SOBIBÓR - Holocaust Handbooks

224 J. GRAF, T. KUES, C. MATTOGNO, SOBIBÓR
This diversity can be explained, according to Browning, by a subjective
reason – the different viewpoints of the intentionalists and the functionalists
– and an objective one, which is actually the true reason: “by
the absence of documents.” He said, in fact: 649
“There are no written records about what was discussed between
Hitler, Himmler and Heydrich on the subject of the final solution,
and none of the three survived to testify after the war. Hence the historian
must himself reconstruct the decisional process from the top
down, extrapolating from external events and testimonies. Like Plato’s
man in the cave who sees only the reflections and the shadows,
not the reality. This bold process of extrapolation and reconstruction
invariably leads to a great variety of conclusions.” (Emph. added)
In fact, Browning insisted repeatedly on the almost total absence of
documents concerning the origins of the decision on the subject of the
alleged “final solution”: 650
“And yet, in spite of all that is known about the preparations for
a German invasion of Russia, there is no specific documentation on
the subject of the Russian Jews. In order to obtain an answer to this
question, it is necessary to turn to post war testimonies, to indirect
proofs, and to references dispersed throughout more recent documents.
[…]
If the decision to kill all the Jews in Russia was undoubtedly taken
before the invasion, the circumstances and the exact moment, on
the other hand, remain obscure. It is impossible to say whether the
initiative came from Hitler or from somebody else, from Heydrich,
for example. Moreover, we do not know whether Hitler had already
made his choice in March, when he clearly announced to the military
that the war in Russia would not be a conventional war, or if
the servility of the military later pushed him into extending his
search for victims beyond the Judeo-Bolshevik intelligentsia. An insufficient
documentation does not allow us to reply definitively to
these questions and permits only an educated guess.” (Emph. added)
“We don’t know and, no doubt, we will never know precisely,
when and how Heydrich and his direct superior, Himmler, learned
of their new assignment.” 651
In conclusion, Browning stated: 652
649 Ibid., p. 193.
650 Ibid., p. 196f..
651 Ibid., p. 200.