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The Holocaust History Project.
The Holocaust History Project.

Functionalism and Intentionalism

Question

I was wondering if you could help me with my research project concerning the holocaust and genocide. I would be very grateful with information on, the functionalist , moderate functionalism and intentionalist theories on genocide. Also which of these has greater explanatory power?

Gord McFee answers:

Hello. I am one of the volunteers who tries to answer these questions. You deal with a very interesting subject. As a starter, may I suggest you check out Saul Friedlander's excellent Introduction to Gerald Fleming's Hitler and the Final Solution, University of California Press, Berkeley, 1984, pp. vii to xxxiii. Not only does Professor Friedlander explain the terms succinctly, he gives references to the seminal literature on the topic.

Best of luck.

Gord McFee

Richard J. Green adds a comment:

I highly recommend the essay by Christopher Browning entitled Beyond "Intentionalism" and "Functionalism": The Decision for the Final Solution Reconsidered in The Path to Genocide, 1992, p.86

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