falls between those two schools of thought that contemporary historians have occupied for decades, passed down and in every case retreated from even a centimeter only reluctantly.

On one hand, the so-called intentionalists impute an absolute desire of Adolf Hitler for genocide, evident already in the earliest program. Even the means of the extermination - poison gas - was determined by him in the "Kampfzeit" [the years of struggle preceding the assumption of power]. Others underscore the anticipated obedience, better put: the extensive freedoms of the "paladins." They operated freely in accordance with the highly flexible motto: "It is the Fuehrer's wish." If one ignores the now defunct variants ("if the Fuehrer had known!") or the similarly outmoded simplification ("puppets of the monopoly capitalists"), one is able to posit a thesis that is to be taken seriously of a vascillating, even weak dictator: he avoided conflicts, put off making decisions, thus his receptiveness of grand visions for the future, conquest and new orders.

The emphasis was on the word "definitive." Up to December 12, a million Jews had already been murdered: in the occupied territories of the Soviet Union first the able-bodied men, since the middle of August also women, children and the elderly. The ghettos were starved out. In the vicinity of Lodz, in Chelmno, mass murders by means of gas wagons had already begun on December 8. However, the murders here were subject to limits: the victims were first - exactly allocated - 100,000 Jews unfit for

Some common words found in the essay are:
Adolf Hitler, Lodz Ghetto, European Jewish, Hoppner June, Hitler Characteristically, July Planned, Final Solution, German Jews, Hans Mommsen, Independent Hitler's, jewish question, december 12, wannsee conference, german jews, december 8, christian gerlach, policy towards jews, murder jews, cultural circle, extermination camps, policy towards, noted jewish question,
Approximate Word count = 2285
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page double spaced)