Holocaust: A History - Softcover

Dwork, Debórah; Van Pelt, Robert Jan

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0393325245 ISBN 13: 9780393325249

Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company, 2003

Synopsis

A magisterial, dramatic account that reshapes the way we think and talk about the greatest crime in history.

Unrivaled in reach and scope, Holocaust illuminates the long march of events, from the Middle Ages to the modern era, which led to this great atrocity. It is a story of all Europe, of Nazis and their allies, the experience of wartime occupation, the suffering and strategies of marked victims, the failure of international rescue, and the success of individual rescuers. It alone in Holocaust literature negotiates the chasm between the two histories, that of the perpetrators and of the victims and their families, shining new light on German actions and Jewish reactions.

No other book in any language has so embraced this multifaceted story. Holocaust uniquely makes use of oral histories recorded by the authors over fifteen years across Europe and the United States, as well as never-before-analyzed archival documents, letters, and diaries; it contains in addition seventy-five illustrations and sixteen original maps, each accompanied by an extended caption. This book is an original analysis of a defining event. 14 maps, 75 illustrations

About this title

About the Author:

Debórah Dwork is the director of the Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Clark University. She lives in New Haven, Connecticut.

Robert Jan van Pelt is a University Professor at the University of Waterloo. He lives in Toronto.

Review:

“The reader looking for a clear and readable account of how Hitler and the Nazis came to conceive and carry out their diabolical project need look no further than this book.”
- Boston Globe

“A monumental, sobering attempt to make sense of collective insanity.”
- Kirkus Reviews

“Through it all, the faces of the victims, and their persecutors, are clearly visible, making the reader aware of the human dimension of the Shoah and providing what Holocaust studies desperately needs: a single volume suitable for a wide audience.”
- Library Journal

“A distinctive blend of moral intensity, attention to detail and multifaceted breadth.”
- Los Angeles Times

“Holocaust is a superb work.”
- The Forward

“A signal contribution to the vast literature on the history of the Holocaust.... a volume from which general readers and scholars can both benefit.”
- Douglas Greenberg, Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation

“[A]n elegantly written, thoroughly researched and compelling narrative...certain to be a standard work in the field of Holocaust studies.”
- Dr. William L. Shulman, President, Association of Holocaust Organizations

“A rare achievement that will take its place among the best histories of the destruction of European Jews.”
- Michael R. Marrus, University of Toronto

“[T]he focus is on the fate of named individuals on almost every page. That creates the unusual passion and strength of this remarkable book.”
- Rabbi Herbert A. Friedman

“[A] scholarly miracle....a sophisticated and gripping contribution to Holocaust education.”
- Rabbi Irving Greenburg, President, Jewish Life Network

About this edition

• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 0393325245
• ISBN 13: 9780393325249
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 464