The Kindly Ones

by Jonathan Littell

“The Vernichtungsbefehl is a terrible thing. Paradoxically, it’s almost like an order from the God of the Jews’ Bible, isn’t it? Now go and strike Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass. You know that, it’s in the first Book of Samuel. When I received the order, that’s what I thought about. And as I told you, I believe that it’s a mistake, that we should have had the intelligence and ability to find a more…humane solution, let’s say, one more in agreement with our conscience as Germans and as National Socialists. In that sense, it’s a failure. But you also have to look at the realities of war. The war goes on, and every day that this enemy force remains behind our lines reinforces our adversary and weakens us. It’s a total war, all the forces of the nation are involved in it, and we can’t afford to neglect any means to victory, any. That’s what the Führer understood clearly: he cut the Gordian knot of doubts, hesitations, divergent interests. He did it, as he does everything, to save Germany, aware that if he can send hundreds of thousands of Germans to their deaths, he can and must also send to theirs the Jews and all our other enemies. The Jews are praying and striving for our defeat, and so long as we haven’t won we can’t nourish such an enemy in our midst. And for us, who have received the heavy burden of carrying out this task to the end, our duty toward our peop...