Hitler and the Holocaust

This book is an excellent survey of the Holocaust, both as to its origins and its aftermath as well as the event itself. The author pulls no punches in examining how this event was allowed to happen (it was the culmination of a thousand or more years of prejudice, bigotry, and persecution) and who allowed it to happen (it could not have happened on the scale it did without a wide assortment of collaborators, not just in Germany but all over Europe, although some nations were more historically predisposed to anti-Semitism and this led to their more active collaboration). The author also does a masterful job of putting the Holocaust into its historical context with the slaughters of other innocent peoples and provides a cogent analysis of the simmering dispute on why the Holocaust occurred (was it a result, or awful byproduct, of the wars launched by Hitler as so-called functionalists claim, or was it the raison d'etre for the wars, as the intentionalists argue).

In the introduction, Wistrich provides an overview asking the big Why. He disagrees with Daniel Goldhagen, pointing out that prior to 1933 antisemitism had been worse in countries like Russia, Romania, Poland and Austria and that the rule of law applied in Germany until that year. The Holocaust was a pan-European event in which millions of people participated. The times were evil; even Britain and the USA experienced a rising tide of antisemitism. Unimaginable horror results when a society does not distinguish between good & evil. The lessons of this abyss are that evil must be resisted in its early stage and that individuals are responsible for their actions. The first chapter briefly reviews Jewish history from the Hasmoneans to the Roman yoke in which era a new religion was born. Its foundational documents contain calumnies and demonizations of the Jewish People. The "Church Fathers" perpetuated this hostility in their writings; the victory of Constantine Christianity ensured ever increasing oppression. Martin Luther amplified the hatred in his writings. This chapter also covers Europe in the 1930s as night was coming on. Wistrich also considers various atrocities and genocides like that of the Armenians, the Gulags of Stalinist Russia and the suffering of the Roma. Disillusionment in Europe after the First World War was profound. The pointless death & destruction spurred the growth of revolutionary movements like fascism and communism. The history of Austria and Germany in the 1920s & 1930s, Mein Kampf, the political parties & the reaction to Jewish refugees arriving from Eastern Europe are discussed. The depression hit Germany in 1930; that year the Nazi vote increased dramatically. In 1933 Hitler took power and German Jews started leaving. The destruction of Crystal Night followed, the most violent attack on Jews since the crusades; 100 people were murdered. The international conference held at Evian in France encouraged Hitler since he noticed it was all talk; no country was prepared to welcome Jewish refugees. The discriminatory racial laws did not encounter resistance from any sector of German society. The German annexation of half of Poland in 1939 and the later invasion of Russia placed millions more Jews under Nazi rule. Terrible massacres occurred on the front. Hitler's apocalypticism was a blend of Christian and anti-Christian Judeophobia, a secular salvationist ideology. He referred to New Testament passages during his speeches in Catholic Bavaria, saw himself as a messianic figure and claimed that Christ had pioneered the struggle against the Jews. Thus in the early years the Nazis mined the ancient vein of Christian Antisemitism. Only the Confessional Church openly defied the Nazis and in the 1937 Encyclical "Mit Brennende Sorge" Pope Pius XI objected to Nazi supremacism and paganism. Nazism co-existed with the Roman Catholic and Protestant churches but its bestial heart harbored contempt for Judeo-Christian values

What makes this fine book such an outstanding achievement is that it combines two qualities that rarely go together: a) an authoritative introduction to a complex subject, suitable for a beginner; and b) a summary of the most current technical findings, suitable for the expert. This book can confidently be given to a high school student, whose knowledge of modern history will, with this book alone, take a qualitative leap forward. And it should be read by those who have already read everything else on the subject, whose knowledge will be brought up-to-date. As always, Professor Wistrich's style is fluent and engaging, and the Modern Library has done its part by producing a physically attractive object.I do have just two little quibbles. It would have been useful, particularly for the beginner, to include suggestions for further readings in a special section. Professor Wistrich does make such suggestions, but they are somewhat buried in his Notes. And for the serious student, an alphabetic list of all the cited references would have made life just a little easier.

This new addition to the Modern Library's 'Chronicles' series confronts many issues inherent in Holocaust history, from Hitler's plans for mass genocide to the relationship between his efforts and the larger war. Hitler And The Holocaust is an excellent survey of the underlying social and political beliefs which helped shape the world Hitler changed.

Robert S. Wistrich's Hitler and the Holocaust is a fine addition to the Modern Library Chronicles Series (all of which are highly recommended). This one sticks tightly to its title subject and will makes an effective beginning to future volumes which examine World War II in Europe and Nazi Germany. The author examines the ideological origins of anti-Semitism and the Final Solution, the Holocaust as it was first established by Germany in Eastern Europe and its effects and results in the various countries involved (providing much needed glimpses of hope for humanity in such places as Denmark and, somewhat surprisingly, Italy amidst the unending horror). The author looks at the response (non-response, really) of Britain and America, as well as various Jewish organizations outside of Europe, including Palestine. It is slightly longer than the usual volumes in the series, at 240 pages of text, and this extra space is put to effective use. This is good introduction to the subject before venturing in any deeper. A great addition to a wonderful series.