Goldhagen

Daniel Jonah Goldhagen (born June 30, 1959) is an American author and former political scientist. He is known for his controversial book Hitler's Willing Executioners: Ordinary Germans and the Holocaust (1996), which argued that a virulent antisemitism unique to German political culture led most ordinary Germans to participate willingly in the persecution and murder of Jews during the Holocaust.

Goldhagen's central thesis in Hitler's Willing Executioners is that the Holocaust was not primarily the result of coercion or obedience to authority, but rather stemmed from a deeply ingrained "eliminationist antisemitism" present in German society. He contended that this pre-existing antisemitism motivated ordinary Germans to actively participate in the Holocaust, not just as passive bystanders or reluctant followers.

The book sparked considerable debate and controversy upon its publication. Some historians praised Goldhagen for bringing attention to the role of ordinary Germans in the Holocaust and for challenging traditional explanations that emphasized obedience and bureaucratic processes. Others strongly criticized his methodology, arguing that he oversimplified complex historical events, selectively used evidence, and failed to adequately account for other factors such as economic hardship, political radicalization, and the power of the Nazi regime.

Goldhagen has also written A Moral Reckoning: The Role of the Catholic Church in the Holocaust and Its Unfulfilled Duty of Repair (2002), which examines the Catholic Church's role during the Holocaust, and The Devil That Never Dies: The Ongoing Threat of Global Antisemitism (2013), which focuses on contemporary antisemitism.

His work continues to be a subject of scholarly discussion and debate within Holocaust studies and related fields.