Daniel Jonah Goldhagen’s Followers (44)

Daniel Jonah Goldhagen

Born

in Boston, Massachusetts, The United States

June 30, 1959

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History

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Daniel Jonah Goldhagen is an American author, scholar, and former associate professor of government and social studies at Harvard University, widely known for his groundbreaking and controversial writings on genocide, antisemitism, and moral responsibility. He rose to international prominence with his first major book, Hitler’s Willing Executioners: Ordinary Germans and the Holocaust (1996), which argued that the Holocaust was made possible not only by Nazi leadership but by the participation of ordinary Germans who had internalized a deeply rooted “eliminationist antisemitism.” The book, adapted from his doctoral dissertation, won the American Political Science Association’s Gabriel A. Almond Award and the Democracy Prize of the Journal fo Daniel Jonah Goldhagen is an American author, scholar, and former associate professor of government and social studies at Harvard University, widely known for his groundbreaking and controversial writings on genocide, antisemitism, and moral responsibility. He rose to international prominence with his first major book, Hitler’s Willing Executioners: Ordinary Germans and the Holocaust (1996), which argued that the Holocaust was made possible not only by Nazi leadership but by the participation of ordinary Germans who had internalized a deeply rooted “eliminationist antisemitism.” The book, adapted from his doctoral dissertation, won the American Political Science Association’s Gabriel A. Almond Award and the Democracy Prize of the Journal for German and International Politics. It became a bestseller, sparking vigorous debate among historians and the public alike.
Born in Boston, Massachusetts, into a Jewish family, Goldhagen grew up in Newton. His father, Erich Goldhagen, a Holocaust survivor and retired Harvard professor, was interned as a child in a Nazi ghetto in Czernowitz. Daniel credits his father’s influence for shaping his intellectual and moral framework, particularly his understanding of Nazism and the Holocaust. Educated entirely at Harvard University, Goldhagen earned his degrees and later served on the faculty for two decades, first as a student and then as a professor.
While in graduate school, Goldhagen was inspired by historian Saul Friedländer’s work to investigate not just how the Holocaust happened, but why ordinary individuals committed such acts. His research in German archives led to his controversial thesis that a unique and virulent form of German antisemitism predisposed ordinary citizens to become willing participants in genocide. Despite sharp criticism from many historians, his work stimulated renewed discussions about individual responsibility, ideology, and moral choice in times of mass violence.
Goldhagen expanded his focus beyond the Holocaust in subsequent books. A Moral Reckoning: The Role of the Catholic Church in the Holocaust and Its Unfulfilled Duty of Repair (2002) explored the Church’s moral and institutional responsibilities during the Nazi era. Worse Than War: Genocide, Eliminationism, and the Ongoing Assault on Humanity (2009) examined genocide as a recurring human phenomenon, offering insights into how such atrocities can be prevented. His later book, The Devil That Never Dies: The Rise and Threat of Global Antisemitism (2013), traced the persistence and global resurgence of antisemitism in contemporary culture and politics.
Goldhagen lives with his wife, Sarah Williams Goldhagen, an architectural historian and critic. His body of work continues to provoke debate, influencing contemporary thought on genocide studies, moral philosophy, and the enduring human struggle against hatred and violence.

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Daniel Jonah Goldhagen’s books

Average rating: 3.67 · 5,893 ratings · 465 reviews · 9 distinct works • Similar authors

	David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants by Malcolm Gladwell, Daniel Jonah Goldhagen (Narrator) 3.97 avg rating — 192,842 ratings — published 2013 — 19 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Hitler's Willing Executioners: Ordinary Germans and the Holocaust 3.71 avg rating — 5,183 ratings — published 1996 — 7 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Worse Than War: Genocide, Eliminationism, and the Ongoing Assault on Humanity 3.33 avg rating — 282 ratings — published 2009 — 38 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Devil That Never Dies: The Rise and Threat of Global Antisemitism 3.30 avg rating — 138 ratings — published 2013 — 15 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	A Moral Reckoning: The Role of the Catholic Church in the Holocaust and Its Unfulfilled Duty of Repair 3.07 avg rating — 115 ratings — published 2002 — 20 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Neuer Antisemitismus?: Eine globale Debatte by Doron Rabinovici (Editor), Ulrich Speck (Editor), Natan Sznaider (Editor) it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 3 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Briefe an Goldhagen liked it 3.00 avg rating — 1 rating — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Genocidal Mind by Daniel Jonah Goldhagen, Erich Goldhagen 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The "Willing Executioneers"/"Ordinary Men" Debate: Selections from the symposium 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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“The conclusion of this book is that antisemitism moved many thousands of "ordinary" Germans— and would have moved millions more, had they been appropriately positioned—to slaughter Jews. Not economic hardship, not the coercive means of a totalitarian state, not social psychological pressure, not invariable psychological propensities, but ideas about Jews that were pervasive in Germany, and had been for decades, induced ordinary Germans to kill unarmed, defenseless Jewish men, women, and children by the thousands, systematically and without pity.”
― Daniel Jonah Goldhagen, Hitler's Willing Executioners: Ordinary Germans and the Holocaust

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“Interpreters of this period make a grave error by refusing to believe that people could slaughter whole populations—especially populations that are by any objective evaluation not threatening—out of conviction. Why persist in the belief that "ordinary" people could not possibly sanction, let alone partake in wholesale human slaughter? The historical record, from ancient times to the present, amply testifies to the ease with which people can extinguish the lives of others, and even take joy in their deaths.”
― Daniel Jonah Goldhagen, Hitler's Willing Executioners: Ordinary Germans and the Holocaust

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Topics Mentioning This Author

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The History Book ...: 19. ROOSEVELT'S CENTURIONS - CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR and TWENTY-FIVE, (p. 506 - 552) ~ OCTOBER 7TH - OCTOBER 13TH; No Spoilers, Please	42	49	Oct 17, 2013 04:32PM
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