Conference at Boston College, April 25-26, 2019
"Hitler's Mein Kampf: Prelude to the Holocaust"
(Please forward to a Colleague or Student).

Prominent scholars from around the world  gather on April 25 to deliberate the question of how Hitler's MEIN KAMPF set the stage for the Holocaust. What is the relationship between language and the construction of social reality? How did words in a book transmogrify into genocide and the Second World War? 

You still have the opportunity to partcipate in this exciting, groundbreaking conference that deepens our insight into the meaning of Hitler, anti-Semitism, the Holocaust and World War II. Through the generosity of Boston College, fees have been waived.

To hold a place, simply send an email to Prof. John J. Michalczyk at michalcj@bc.edu with the message, "I would like to register to attend the Conference." Space is limited. Please respond immediately

The Jewish "Crime:" Unwillingness to Die for a Nation-State

Contrary to conventional conceptions, Hitler’s desire to destroy Jews had nothing to do with eugenics, Social Darwinism, or the physical characteristics of Jewish people. Nor does use of the term “racism” help us to understand.

Hitler’s hatred toward Jews stemmed from his idea of who they were—their mindset. In Mein Kampf, Hitler lays out his thinking. We simply need to play close attention to his words.

Hitler’s hostility stemmed from his belief that within the Jewish people there was an “absence of all sense of sacrifice”—an inability or unwillingness to sacrifice for any nation-state. Hitler viewed this unwillingness as a manifestation of “cowardice.”

A coward, from Hitler’s point of view, was very simply a human being who lacked the desire to sacrifice for the sake of a national community.

This meant that a Jew was precisely the opposite of an Aryan, whose paramount characteristic, according to Hitler, was his ability to “abandon self-interest in the name of surrendering to the community.”

In a nutshell:

·         Aryan = A human being willing to die for a nation-state.

·         Jew = a human being unwilling to die for a nation-state.

In the First World War, Hitler believed, Jews had shirked their duty to enter battle. While German soldiers were dying at the front, Jews stayed away, manifesting their “naked instinct of self-preservation.” This was Hitler’s primary complaint: Jews sought self-preservation and neglected to be concerned with preserving a community.

The “racial” component was this: Hitler believed that the Jew’s inability to sacrifice for a national community was biologically given. This characteristic could not be altered. Jews were not subject to persuasion, or change. By their very nature, they were incapable of sacrificing their lives for a national community.

Since Jews were unable or unwilling to die for a national community of their own accord, Hitler felt they had to be compelled to die.

These ideas, laid out clearly in Mein Kampf, lead to the fundamental question: Why did Hitler feel it was so important that human beings be willing to die for a nation-state?