| The fundamental characteristic of the Aryan, according to Hitler, was his ability to “abandon self-interest in the name of surrendering to the community.” By virtue of his capacity for sacrifice—willingness to die for a national community—the Aryan, Hitler believed, was the “culture builder” par excellence.
The Jew, on the other hand, Hitler believed, was the exact opposite of the Aryan: a people whose fundamental characteristic was their unwillingness (or inability) to sacrifice for a national community. The Jewish philosophy of “materialism and individualism,” Goebbels said, stood in stark contrast to the idealistic philosophy of National Socialism.
The Jew’s “absolute absence of all sense of sacrifice,” Hitler believed, expressed itself as “cowardice.” As we have observed, Hitler believed that Jews had “shirked” their duty to participate in the First World War. While German soldiers were dying at the front, Jews—manifesting their “naked instinct of self-preservation”—stayed at home.
In Hitler’s view, Jews were incorrigible. Their unwillingness to sacrifice was racially given. They could not help themselves. Jews were unable to devote themselves to a national community.
Hitler believed that willingness to sacrifice for a national community represented the bedrock of civilization. Without sacrifice, there would be no civilization—no society. The Final Solution was undertaken to show that no one is exempt. Whereas German soldiers willingly sacrificed their lives, Jews did not have this capacity—and therefore would be compelled to sacrifice their lives. |