War and Genocide : A Concise History of the Holocaust

by Bergen, Doris L.

• ISBN13: 9780742557154
• ISBN10: 0742557154
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2009-01-15
• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Pub Inc

Summary

In examining one of the defining events of the 20th century, Doris Bergen situates the Holocaust in its historical, political, social, cultural, and military contexts. Unlike many other treatments of the Holocaust, this revised, second edition discusses not only the persecution of the Jews, but also other segments of society victimized by the Nazis: Gypsies, homosexuals, Poles, Soviet POWs, the handicapped, and other groups deemed undesirable. With clear and eloquent prose, Bergen explores the two interconnected goals that drove the Nazi German program of conquest and genocide'¬ ;purification of the so-called Aryan race and expansion of its living space'¬ ;and discusses how these goals affected the course of World War II. Including firsthand accounts from perpetrators, victims, and eyewitnesses, the book is immediate, human, and eminently readable. New to the Second Edition: --Enhanced illustrations program with new photographs and expanded captions --More personal accounts from members of specific groups targeted for destruction in Nazi Germany and German-occupied Europe --Incorporation of new scholarship on key points, such as the work of Raffael Scheck on the German killing of thousands of French African soldiers in 1940 --Updated bibliography at the end of the text

Author Biography

Doris L. Bergen is Chancellor Rose and Ray Wolfe Professor of Holocaust Studies at the University of Toronto.

Table of Contents

Preface: War and Genocide: Race and Space	p. viii
Preconditions: Antisemitism, Racism, and Common Prejudices in Early-Twentieth-Century Europe	p. 1
Leadership and Will: Adolf Hitler, the National Socialist German Workers' Party, and Nazi Ideology	p. 29
From Revolution to Routine: Nazi Germany, 1933-1938	p. 51
Open Aggression: In Search of War, 1938-1939	p. 79
Experiments in Brutality, 1939-1940: War against Poland and the So-Called Euthanasia Program	p. 101
Expansion and Systematization: Exporting War and Terror, 1940-1941	p. 135
The Peak Years of Killing: 1942 and 1943	p. 167
Death Throes and Killing Frenzies, 1944-1945	p. 215
Conclusion: The Legacies of Atrocity	p. 233
Sources and Suggestions for Further Reading	p. 245
Photo Credits	p. 259
Index	p. 263
About the Author	p. 279
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