Impact of the Holocaust (Holocaust in History)

Rating:
Summary: The Last Full Half Measure
Review: This is a wonderful half-book that says half of the things that need to be said about the whole issue of German atrocities better known as the Holocaust. This book masterfully covers the plight and sufferings meted out to the Jews by the Nazis. These include brief summaries of the Zionist movement (which resulted in the creation of the state of Israel), those Jews who so eloquently brought attention to what Jews had suffered (Eli Wiesel and Primo Levy), those who sought justice (Simon Wiesenthal), and those who sought extralegal vengeance (Abba Kovner). The UN and the "human rights" issue are also covered, although with less intellectual honesty; the efficacy of UN efforts is definitely at issue. For instance, the UN utterly failed to protect the rights of those victimized by Communism or ethnic rivalries (e.g., Rwanda). Also discussed are associated psychological problems, such as post traumatic stress and survivors' guilt (i.e., why did I survive when so many other died?). The problem is that this book only covers Jews; non-Jews only receive passing mention. Many non-Jews were victimized for their beliefs (e.g., Jehovah's Witnesses, Christians who couldn't countenance Nazi policies, and Socialist/Communists) other non-Jews, like the Jews, were victimized for their race or ethnicity (e.g., Gypsies and Slavs). This book only makes passing mention of these non-Jewish groups that are estimated to constitute between fifty and sixty percent of the victims (this book concedes five million Gentile victims, pg 74)-victims that in many cases suffered and died along side Jews. This book's theme, consistent with Holocaust studies, is to never forget so that it never happens again. That approximately half of the victims are ignored is inconsistent with this mission. As we can't remember by forgetting, this book can only be recommended for collections with other volumes that deal with Hitler's non-Jewish victims and the victims of the Communists

Rating:
Summary: The Last Full Half Measure
Review: This is a wonderful half-book that says half of the things that need to be said about the whole issue of German atrocities better known as the Holocaust. This book masterfully covers the plight and sufferings meted out to the Jews by the Nazis. These include brief summaries of the Zionist movement (which resulted in the creation of the state of Israel), those Jews who so eloquently brought attention to what Jews had suffered (Eli Wiesel and Primo Levy), those who sought justice (Simon Wiesenthal), and those who sought extralegal vengeance (Abba Kovner). The UN and the "human rights" issue are also covered, although with less intellectual honesty; the efficacy of UN efforts is definitely at issue. For instance, the UN utterly failed to protect the rights of those victimized by Communism or ethnic rivalries (e.g., Rwanda). Also discussed are associated psychological problems, such as post traumatic stress and survivors' guilt (i.e., why did I survive when so many other died?). The problem is that this book only covers Jews; non-Jews only receive passing mention. Many non-Jews were victimized for their beliefs (e.g., Jehovah's Witnesses, Christians who couldn't countenance Nazi policies, and Socialist/Communists) other non-Jews, like the Jews, were victimized for their race or ethnicity (e.g., Gypsies and Slavs). This book only makes passing mention of these non-Jewish groups that are estimated to constitute between fifty and sixty percent of the victims (this book concedes five million Gentile victims, pg 74)-victims that in many cases suffered and died along side Jews. This book's theme, consistent with Holocaust studies, is to never forget so that it never happens again. That approximately half of the victims are ignored is inconsistent with this mission. As we can't remember by forgetting, this book can only be recommended for collections with other volumes that deal with Hitler's non-Jewish victims and the victims of the Communists