Step by step: the expansion of murder, 1939-1941

In this excerpt, Friedlander, unlike Burleigh, does not believe that the murder of "life unworthy of life" was primarily or even partly motivated by a desire to clear the decks in preparation for war. Friedlander argues Nazi genocide was geared to the murder of biologically defined groups. He argues the policies of identifying, isolating and then murdering such biologically determined groups were based on many years of highly respected scientific research.