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The Architect of Genocide: Himmler and the Final Solution
Among the Nazi leaders, Heinrich Himmler was, as Richard Breitman observes in this ground- breaking study, an easy man to underestimate—short, pudgy, near-sighted, chinless. Yet Himmler holds a peculiarly memorable place in the roster of Nazi war criminals: he was the man most closely associated with the creation and operation of the Final Solution, the programme of formal mass murder responsible for the deaths of six million Jews in death camps. Thus, to understand the Holocaust it is first necessary to understand Himmler, and it is this The Architect of Genocide at last permits us to do. Drawing on thousands of published and unpublished sources—ranging from the Nuremburg War Crimes trial records to papers held in the Central State Archives of the October Revolution of the Ukrainian SSR in Kiev—Breitman shows us the man himself, growing from unlikeable boyhood to be the perfect bureaucrat, seemingly the antithesis of the mad policies he espoused. At the same time, with unchallengeable authority, he presents us with the hitherto mysterious and much—debated facts about the origins of those policies, establishing among other things that before the war, Himmler had plans to murder all German Jews who would not- or could not—leave the country and that as early as 1939, Himmler was considering the use of gas chambers and crematoriums.
348 pages, Paperback
First published April 3, 1991
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
March 11, 2024
A HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL STUDY OF THE SS LEADER AND HOLOCAUST DESIGNER
Historian Richard Breitman wrote in the Introduction to this 1991 book, “The mass murder of some six million Jews, usually called the Holocaust, has placed an indelible stamp upon the twentieth century and upon our consciousness. Adolf Hitler’s Third Reich exploited all the ingenious advantages of modern technology to transport Jews from most parts of Europe to various killing sites, including specially constructed extermination camps, where they were executed in gas chambers as quickly, smoothly, and quietly as possible. This combination of sophisticated technology and barbaric mass murder raises serious questions whether there has really been progress in history, and it is a stark commentary on the human capacity for evil. The fact that some of the murderers were well-educated citizens in a highly industrialized society only adds to the incomprehensibility of the events. The Holocaust is of the utmost importance for historians, philosophers, psychologists, for the modern world.” (Pg. 3)
He states, “Himmler’s general rule was not to refer explicitly in writing to mass killings of Jews, and he employed circumlocutions even when it was not strictly necessary for security… Himmler knew that no one was supposed to be manufacturing fats of artificial fertilizers from corpses … Himmler admitted that there were a large number of bodies to dispose of, but not that there was an extermination program…. Even while in the process of murdering millions of human beings, Himmler maintained his own sense of what was proper behavior---in the camps and in written communications. His efforts to use disguise continued almost right down to the end.” (Pg. 6-7)
He notes, “His religious faith was extremely important to him---he once wrote that he would always love God, remain a Catholic, and defend the Church even if he were excluded from it. Yet his complaints and doubts always returned to plague him, sometimes even while he was in church… he may also have felt a more general contradiction between his unrestrained glorification of military action and the Christian precept of turning the other cheek.” (Pg. 14)
He observes, “As far as is known, Himmler nor Heydrich wrote or talked much in 1939 about plans for the Jews. Himmler did tell his lunch companions in January 1939 that he would use the next ten years to thrash people, since good nature alone could not accomplish anything. A revealing statement about his disposition and philosophy, the remark was too general, however, to be taken as more than a hint of plans for the Jews. Other SS and police officials could at times be more specific---and indiscreet.” (Pg. 64)
He points out, “Himmler had no reservations about eliminating genetically ‘defective’ Germans, but he did later show concern about the political risks of associating the SS with killings that the German public would overwhelmingly condemn if it learned of them. So there were practical reasons for Himmler to involve the SS in the euthanasia program, and political reasons to keep the SS at a distance. But Himmler was not in charge of euthanasia, and he had more racial enemies to dispose of than he could handle; he must have wanted to solve his own problems. Still, the euthanasia operations could and did serve as a testing ground for the methods of mass murder used later in the Final Solution.” (Pg. 91)
He states, “Later … some three thousand Alsatian Jews were expelled into the unoccupied zone of France…. In spite of this apparent parallelism, Himmler did not practice massive dumping of Jews in the West. To send Jews over the demarcation line in France was to cede control over them to Vichy. Even though the Vichy regime was itself mistreating and incarcerating Jews, both out of domestic anti-Semitism and in order to court Germany (rather than as the result of German pressure), there were no guarantees on how long this hostility would continue or how far it would go.” (Pg. 132)
He explains, “Events and circumstances from early 1941 suggest that Hitler had already made a fundamental decision to exterminate the Jews… Under the circumstances, whether the witnesses saw Hitler’s signature on a document is not really critical. A document stating that the Führer wished to make at least the Reich and Bohemia judenfrei [‘Jew-free’] would, in combination with his public and private statements, convey the same message: the fundamental decision was made, even if it was not yet irrevocable… Based on past experience, Hitler would have wanted to use the war against the Soviet Union as a cover for killings in the East. And he expected the war to put all the continent’s Jews within reach.” (Pg. 153-154)
He notes, “Höss’s testimony and the sequence of events both indicate that the fundamental decision to kill the Jews of Europe came before any determination of the exact method of killing. After all, Heydrich was not fastidious about how he got rid of Jews: what mattered was to get the job done quickly… to determine how best to dispose efficiently of the huge numbers of Jews to be brought there.” (Pg. 190)
He points out, “Before gas chambers were constructed, there was plenty … [that could be done] with more traditional methods of killing… prisoners had to dig ditches … After finishing the ditches… the victims were ordered to lie in the ditches… Then [were thrown] hand grenades into the ditches… The troops shot anyone still moving after the explosion. Then they spread lime over the remains… Apart from the sadistic killings by hand, it was about as far as one could go in streamlining the process of mass murder without more advanced technology.” (Pg. 200-201)
He summarizes, “Through the mountain of documents that Himmler, his SS subordinates, and other Nazi officials left behind, it was and is nonetheless possible to get an excellent sense of Himmler the politician and ideologue. Himmer was an idealist of sorts… he romanticized and idealized the German race, the German soldier, and the German farmer; he developed fixations about those who he believed threatened his cherished causes---above all, about the Jews… he undoubtedly shared Hitler’s view that elimination of allegedly defective Germans would strengthen the future German race… He became a strong racial anti-Semite well before he met Hitler; afterward he became a complete fanatic.” (Pg. 245)
This book will be of great interest to those studying Himmler, and other architects of the Holocaust.
Historian Richard Breitman wrote in the Introduction to this 1991 book, “The mass murder of some six million Jews, usually called the Holocaust, has placed an indelible stamp upon the twentieth century and upon our consciousness. Adolf Hitler’s Third Reich exploited all the ingenious advantages of modern technology to transport Jews from most parts of Europe to various killing sites, including specially constructed extermination camps, where they were executed in gas chambers as quickly, smoothly, and quietly as possible. This combination of sophisticated technology and barbaric mass murder raises serious questions whether there has really been progress in history, and it is a stark commentary on the human capacity for evil. The fact that some of the murderers were well-educated citizens in a highly industrialized society only adds to the incomprehensibility of the events. The Holocaust is of the utmost importance for historians, philosophers, psychologists, for the modern world.” (Pg. 3)
He states, “Himmler’s general rule was not to refer explicitly in writing to mass killings of Jews, and he employed circumlocutions even when it was not strictly necessary for security… Himmler knew that no one was supposed to be manufacturing fats of artificial fertilizers from corpses … Himmler admitted that there were a large number of bodies to dispose of, but not that there was an extermination program…. Even while in the process of murdering millions of human beings, Himmler maintained his own sense of what was proper behavior---in the camps and in written communications. His efforts to use disguise continued almost right down to the end.” (Pg. 6-7)
He notes, “His religious faith was extremely important to him---he once wrote that he would always love God, remain a Catholic, and defend the Church even if he were excluded from it. Yet his complaints and doubts always returned to plague him, sometimes even while he was in church… he may also have felt a more general contradiction between his unrestrained glorification of military action and the Christian precept of turning the other cheek.” (Pg. 14)
He observes, “As far as is known, Himmler nor Heydrich wrote or talked much in 1939 about plans for the Jews. Himmler did tell his lunch companions in January 1939 that he would use the next ten years to thrash people, since good nature alone could not accomplish anything. A revealing statement about his disposition and philosophy, the remark was too general, however, to be taken as more than a hint of plans for the Jews. Other SS and police officials could at times be more specific---and indiscreet.” (Pg. 64)
He points out, “Himmler had no reservations about eliminating genetically ‘defective’ Germans, but he did later show concern about the political risks of associating the SS with killings that the German public would overwhelmingly condemn if it learned of them. So there were practical reasons for Himmler to involve the SS in the euthanasia program, and political reasons to keep the SS at a distance. But Himmler was not in charge of euthanasia, and he had more racial enemies to dispose of than he could handle; he must have wanted to solve his own problems. Still, the euthanasia operations could and did serve as a testing ground for the methods of mass murder used later in the Final Solution.” (Pg. 91)
He states, “Later … some three thousand Alsatian Jews were expelled into the unoccupied zone of France…. In spite of this apparent parallelism, Himmler did not practice massive dumping of Jews in the West. To send Jews over the demarcation line in France was to cede control over them to Vichy. Even though the Vichy regime was itself mistreating and incarcerating Jews, both out of domestic anti-Semitism and in order to court Germany (rather than as the result of German pressure), there were no guarantees on how long this hostility would continue or how far it would go.” (Pg. 132)
He explains, “Events and circumstances from early 1941 suggest that Hitler had already made a fundamental decision to exterminate the Jews… Under the circumstances, whether the witnesses saw Hitler’s signature on a document is not really critical. A document stating that the Führer wished to make at least the Reich and Bohemia judenfrei [‘Jew-free’] would, in combination with his public and private statements, convey the same message: the fundamental decision was made, even if it was not yet irrevocable… Based on past experience, Hitler would have wanted to use the war against the Soviet Union as a cover for killings in the East. And he expected the war to put all the continent’s Jews within reach.” (Pg. 153-154)
He notes, “Höss’s testimony and the sequence of events both indicate that the fundamental decision to kill the Jews of Europe came before any determination of the exact method of killing. After all, Heydrich was not fastidious about how he got rid of Jews: what mattered was to get the job done quickly… to determine how best to dispose efficiently of the huge numbers of Jews to be brought there.” (Pg. 190)
He points out, “Before gas chambers were constructed, there was plenty … [that could be done] with more traditional methods of killing… prisoners had to dig ditches … After finishing the ditches… the victims were ordered to lie in the ditches… Then [were thrown] hand grenades into the ditches… The troops shot anyone still moving after the explosion. Then they spread lime over the remains… Apart from the sadistic killings by hand, it was about as far as one could go in streamlining the process of mass murder without more advanced technology.” (Pg. 200-201)
He summarizes, “Through the mountain of documents that Himmler, his SS subordinates, and other Nazi officials left behind, it was and is nonetheless possible to get an excellent sense of Himmler the politician and ideologue. Himmer was an idealist of sorts… he romanticized and idealized the German race, the German soldier, and the German farmer; he developed fixations about those who he believed threatened his cherished causes---above all, about the Jews… he undoubtedly shared Hitler’s view that elimination of allegedly defective Germans would strengthen the future German race… He became a strong racial anti-Semite well before he met Hitler; afterward he became a complete fanatic.” (Pg. 245)
This book will be of great interest to those studying Himmler, and other architects of the Holocaust.
August 18, 2017
This is a very readable biography of Himmler, written with great style and passion. While it left me feeling sick after reading through the hundreds of pages of description of mindless atrocity - so vile that the short paragraphs on war situation provided relief - I would think the book authentically reflects the character of its subject: A moralizing bureaucrat living inside a sinkhole of perverse ideology! It gave me context: Now I know why what Nazis did has no parallel in history. This would hopefully make me cautious about using the 'Nazi' epithet never too lightly, and conscious of calling out racial hatred in every instance as I could guess what it can lead to.
January 1, 2016
I kept reading about the things Himmler believed and having to put the book down and shake my head to make my brain realign.
November 7, 2025
A look into what made this potato of a human Hitlers favorite evil boy. Taken from his own diaries, and the copious amounts of meticulous record keeping, this is a cautionary tale of what happens when mediocrity is rewarded with unlimited power
April 15, 2014
Ever read a book and realized you learned nothing new about the subject? Was really disappointed with this book and it was over really quick it seemed. Put me off trying another book on Himmler. Not a good book in my opinion!
August 22, 2015
A long read. Lots & lots of information.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews