Hilberg's study was praised by scholars and the American press. His findings that all of German society was involved in the "destruction process" drew attention. Some scholars argued that Hilberg overlooked Nazi ideology and the nature of the regime type. Hilberg's claim that Jews abetted their own persecutors sparked a debate among Jewish scholars and in Jewish press. According to a 2021 study, "the reception of Hilberg’s work marks a crucial step in the formation of the Holocaust as part of historical consciousness."