The Columbia Guide to the Holocaust

Niewyk and Nicosia have given us an indispensible addition to the vast literature on the Holocaust. Due to legally required Holocaust education in some states, many people whose specialty is not Holocaust studies are required to teach about the Holocaust. The biggest worry in this is the serious possibility of the Holocaust being presented in a way that is kitschy, usually with no more important lesson than Santayana's trite witticism about repeating history. What *The Columbia Guide to the Holocaust* provides is a wonderful overview of the Holocaust especially designed for non-experts. While the text is concise and readable, the best parts of the book are outside the normal text. Niewyk and Nicosia provide several sections that make this book ideal for beginners in Holocaust studies and educators that must teach about the Holocaust: biographies of many important individuals, "location" biographies of the major death camps, ghettos and other important sites (such as Babi Yar), and an enormous annotated bibliography of books, music, museums, documentaries and movies, and internet sites. While there is not much here for the established scholar (though even they may find the extensive bibliography useful), for beginning students and especially for educators, there is no better source to have by your side when studying, discussing or teaching the Holocaust.