In trying to explain the Holocaust, historian Ian Kershaw states that the central issue is how Nazi hatred of the Jews was translated into the practice of government and what precise role Hitler played in this transformation. In considering this issue, Kershaw refers to a number of theories that have been offered on this question. He talks of historians in both parts of Germany after the war and how they analyzed the question, though he finds that their efforts in both cases were muted by circumstances and by the way the populace at large ignored their efforts. Thus, he states, the major impetus for such research came from outside Germany.
One of the approaches he cites is referred to as Hitlerist, and this view places Hitler at the center of the matter and sees him as having a primary aim which he pursued from an early date, with that aim being the elimination of the Jew from German life. In this view, the various stages in the persecution of the Jews were only elements on a continuum leading to the Final Solution. This approach is also known as intentionalist because it focuses on Hitler's intentions and how they were translated into action over time, creating the motivation needed for his government to carry out his wishes and seek the end he had in mind. Another approach is known as structuralist, and this approach emphasizes the unsystematic and improvised shaping of Nazi policies toward the Jews. These are seen as a series of ad hoc responses rather than part of a preconceived plan.
The intentionalist view which places Hitler at the center and sees the destruction of the Jews as a part of his greater program has a certain appeal and does have support from Hitler's earlier rabid attitudes toward the Jews, and several historians have addressed the issue from this perspective. Kershaw sees such efforts as part of a personalized explanation of the Holocaust, personalized in terms of Hitler. This premise postulates that H...