Nazis Were Mission-Oriented Serial Killers

Serial mass murderers, to be more precise… but still serial killers.

From their motives for carrying out their crimes, there are four main types (archetypes even) of serial killers: Visionary, Mission-oriented, Hedonistic and Power/Control. Holocaust Perpetrators (obviously) fit into the second category.

A mission-orientated serial killer is someone who kills in order to “rid” society of a specific group of people (in extreme cases – to save society or even the whole mankind of an existential threat from the group in question). Prostitutes (often); homeless (sometimes); homosexuals (ditto); petty criminals (happens)… and yes, a certain race or ethnic group (Blacks, Asians – or Jews).

These serial killers believe that they are doing society a huge favor. Hence, it is their Mission to kill these people. As a result, they won’t stop until they have been killed or caught by law enforcement… or are incapacitated in some way.

Holocaust Perpetrators fit their definition to a “T” because they sincerely, passionately, deeply (and incorrectly) believed that to save Germany, Europe and the whole human civilization from genuine Hell on Earth, they absolutely had to kill all Jews – men, women, children and elderly. Via serial mass murder.

Mission-oriented serial killers are not psychotic (neither were Holocaust perpetrators). Unlike the Visionary killer, for example, the Mission-orientated killer is not out of touch with reality. Neither are they demonically possessed – they exhibit no signs of the latter.

He (they are almost always male) does not suffer from hallucinations or delusions. God or some other entity is not commanding him to commit these murders. His decision to kill was a decision that he made all by himself.

Usually, this type of serial killer tends to be organized. They plan their crimes and can live a perfectly normal life (that’s exactly what Holocaust perpetrators did). They tend to kill their victims quickly (ditto).

For example, they might use a gun because it is quick and efficient. There will be no attempts to “prolong” the kill or get further enjoyment out of it. As a result, the crime scene will contain no signs of sadism or torture. That’s precisely what modus operandi of Holocaust perpetrators was – all the time.

Mission-orientated serial killers can be meticulous and obsessive (Holocaust perpetrators were very much so). Feelings of revenge and hatred are often a driving factor behind their crimes (for the Nazis, it obviously was).

They are getting back at a part of society (in this case, the Jews). In most cases, they tend to stick to their own geographical area (Nazis killed the Jews under their geographical control).

A highly relevant (to the Holocaust) example of a Mission-orientated serial killer was Joseph Paul Franklin. He white supremacist (Nazis were racists par excellence), and domestic terrorist (ditto) who engaged in a serial killing spree spanning the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Between 1977 and 1980, Franklin targeted black and Jewish people. He believed that race mixing was a crime against God (for the Nazis, it was). This led him to focus most of his ire towards interracial couples.

For example, in June of 1980, Franklin used a high-powered rifle to kill Arthur Smothers and Kathleen Mikula. He carried out this attack because Smothers was a black man and Mikula was a white woman.

Typically, mission killers tend to stick to their own geographical area. However, Franklin was a drifter who roamed around the East Coast. In fact, many of his murders took place in different states… just as the Holocaust did.

Hence, Holocaust perpetrators (especially the leaders of the “Holocaust Project” – Himmler, Heydrich, G;ring and, yes, Adolf Hitler) were textbook mission-oriented serial killers. Serial mass murderers, true – but still serial killers.