State Violence in Nazi Germany - From Kristallnacht to Barbarossa

Through analyses of three eventful years in Nazi Germany's history - the Kristallnacht pogrom, the invasion of Poland and the invasion of Soviet Russia - this book explores the violence of states. All three events were part of the Nazi colonial project and led to mass killings, eventually resulting in the systematic murder of Jews becoming a major war aim - one that Germany would pursue to the end, even when it became clear that the military conflict could no longer be won. Drawing on voluminous historical and sociological literature, as well as documentary and contemporary evidence, the author presents a new account of the phenomenon of extreme state violence as a special category of violence, in which the armed forces, maintained in a state of readiness, are used unnecessarily and excessively, often on thin pretexts, and, unlike coercive violence, only rarely for the purposes of carrying messages to the public. As such, it will appeal to scholars of sociology, history and anthropology concerned with mass and state violence.

List of contents

Prologue by Jacqueline Rose  Introduction  1. Types of Violent Events  2. Kristallnacht Revisited  3. Three Final Solutions  4. Two or Three Jewish Policies  5. Subduing and Annihilating Germans  6. Why States Use Violence Excessively  Epilogue

About the author

Emanuel Marx is Professor Emeritus of Social Anthropology at Tel Aviv University, Israel. He is the author of Bedouin of the Negev, The Social Context of Violent Behaviour and Bedouin of Mount Sinai and editor of A Composite Portrait of Israel.

Summary

Through analyses of three eventful years in Nazi Germany’s history, this book offers a new account of the phenomenon of extreme state violence as a special category of violence, in which the armed forces are used unnecessarily and excessively, often on thin pretexts, and only rarely with the intention of carrying a message to the public.

Product details

• Authors: Emanuel Marx, Marx Emanuel
• Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd.
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 30.06.2021
• EAN: 9781032084473
• ISBN: 978-1-0-3208447-3
• No. of pages: 136
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > History > 20th century (up to 1945); Social sciences, law, business > Sociology > Sociological theories; Sociology, Europe, Social Theory, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Sociology / General, HISTORY / Military / General, Anthropology, military history, 20th century history: c 1900 to c 2000, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Anthropology / General, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Sociology / Social Theory, Second World War, The Holocaust, Modern warfare, c 1940 to c 1949, c 1939 to c 1945 (including WW2), HISTORY / Modern / 20th Century / Holocaust, History / Wars & Conflicts / World War II / European Theater