Wilson The Degradation of Ethics Through the Holocaust

1. Auflage 2023
ISBN: 978-3-031-30919-9
Verlag: Springer International Publishing
Format: PDF
Kopierschutz: 1 - PDF Watermark

E-Book, Englisch, 245 Seiten, eBook

Reihe: Progress in Mathematics

This book discusses ethical behavior through the genocidal stages of the Holocaust. Paul E. Wilson first looks at the antisemitism in Germany and Europe beginning in the decades preceding the Nazis reign of terror, and goes on to discuss the ethical decisions made in the initial stages that moved society toward genocide. The author maintains that the stages of genocide represent subtle changes that can be happening within a society in response to the moral choices made by actors.  By giving attention to the stages of genocide in the Holocaust, this book contributes to the overall understanding of how the Holocaust was possible, and encourages the moral community to join the watch for the development of genocide in the modern world.

Zielgruppe

Research

Autoren/Hrsg.

Wilson, Paul E.

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Part I The Genocidal Priming Phase of the Holocaust.- 1 Introduction.- Shades of Nietzsche and Heidegger in the Holocaust.- The Holocaust as One Way Hatred Grows.- Genocide is a Process.- 2 Antisemitism is a Vicious Racism.- Introduction.- Jews, Christians, and Antisemitism in Supersessionism.- Antisemitism is a Racism.- The Insidious Side of Institutionalized Racism.- Antisemitism as Hate.- Conclusion.- 3 Denial of Rights as a Prelude to Entitlement.- Introduction.- Personal Property Laws and Racism.- Genocide and Deprivation of Victim’s Rights.- How Individuals Come to Be Bearers of Rights: A General Account.- A Conceptual Framework for the Expansion and Contraction of Rights.- Contraction of Rights: The Slippery Slope of Jews’ Loss of Personal Property rights in German.- Ghettos and the Right to Personal Liberty.- Denial of Rights and Statelessness.- Conclusion.- 4 Propaganda for Genocide.- Introduction.- Who Were the Propagandists?.- Hitler as a Propagandist.- Gerhard Kittle.- Joseph Goebbels.- Walter Grundmann.- Julius Streicher.- Heinrich Himmler.- What Shadows of Propaganda were Cast?.- The German Propaganda Diet.- Effects Upon the Prisoners in the Cave of Ignorance.- Conclusions.- 5 Self-Entitlement for the Chosen Few.- Introduction.- A Protocol to Distinguish the Us and Them in the Holocaust.- When Rights become a Matter of Life and Death.- Anatomy of a Mass Murder.- Historical Convergences and Logical Intersections.- License to Kill.- Conclusion.- 6 The Case of the Aryan Jesus Dogma: Enlarging Entitlement through Propaganda.- Introduction.- The Religious Appeal of an Aryan Jesus.- The Theological Support of an Aryan Jesus.- An Aryan Jesus Creed Reconstructed.- The Efficacy and Logic of the Case for an Aryan Jesus.- Conclusion.- Part II The Peak Phase of Genocide in the Holocaust.- 7 The Holocaust and the Ideal of Purity.- Introduction.- The Definition of Genocide.- The Scale of Genocide.- The Failure of Purification as the Ideal of Genocide.- Crafting Moral and Practical Responses to Genocide.- Conclusion.- 8 Resistance and Neighborly Aid.- Introduction.- Becoming Targets of Genocidal Violence.- Resistance for Dignity’s Sake.- Heroic Resistance that Dignifies Human Rights.- Assessing the Utility of Resistance.- The Practicality and Justice of Resistance.- Conclusion.- 9 The Case of the Muselmänner: A Study in the Loss and Reclamation of Dignity.- Introduction.- How the Dignified Should be Treated.- Who the Muselmänner Were.- Denial of Needs and Deprivation of Dignity.- Measured Satisfaction of Needs for the Reclamation of Dignity.- Conclusion.- 10 Ethical Gray Zones in Genocidal Killing Camps.- Introduction.- The Emergence of Ethical Gray Zones.- Entrapment in an Ethical Gray Zone.- Ethics in the Gray Zones.- Return from the Gray Zones.- Transformations.- Conclusion.- 11 Bystanders to Genocide.- Introduction.- Bystanders and Complicity.- Martin Niemöller ’s Courage and Regrets.- A J. Topf & Sons: Manufacturing Hygiene.- Complicity of the Swastika Bedecked German Church.- Complicity of the Silent Neighboring Nations.- Conclusion.- 12 Cry Genocide!.- Introduction.- When and Why to Give the Cry: “Genocide!”.- The Choice to Give the Cry: “Genocide!”.- Some Risks in Raising the Cry of Genocide.- Conclusion.- 13 Postscript.

Über Autor(innen)

Paul E. Wilson is Professor of Philosophy and Religion at Shaw University, USA.