The Delusion of Immunity to Racism and Crime
The idea that advanced degrees make anyone immune from racism and crime is an illusion – by Frederic Eger – Illustrative photo of the villa where the 1942 Wannsee Conference was held, in the Berlin suburb of Wannsee. (photo credit: Adam Carr/WIkimedia Commons) – Half of the Nazis who attended the Wannsee Conference held PhDs; this highlights a disturbing aspect of the design of the “Final Solution”, the systematic extermination of the Jews.
The Wannsee Conference, held on January 20, 1942, included 15 senior officials from various Nazi agencies. Notably, more than half of these attendees held doctoral degrees from German universities, indicating a significant level of education and professional training among those orchestrating the “Final Solution”. Participants came from various backgrounds and expertise, including law, administration, and social sciences. This diversity in expertise contributed to their ability to devise bureaucratic and logistical strategies for implementing mass extermination.
British historian and expert on Nazi Germany Ian Kershaw articulates how many Nazi dignitaries’ PhD qualifications did not shield them from genocidal perpetrators under Hitler’s regime. The involvement of the elite can be attributed to several factors:
Academic Environment & Ideological Alignment.
The German academic system and environment at the time produced individuals who were not only knowledgeable but also adept at navigating bureaucratic structures. This enabled them to rise within the ranks of the Nazi regime.
Many of these educated individuals were drawn to the Nazi ideology, which resonated with their academic pursuits, particularly in fields such as history, sociology, and political science. Their education often provided a framework that justified their involvement in the regime’s policies.
“Working Towards the Führer”.
Ian Kershaw introduces the concept of “working towards the Führer,” which encapsulates how lower-ranking officials undertook initiatives that aligned with Hitler’s goals without direct orders. This created an environment where officials felt empowered to implement policies autonomously that they believed would please Hitler, often leading to extreme measures such as persecution and genocide.
Ian Kershaw argues that the actions of these officials contributed to a cumulative bureaucratic radicalization within the Nazi state. This process was not always orchestrated by Hitler himself but was instead driven by the ambitions and interpretations of his subordinates.
Ian Kershaw emphasizes that despite their education, these individuals participated in heinous acts, illustrating a disconnect between intellectual capability and moral judgment. The educated elite’s participation in atrocities reflects a broader moral failure within society, where intellectualism did not equate to ethical behavior.
Ian Kershaw’s analysis serves as a cautionary tale, a historical lesson, about how educated individuals can contribute to oppressive regimes, highlighting the need for critical engagement with ideology and power structures.
The most prominent Nazi figures and perpetrators of the atrocities include:
Josef Mengele (birth: March 16, 1911 – death: February 7, 1979) held a PhD in physical anthropology, known as the “Angel of Death,” conducted inhumane experiments on prisoners at Auschwitz and was involved in the selection of victims for gas chambers.
Joseph Goebbels (birth: October 29, 1897 – death: May 1, 1945) held a PhD in German philology, and, as Minister of Propaganda, Goebbels was responsible for the Nazi propaganda machine and played a key role in promoting antisemitic policies.
Wilhelm Frick (birth: March 12, 1877 – death: October 16, 1946) held a doctorate in law. He was a leading politician in the Nazi Party, and was instrumental in drafting the Nuremberg Laws.
Eugen Fischer (birth: July 5, 1874 – death: July 9, 1967) held a doctorate in medicine, was a prominent eugenicist who conducted research to justify racial theories; he was involved in experiments on marginalized groups.
Alfred Ploetz (birth: August 22, 1860 – death: March 20, 1940) coined the term “racial hygiene” , a “branch” of eugenics (the paternity of the term is uncertain, some attribute it to Francis Galton in 1883), and promoted eugenics as a scientific basis for Nazi racial policies.
Robert Ritter (birth May 14, 1901 – death: April 15, 1951) held a doctorate in racial hygiene, was the Head of the Racial Hygiene and Demographic Biology Research Unit; conducted pseudo-scientific research that supported Nazi racial policies.
Kurt Albrecht (birth: December 31, 1894 – May 7, 1945) worked as a professor at various universities and contributed to Nazi medical practices.
Rudolf Hippius (birth: June 9, 1905 – death: October 23, 1945) held a doctorate in racial Psychology and engaged in studies on racial psychology under the Nazi regime.
This list highlights how academic qualifications were leveraged to further the goals of the Nazi regime, often with devastating consequences. The advanced education of these individuals contributed significantly in the rationalization and the minimization of the severity of atrocities that were crimes against Humanity.
It is important to note that while the atrocities committed on October 7, 2023 during the Hamas attacks in Israel were inspired by Nazi cruel practices; it has been now established that the nature of violence on October 7 while being extreme of brutality and involving significant loss of life, is described as “medieval” in its act of savagery but not as organized as the Nazi state.
The October 7 massacre indiscriminate killings, burning alive of entire families, the rape, the beheading and the broadcasting in real-time through social media was an unprecedented form of psychological warfare aiming at causing maximum terror, convincing Israeli citizens to leave Israel, and, to provoke a military response from Israel.
In contrast, Nazi atrocities were part of a larger state-sponsored genocidal framework aimed at the complete and systematic extermination of a population, also known as “ethnic cleansing” over several years without psychological warfare and publicized torture. Nazi actions were driven by an ideological commitment to annihilate entire populations based on racial purity, in secret with efforts to destroy the evidence of the massacre, “as if it never happened”. The historical impact of the Holocaust is considered unique due to its scale and systematic nature.
And the presence of highly-educated individuals at the Wannsee conference demonstrate that only highly-educated individuals could have organized such systematic and efficient ethnic cleansing.
Only educated individuals were capable of organizing the cold, dispassionate, uneventful and legally-based, therefore morally acceptable systematic murder of Jews.
The conference was not about debating whether to exterminate the Jews; it was focused on coordinating efforts across various government agencies to implement a plan that had already been decided at the highest levels, aiming for maximum bureaucratic efficiency.
This reflects how educated professionals can contribute to bureaucratic systems that enable atrocities under the guise of administrative efficiency.
It underscores a chilling reality: *intellectualism does not inherently equate to morality*.
Intellectualism supports the justification and the facilitation of ethnic cleansing acts, as evidenced by the systematic planning for the Holocaust conducted by these criminals.
The actions of these socially-acceptable criminals serve as a stark reminder of the potential for educated people to engage in or support brutal regimes when ideological beliefs overshadow ethical considerations.
The Wannsee Conference was a pivotal event in WWII, marking the formalization of the “Final Solution” for the Nazi regime’s systematic plan for the extermination of the European Jews, marking the completion of coordination mechanisms among various government entities, revealing the bureaucratic approach to mass murder.
The conference’s decisions had far-reaching consequences.
This past history does not end there.
There are many examples of convicted felons who hold doctoral degrees and who got sentenced for their antisemitism, racism and criminal act. Here are a few:
Diljan Akhtar, a 51-year-old man with a history of antisemitic behavior, was sentenced to 10 weeks in prison in November 2023 for shouting antisemitic slurs and making violent threats towards a police officer in London. He admitted to multiple offenses, including common assault and racially aggravated harassment.
A former Cornell University student, whose identity has not been disclosed, faced charges of five years in prison after posting threats on a university forum threatening violence against Jewish students.
A New Jersey man was charged in December 2022 for posting violent threats against white people on social media, expressing desires to commit mass shootings, and using antisemitic language.
These past and present cases highlight the troubling intersection of higher education credentials and involvement in hate crimes or racist ideologies.
Remember this article when you meet someone who will say to you: “How can I be an antisemite, an antizionist, a racist, a criminal or any of those things, and, hold a PhD!”
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Ian Kershaw’s bibliography:
Ian Kershaw, The Hitler Myth”: Image and Reality in the Third Reich, Upfront Books (Publisher), July 03, 2021.
Ian Kershaw, Popular Opinion and Political Dissent in the Third Reich, Oxford University Press; 2nd edition (July 18, 2002).
Ian Kershaw, The Nazi Dictatorship: Problems and Perspectives of Interpretation (Bloomsbury Revelations) Paperback – December 3, 2015
Ian Kershaw, Alan Robertson (Audible version), et al., Hitler: A Biography, W.W. Norton & Company, 2008.
Ian Kershaw, Hitler: 1889-1936: Hubris (1998) (This is the first volume of Kershaw’s comprehensive biography of Hitler, detailing his early life and rise to power.
Ian Kershaw, Hitler: 1936-1945: Nemesis (2000), (The second volume continues the narrative, covering Hitler’s rule during World War II and leading to his downfall.)
Ian Kershaw, The “Hitler Myth”: Image and Reality in the Third Reich (1987) (This work explores how propaganda shaped public perception of Hitler and the Nazi regime.)
Ian Kershaw, The Nazi Dictatorship: Problems and Perspectives of Interpretation (2000) (a critical examination of the nature of Nazi rule and its impact on German society)
Ian Kershaw, Fateful Choices: Ten Decisions that Changed the World, 1940-1941 (2007) (this book analyzes pivotal decisions made during World War II that significantly influenced its outcome)
Ian Kershaw, To Hell and Back: Europe 1914-1949 (2015)
Ian Kershaw, The Global Age: Europe 1950-2017 (2016)