November 16, 2010
Holocaust Books
I thought a run-down of Holocaust books would make for a timely post. Never before have I seen conservative talk shows hosts attempt to bend Holocaust history to their will so much that it led to such an outcry. Come to think of it, I don’t know of any precedent for the Glenn Beck-George Soros incident.
Perhaps we should all start re-reading some of the classics of Holocaust history and literature.
Here are a few Holocaust books I recommend:
The Destruction of the European Jews by Raul Hilberg — This book is considered the definitive history of the Holocaust. Hilberg turned in more than 1,300 pages for this magnum opus that was first published in 1961. He subsequently updated later versions with new scholarship and this is considered the standard history for the anti-Jewish actions that took place between 1933 and 1945.
Nazi Germany and the Jews: Vol. 1: The Years of Persecution 1933-1939 by Saul Friedlander — This is the first of a two-volume history of the Holocaust. Friedlander is himself a Holocaust survivor and a well-respected historian. I’ve often heard it described as an authoritative and absorbing read.
The Years of Extermination: Nazi Germany and the Jews, 1939-1945 (Vol. 2) by Saul Friedlander — The second volume of Friedlander’s award-winning history covers the years when the Nazis began their extermination in earnest. Friedlander won the Pulitzer Prize for this book.
Survival in Auschwitz by Primo Levi — Of all the memoirs written by survivors, Levi’s book stands alone for its simple yet direct portrayal of life in the Nazi death camp at Auschwitz. Levi was a chemist by training and his observations are neither sentimental nor maudlin. He conveys the harshness of the Polish winter in sparse prose that leaves you shivering and wondering how he survived.
Rethinking the Holocaust by Yehuda Bauer — Bauer’s book isn’t so much about rethinking the Holocaust per se but Holocaust studies. Bauer, who is the director of the International Institute for Holocaust Research at Yad Vashem in Jerusalem, takes on such questions as what could have been done about the Holocaust, how did it happen and what is the relationship between the Holocaust and the establishment of the state of Israel.
Denying The Holocaust: The Growing Assault on Truth and Memory by Deborah E. Lipstadt — Lipstadt does a masterful job of dispatching with the fanciful theories of various Holocaust deniers. She demonstrates how they operate and exposes their claims as falsehoods that cannot stand when faced with the mountain of evidence collected to document the Nazis’ crimes.
Know of other good Holocaust books? Feel free to leave me a note in the comments below.
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I always recommend “The War Against The Jews” by Lucy S.Dawidowicz, which I think is superior to any other book I have read on the motives, methods, and results of the Holocaust. The other book I think is one of the best is “New lives : Survivors of the Holocaust living in America” by Dorothy Rabinowitz. This collection of essays by survivors combines experiences in the camps with reactions to life in America, and is just eye-opening.
I have written a young adult/cross over book which pertains to the Holocaust. How and whom do I send it for review consideration?
Jeannette Katzir