A Discussion Of Bendersky`s Contention On Nazi Genocide.

`The war gave the Nazis both the will and the opportunity to institute the barbarous policy of murdering millions of innocent men, women, and children` (Bendersky). Discuss this contention.

Although the war gave the Nazis the will and opportunity to institute the barbarous policy of mass murder to a certain extent, the implementation of this policy must not be viewed solely from a post-Barbarossa perspective. The implementation of the policy of genocide was neither the direct product of the Second World War, nor can it be entirely proved that mass murder of millions was the Nazis intention from the outset. That which gave the Nazis both the will and opportunity to implement the policy of mass murder was not simply the instigating force of war, as Bendersky claims, but rather the Nazi regime`s racial ideology that underpinned every action that the Nazis took before and after the outbreak of war. By way of conclusion, the contention that the war gave the Nazis both the will and opportunity to implement the policy of mass murder is, to a certain degree, an overgeneralisation. Though the war did provide opportunities for the Nazis to implement the policy of mass murder, the Nazis` will to do so was evident prior to the outbreak of war. Moreover, if racial ideology is what gave the Nazis the will to commit mass murder, then it was racial ideology that drove the Nazis to create their own opportunities to implement this policy. Thus while the war played a significant role in realising the steps towards the implementation of the policy of mass murder, it was the Party`s racial ideology that gave the Nazis both the will and opportunity to see this policy through to its ultimate barbaric conclusion.