Adorno’s significant question, “can one live after Auschwitz?”, discloses the dreadfullness of the Holocaust. Yet, when the dimensions of the Holocaust is thought, another issue also comes up which questions Hitler’s responsibility for the most terrible human extermination. Is Hitler the only one who is to blame for the Holocaust? Some authors do not accept that the extermination of millions of Jews was not Hitler’s idea, but his people’s.

Those claims to be under the cloud nowadays, since the first document reveals Hitler’s anti-semitic ideas, acquired by Simon Wiesenthal Center, a global Jewish organisation headquartered in Los Angeles.

Simon Wiesenthal Center (SWC) declared that they acquired this crucial four-page letter for $150,000, through a dealer. The document is also known as Gemlich letter, which is written and signed by Hitler and adressed to a soldier named Adolf Gemlich who was in charge of the German army. According to SWC, the letter is Hitler’s first anti-semitic writing, written in September 16, 1919, six years before the publication of Mein Kampf. SWC claims that the letter could be the original version.

According to the founder of SWC, Marvin Hier, because “there is no document signed by Adolf Hitler, about the extermination of Jews”, some revisionists claim that Hitler’s involvement in the Holocaust is under suspicion. He also declared that this letter changes everything since Hitler mentioned in the letter, his demand regarding the legislation of total removement of Jews from the society: “It’s final aim, however, must be the uncompromising removal of the Jews altogether.”

In New York Times article, British writer Ian Kershaw’s (who is known for his Hitler biographies) statement about Hitler regarding the Holocaust is mentioned. Kershaw indicates, “not even Hitler was capable of imagining in 1919 what could be done.” But he emphasized on the importance of the letter, since according to Kershaw the letter shows that, “already in 1919 Hitler has a clear notion of removal of the Jews altogether.”

In July 2011, this historical document will be permanently displayed for public view, at the Museum of Tolerance, Los Angeles.

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About the author

Ozlem Onder
I'm a philosophy student, passionate about exploring the hidden, by searching, moving and changing constantly, as Kierkegaard once said, "life is not a problem to be solved, but a reality to be experienced".

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