ABSTRACT
One issue in particular remains at the centre of the ongoing debate over the origins of the Final Solution. Quite simply, did Hitler and the Nazi regime take the last steps along the path to genocide in an atmosphere of victory euphoria or of frustration and rage over military setback? I have long argued for the former interpretation,1 while quite recently Philippe Burrin2
and Arno Mayer3-albeit in quite different ways-have joined the late Uwe Adam, the late Martin Broszat and Hans Mommsen in arguing the latter. Where do matters stand now? I will argue that both new evidence and a new look at old evidence strengthen the case for euphoria of victory.
