Engineering and the Holocaust: An Introduction

This paper explores the role of engineers in developing and implementing instruments of mass murder.It explains the cultural context, starting with Germany's loss in World War I and the founding of the Weimar Republic, followed by examining the ideology that spawned the Holocaust including brief analyses of antisemitism, propaganda, school curriculum, and entertainment avenues.As a representative illustration of engineering expertise gone awry, the German firm of Topf und Söhne ("Topf & Sons") offers a disturbing snapshot of how and why its senior engineers enthusiastically designed and built technology capable of mass destruction.The paper ends by suggesting several ethics topics for classroom discussion.This paper is intended for engineering and engineering technology instructors with minimal knowledge of this time period but who are interested in including the Holocaust as a topic of study in their technical courses.