Understanding the Holocaust (2 Volume set)

Understanding the Holocaust describes the events of the Holocaust in terms that help students comprehend the events that led to the Holocaust as well as the atrocity itself. Two volumes are arranged in subject chapters covering topics such as antisemitism, contemporary views of the Holocaust and more.

Other features include:

• Sidebars highlighting people or key facts
• About 120 black-and-white illustrations, including photos, documents and maps
• Glossary & timeline

Gr 8 Up--This overview describes the Holocaust, the events that led up to it, and how the Nazis attempted to eradicate an entire people while fighting a war on two fronts. Sidebars provide information on related individuals, events, and policies. Black-and-white photographs help clarify the text. Each volume has the same time line; annotated list of sources for further reading, organized by topic; and cumulative index of names, places, subjects, and terms. Both books also have a table of "Jewish Victims of the Holocaust by Country of Origin." While this is of value, a table including the number of Jews in the country immediately before the war and their percentage to the total population would provide a truer picture. For instance, although 105,000 Jews died in the Netherlands and 3,000,000 perished in Poland, the figures represent 85% of the pre-war population in both countries. This set is for more sophisticated readers than the Holocaust series published by Grolier, Blackbirch, and Enslow. Jack R. Fischel's The Holocaust (Greenwood, 1998) is a fine single-volume compendium.

Marcia W. Posner, Holocaust Memorial and Educational Center of Nassau County, Glen Cove, NY

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