Introduction: Swords or Shields?

Abstract

Hollander explains why more Jewish people survived in some German-occupied countries compared to others during the Holocaust. He argues that Nazi Germany’s collaborators sometimes played a surprising role in saving local Jews, although they did not necessarily do so for the ‘right’ reasons. Where Germany ruled a country directly, it could implement the Final Solution efficiently. Where it ruled through high-ranking local officials, however, these collaborators could often ‘trade’ their loyal cooperation in military and economic affairs for inefficient or incomplete implementation of the Final Solution. Thus, more Jews survived in countries that were subjected to less direct forms of German hierarchy. Hollander considers the impact of other factors (geography, antisemitism, timing, etc.) on Jewish survival rates, but concludes that even where these factors influenced Jewish victimization rates, German hierarchy still provided a crucial determining context for the implementation of the Final Solution.