The Law of Blood : Thinking and Acting As a Nazi

The scale and the depth of Nazi brutality seem to defy understanding. What could drive people to fight, kill, and destroy with such ruthless ambition? Observers and historians have offered countless explanations since the 1930s. According to Johann Chapoutot, we need to understand better how the Nazis explained it themselves. We need a clearer view, in particular, of how they were steeped in and spread the idea that history gave them no choice: it was either kill or die.Chapoutot, one of France's leading historians, spent years immersing himself in the texts and images that reflected and shaped the mental world of Nazi ideologues, and that the Nazis disseminated to the German public. The party had no official ur-text of ideology, values, and history. But a clear narrative emerges from the myriad works of intellectuals, apparatchiks, journalists, and movie-makers that Chapoutot explores.The story went like this: In the ancient world, the Nordic-German race lived in harmony with the laws of nature. But since Late Antiquity, corrupt foreign norms and values--Jewish values in particular--had alienated Germany from itself and from all that was natural. The time had come, under the Nazis, to return to the fundamental law of blood. Germany must fight, conquer, and procreate, or perish. History did not concern itself with right and wrong, only brute necessity. A remarkable work of scholarship and insight,__The Law of Blood__recreates the chilling ideas and outlook that would cost millions their lives. The scale and depth of Nazi brutality seem to defy understanding. What could drive people to fight, kill, and destroy with such ruthless ambition? Johann Chapoutot says we need to understand better how the Nazis explained it themselves, and in particular how steeped they were in the idea that history gave them no choice: it was either kill or die. The scale and the depth of Nazi brutality seem to defy understanding. What could drive people to fight, kill, and destroy with such ruthless ambition? Observers and historians have offered countless explanations since the 1930s. According to Johann Chapoutot, we need to understand better how the Nazis explained it themselves. We need a clearer view, in particular, of how they were steeped in and spread the idea that history gave them no choice: it was either kill or die.Chapoutot, one of Frances leading historians, spent years immersing himself in the texts and images that reflected and shaped the mental world of Nazi ideologues, and that the Nazis disseminated to the German public. The party had no official ur-text of ideology, values, and history. But a clear narrative emerges from the myriad works of intellectuals, apparatchiks, journalists, and movie-makers that Chapoutot explores.The story went like this: In the ancient world, the Nordic-German race lived in harmony with the laws of nature. But since Late Antiquity, corrupt foreign norms and valuesJewish values in particularhad alienated Germany from itself and from all that was natural. The time had come, under the Nazis, to return to the fundamental law of blood. Germany must fight, conquer, and procreate, or perish. History did not concern itself with right and wrong, only brute necessity. A remarkable work of scholarship and insight, The Law of Blood recreates the chilling ideas and outlook that would cost millions their lives Winner of the Yad Vashem International Book Prize for Holocaust ResearchThe scale and the depth of Nazi brutality seem to defy understanding. What could drive people to fight, kill, and destroy with such ruthless ambition? Observers and historians have offered countless explanations since the 1930s. According to Johann Chapoutot, we need to understand better how the Nazis explained it themselves. We need a clearer view, in particular, of how they were steeped in and spread the idea that history gave them no choice: it was either kill or die.Chapoutot, one of France's leading historians, spent years immersing himself in the texts and images that reflected and shaped the mental world of Nazi ideologues, and that the Nazis disseminated to the German public. The party had no official ur-text of ideology, values, and history. But a clear narrative emerges from the myriad works of intellectuals, apparatchiks, journalists, and movie-makers that Chapoutot explores.The story went like this: In the ancient world, the Nordic-German race lived in harmony with the laws of nature. But since Late Antiquity, corrupt foreign norms and values—Jewish values in particular—had alienated Germany from itself and from all that was natural. The time had come, under the Nazis, to return to the fundamental law of blood. Germany must fight, conquer, and procreate, or perish. History did not concern itself with right and wrong, only brute necessity. A remarkable work of scholarship and insight, The Law of Blood recreates the chilling ideas and outlook that would cost millions their lives. Winner of the Yad Vashem International Book Prize for Holocaust Research The scale and the depth of Nazi brutality seem to defy understanding. What could drive people to fight, kill, and destroy with such ruthless ambition? Observers and historians have offered countless explanations since the 1930s. According to Johann Chapoutot, we need to understand better how the Nazis explained it themselves. We need a clearer view, in particular, of how they were steeped in and spread the idea that history gave them no it was either kill or die. Chapoutot, one of Frances leading historians, spent years immersing himself in the texts and images that reflected and shaped the mental world of Nazi ideologues, and that the Nazis disseminated to the German public. The party had no official ur-text of ideology, values, and history. But a clear narrative emerges from the myriad works of intellectuals, apparatchiks, journalists, and movie-makers that Chapoutot explores. The story went like In the ancient world, the Nordic-German race lived in harmony with the laws of nature. But since Late Antiquity, corrupt foreign norms and valuesJewish values in particularhad alienated Germany from itself and from all that was natural. The time had come, under the Nazis, to return to the fundamental law of blood. Germany must fight, conquer, and procreate, or perish. History did not concern itself with right and wrong, only brute necessity. A remarkable work of scholarship and insight, The Law of Blood recreates the chilling ideas and outlook that would cost millions their lives. The Scale And Depth Of Nazi Brutality Seem To Defy Understanding. What Could Drive People To Fight, Kill, And Destroy With Such Ruthless Ambition? Johann Chapoutot Says We Need To Understand Better How The Nazis Explained It Themselves, And In Particular How Steeped They Were In The Idea That History Gave Them No Choice: It Was Either Kill Or Die.-- Part I. Procreating: Origins: Nature, Essence, Genesis -- Alienation: Acculturation And Denaturing -- Restoration: Renaissance -- Part Ii. Fighting: All Life Is Struggle -- The War Within: Fighting The Volksfremde -- The War Outside: Harshness Makes The Future Kind -- Part Iii. Reigning: The International Order Of Westphalia And Versailles: Finis Germaniae -- The Reich And The Colonization Of The European East -- The Millennium As Frontier. Johann Chapoutot ; Translated By Miranda Richmond Mouillot. This Book Was Originally Published As La Loi Du Sang: Penser Et Agir En Nazi (c) Éditions Gallimard, Paris, 2014. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Contents Introduction PART I. PROCREATING 1. Origins: Nature, Essence, Genesis 2. Alienation: Acculturation and Denaturing 3. Restoration: Renaissances PART II. FIGHTING 4. “All Life Is Struggle” 5. The War Within: Fighting the Volksfremde 6. The War Outside: “Harshness Makes the Future Kind” PART III. REIGNING 7. The International Order of Westphalia and Versailles: Finis Germaniae 8. The Reich and Colonization of the European East 9. The Millennium as Frontier Conclusion Notes Bibliography Glossary Index