Abstract

The paper discusses two different approaches to Nazism and the Holocaust. The first approach is different versions of the Sonderweg thesis arguing that the explanation of the "German catastrophe" should be sought in the particular features of German history. The second approach rests on searching for external, exogenous factors that played a formative role in the emergence of National Socialism. The examples illustrating these two approaches are recently published books by Aleksandar Molnar and Michael Kellogg, reviewed in detail in the paper. Starting from an interpretation of these books, the author argues that the limitations of both approaches result from the complexity of a historical experience that resists rationalization. U radu se razmatraju dva razlicita pristupa objasnjenju nacizma i holokausta. Prvi obuhvata razlicite verzije Sonderweg teze prema kojoj se u posebnosti nemacke istorije trazi objasnjenje "nemacke katastrofe". Drugi pristup pociva na traganju za spoljasnjim, egzogenim faktorima koji su imali formativnu ulogu u nastanku nacionalsocijalizama. Primeri kojima se ilustruju ova dva stanovista su nove knjige Aleksandra Molnara i Majkla Keloga koje se u radu detaljno prikazuju. Na osnovu interpretacije ovih knjiga, autor ukazuje da su ogranicenja oba navedena pristupa posledica kompleksnosti istorijskog iskustva koje se opire racionalizaciji.