A Terrible Efficiency : Entrepreneurial Bureaucrats and the Nazi Holocaust

This book provides numerous examples that apply the modern theory of bureaucracy developed in Breton and Wintrobe (1982 and 1986) to the Nazi Holocaust. More specifically, the book argues, as do Breton and Wintrobe (1986), that the subordinates in the Nazi bureaucracy were not "following orders" as they claimed during the war crimes trials at Nuremberg and elsewhere, but were instead exhibiting an entrepreneurial spirit in competing with one another in order to find the most efficient way of exacting the Final Solution. This involved engaging in a process of exchange with their superiors, wherein the subordinates offered the kinds of informal services that are not codified in formal contracts. In doing so, they were competing for the rewards, or informal payments not codified in formal contracts, that were conferred by those at the top of the bureaucracy. These came in the form of rapid promotion, perquisites (pecuniary and in-kind), and other awards. The types of exchanges described above are based on "trust," not formal institutions.-- Provided by publisher Preface 6 Acknowledgments 9 Contents 10 List of Figures 11 List of Tables 13 Chapter 1: The Organization of Terror and Murder 14 The Ghosts of Garibaldi Street 14 The “Terrible Efficiency” of the Nazi Bureaucracy of Murder 16 The Scope of This Volume 21 Appendix 23 References 27 Chapter 2: The Modern Theory of Bureaucracy 29 Superiors and Subordinates in Bureaucracies 29 Trust in Bureaucracies 31 Selective Behavior in Bureaucracies 33 Competition in Bureaucracies 33 Vertical and Horizontal Trust in Bureaucracies 36 Turnover in Bureaucracies 40 The Breton-Wintrobe Model: An Historical Application 41 References 45 Chapter 3: Bureaucratic Competition in the Third Reich 48 Indicators of Bureaucratic Competition in the Final Solution 48 Nazi Plunder of Europe’s Art and Antiquities 52 Administration of Concentration Camps in the Mid-1930s 54 Memo to Heydrich: The Wannsee Conference of 1942 55 Major Innovations, New Branches, and New Bureaus 59 Wilde Lager 59 Adolf Eichmann’s Bureaucratic Career, 1935–1945 60 Appendix 1: The Competitive Model—A Primer 65 Appendix 2: Art Imitates Life in Bureaucratic Competition 66 References 69 Chapter 4: Vertical Trust Networks in the Nazi Bureaucracy 71 Vertical Trust and Efficiency in Organizations 71 Vertical Trust and the Warlimont Memo 72 Advancement in Himmler’s SS 74 Perquisites in Himmler’s SS 83 The Reichstag Fire of 1933 89 The Annihilation of Lithuanian Jews 94 The Embellishment 98 Appendix 1: Conspiracy—A Rejoinder 105 References 106 Chapter 5: Horizontal Trust Networks in the Nazi Bureaucracy 110 Horizontal Trust and Inefficiency in Organizations 110 Indicators of Horizontal Trust Networks During the Holocaust 111 “Blood for Goods” 111 The July 1944 Plot to Kill Adolf Hitler 114 The Evil Nazi and the Righteous Gentile 117 Horizontal Trust Networks: A Postscript 119 Appendix 1: Eichmann’s Lieutenant 119 Appendix 2: A Shadow Bureaucracy 121 Appendix 3: Art Imitates Horizontal Trust Networks in Bureaucracy 124 References 125 Chapter 6: Coercion and Vertical Trust in the Nazi Bureaucracy 127 Coercion, Vertical Trust, and the Holocaust 127 Which Was More Efficient, Coercion or Vertical Trust? 129 Returning to Eichmann 135 References 136 Chapter 7: The Last of the Third Reich’s Vertical Trust Networks? 137 ODESSA: Organization of Former SS Members 137 Die Spinne: The Spider 143 When a Service from a Superior Is a Payment to the Subordinate 144 Appendix 1: “The Most Dangerous Man in Europe” 145 Operation Eiche 146 No Time for Rest 148 Operation Panzerfaust 149 References 151 Index 153 Front Matter ....Pages i-xvii The Organization of Terror and Murder (Franklin G. Mixon Jr.)....Pages 1-15 The Modern Theory of Bureaucracy (Franklin G. Mixon Jr.)....Pages 17-35 Bureaucratic Competition in the Third Reich (Franklin G. Mixon Jr.)....Pages 37-59 Vertical Trust Networks in the Nazi Bureaucracy (Franklin G. Mixon Jr.)....Pages 61-99 Horizontal Trust Networks in the Nazi Bureaucracy (Franklin G. Mixon Jr.)....Pages 101-117 Coercion and Vertical Trust in the Nazi Bureaucracy (Franklin G. Mixon Jr.)....Pages 119-128 The Last of the Third Reich’s Vertical Trust Networks? (Franklin G. Mixon Jr.)....Pages 129-144 Back Matter ....Pages 145-153