Ethics of Expediency by Katz

           Katz’s article serves as a rhetorical analysis of a rather disturbing memo written by a member of the SS about the holocaust. What makes it so disturbing is the technical and calculated manner in which the author writes to Walter Rauff. While discussing how best to optimize the extermination of Jews he refers to the men, women, and children as “pieces” and “loads.” This memo gave me chills and made me sick to my stomach. The memo ends with the author detailing how best to clean up the bodily fluids left behind by the “load”.

            Katz argues the obvious point that in this memo technical communication was used inappropriately and for an unethical reason. Katz is disturbed that rhetoric was used in the holocaust. This is a principle that is quite obvious to anyone who has studied any of Adolf Hitler’s speeches. Say what you will about the man, but he used rhetoric effectively to sway the public to his will. Some of his claims like blaming the West for the holocaust due to hat he say as advocacy for expediency are a bit extreme in my opinion. Katz, like many people, feel very strongly about the holocaust and make this known in hi article. I understand why he is upset that rhetoric was used immorally in Nazi Germany but I don’t see how that could have been helped as a great majority of communication is rhetoric based. Rhetoric by nature can be used for good and evil due to its basis in persuasion. Obviously the use of rhetoric in either way is dependent on the goal of the speaker.