Question

Hitler’s views concerning the Jews and other groups he hated were immoral and insane. Why do you think so many Germans followed Hitler’s murderous plans so blindly and committed unspeakable evil for the Nazi cause?

Answer 1

German people, whether Nazis or not, truly held to the idea that Germany was fighting for its freedom, even for its actual existence. But for Hitler, WWII was not about conquering former German territory in Poland or about consolidating nationalism for Germans living outside Germany. WWII was about the creation of a new racial order, one of German superiority over Slavs and Jews.

There was a strong politization of Germans after World War I. Once Hitler came to power in 1933, brainwash and seduction were the methods to reach German people. Even though questions of race, authority and loyalty were regularly deliberated, and only a minority became absolutely Nazis, most people were in agreement with the premises of the regime, including the confinement of German Jews. While most Germans had little idea about the Holocaust, this support made them accomplices of Hilter's "final solution".