Colonialism and the Holocaust - Towards an Archeology of Genocide
Author(s)
Zimmerer, Jurgen
Abstract
The paper draws structural similarities between the concepts of ‘race’ and ‘space’ in colonialism and National Socialism, and argues that the Nazi policy of expansion and annihilation was firmly rooted in the tradition of European colonialism. The Third Reich’s policies, however, were not a mere copy but a radical variant, with more organization and centralization. The author concludes that the idea of eradicating Jews would not have been possible or accepted if not for the president of popular support for colonialism and the notion that some ethnic groups can simply be wiped out.
