We end, then, with the kind of a question that initially triggered the exploration into the historical sensations embedded in the persecution and extermination of the Jews. I set out in this book to show the need to ask that kind of question not from some metaphysical, ahistorical sense of the uniqueness of the Holocaust, but from the point of view of the historical method. I made the case for posing questions this way by thinking through some essential notions of historical reconstruction, namely, of beginnings and ends, context, contingency, and ideology. I also provided an answer that sought to direct Holocaust interpretations based on a certain understanding of culture. I am aware that I provided only a general answer. The crux of this book was not found in a comprehensive answer but rather in the journey traversed through Holocaust historiography and problems of historical method to articulate how to capture the underlying cultural elements in the Nazi obsession with the Jews. And in this respect, I hope I showed that this study only reveals more clearly in the case of the Holocaust what are some of the fundamental elements in all historical reconstruction.

The book suggests a broad approach to interpret the Holocaust that has no single mode of operation. It can be used in different ways, being more or less effective depending on the topic under investigation. Initially, I planned on finishing the book where we are right now. But in the process of research and writing, a specific argument, building on the cultural approach, has come into sharp focus. I end the book therefore by articulating one possible outcome of the argument developed in the last several chapters.