But what began in 1941 was a process of destruction not planned in advance, not organized centrally by any agency. There was no blueprint and there was no budget for destructive measures. They were taken step by step, one step at a time. Thus came about not so much a plan being carried out, but an incredible meeting of minds, a consensus - mind reading by a far-flung bureaucracy.
Interpretation
The quote reflects on how destruction can occur through uncoordinated efforts rather than a clear plan.
Raul Hilberg's quote emphasizes that the process of destruction during a specific historical period unfolded organically rather than through a structured plan. It illustrates how a collective mindset among various individuals and groups led to significant consequences, demonstrating that sometimes large-scale actions can develop from incremental steps influenced by a consensus rather than a formalized strategy.
In practice
During a history lesson about World War II, this quote can illustrate how events unfold without a clear directive.
As a people, our monuments never commemorate victories. They commemorate the names of the fallen. We don't need the Arc de Triomphe; we have Masada, Tel-Hai, and the Warsaw Ghetto - where the battle was lost, but the war of Jewish existence was won.
The very notion of Great Britain's 'greatness' is bound up with empire. Euro-scepticism and Little Englander nationalism could hardly survive if people understood whose sugar flowed through English blood and rotted English teeth.
The acceptance of the facts of African-American history and the African-American historian as a legitimate part of the academic community did not come easily. Slavery ended and left its false images of black people intact.
When I was a girl, the idea that the British Empire could ever end was absolutely inconceivable. And it just disappeared, like all the other empires. You know, when people talk about the British Empire, they always forget that all the European countries had empires.
After Nixon resigned in 1974, he engaged in a very aggressive war with history, attempting to wipe out the Watergate stain and memory. Happily, history won, largely because of Nixon's tapes.
History is always changing behind us, and the past changes a little every time we retell it.
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