War and Genocide: A Concise History of the Holocaust

Book Description
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, War and Genocide: A Concise History of the Holocaust 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 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 first hand accounts from perpetrators, victims, and eyewitnesses, the book is immediate, human, and eminently readable.


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In this broad, synthetic short history, Bergen (U. of Notre Dame) situates the mass murder of European Jews and other peoples within the overall context of World War II. She describes the political and cultural preconditions of the genocide, the coming to power of the Nazi regime, and the beginnings of the systematization of the sterilization and then murder of dehumanized people. The expansion of the number of victims is placed in context of the conquest of new territories and the eventual fall of the regime. She also describes resistance to the Nazis among Jews, Serbs, and others. Annotation (c)2003 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR


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