<p>Was the extermination of the Jews part of the Nazi plan from the very start? The distinguished historian Arno Mayer offers a startling and compelling answer to a much-debated question amongst historians today.</p><p>Arno Mayer demonstrates that, while the Nazis' anti-Semitism was always virulent, it did not become genocidal until well into the Second World War, when the failure of their massive, all-or-nothing campaign against Russia triggered what they called the “Final Solution.” He details the steps leading up to this enormity, showing how the institutional and ideological frameworks that made it possible evolved, and how both related to the debacle in the eastern theater.</p>