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Nazi Germany and the Jews #1
Nazi Germany and the Jews, 1933-1945
A great historian crowns a lifetime of thought and research by answering a question that has haunted us for more than 50 years: How did one of the most industrially and culturally advanced nations in the world embark on and continue along the path leading to one of the most enormous criminal enterprises in history, the extermination of Europe's Jews?
Giving considerable emphasis to a wealth of new archival findings, Saul Friedlander restores the voices of Jews who, after the 1933 Nazi accession to power, were engulfed in an increasingly horrifying reality. We hear from the persecutors themselves: the leaders of the Nazi party, the members of the Protestant and Catholic hierarchies, the university elites, and the heads of the business community. Most telling of all, perhaps, are the testimonies of ordinary German citizens, who in the main acquiesced to increasing waves of dismissals, segregation, humiliation, impoverishment, expulsion, and violence.
Giving considerable emphasis to a wealth of new archival findings, Saul Friedlander restores the voices of Jews who, after the 1933 Nazi accession to power, were engulfed in an increasingly horrifying reality. We hear from the persecutors themselves: the leaders of the Nazi party, the members of the Protestant and Catholic hierarchies, the university elites, and the heads of the business community. Most telling of all, perhaps, are the testimonies of ordinary German citizens, who in the main acquiesced to increasing waves of dismissals, segregation, humiliation, impoverishment, expulsion, and violence.
548 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 10, 2014
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About the author
Saul Friedländer
59 books83 followersSaul Friedländer (Hebrew: שאול פרידלנדר) is an Israeli/French historian and a professor emeritus of history at UCLA.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 87 reviews
April 3, 2020
Έργο αναφοράς, τεράστιο σε έκταση αλλά και σημασία. Με αξιοθαύμαστη ψυχραιμία ο συγγραφέας παραδίδει στις επόμενες γενιές την καταγραφή ενός εγκλήματος. Θύματα, θύτες, εκατομμύρια ανθρώπινες ζωές, αλλά ταυτόχρονα και προσωπικές ιστορίες προσφέρουν στον αναγνώστη την ολοκληρωμένη εικόνα της εποχής.
Δεν διαβάζεται μονορούφι, δεν διαβάζεται κάθε στιγμή της ημέρας, αλλά αυτό δεν το κάνει λιγότερο μοναδικό.
Δεν διαβάζεται μονορούφι, δεν διαβάζεται κάθε στιγμή της ημέρας, αλλά αυτό δεν το κάνει λιγότερο μοναδικό.
April 27, 2016
The Years of Persecution is the first of a two-volume work on the Holocaust by Saul Friedlander. It covers the years 1933 (when Hitler was sworn in as Chancellor of Germany) to 1939 (when Germany invaded Poland, an event that generally marks the start of World War II, though I contend that World War II actually started in 1937, with the beginning of the Sino-Japanese War, and to hold otherwise is ethnocentric...but I digress).
The book starts with art and culture, and shows the Germans chipping away at Jewish rights. Banning a book here, a play there, a concert here, a movie there. It's very gradual, and that's what this book shows in clear, concise detail: the gradual yet inevitable path from petty insults, to the loss of some rights, to the loss of all rights, to utter annihilation.
The book comes with a great pedigree, and I was a little worried I was in for a scholarly (see, "unreadable") book. But actually, this volume is quite short (about 330 pages) and quite quick.
The brevity comes at a cost, however. There is little context for overall events, and almost nothing of the mechanics of history. You never get to meet the personalities that made this atrocity possible. Hitler, Goering, Himmler, Heydrich, and Goebbels never become anything more than names (albeit infamous names). You never know how certain events - such as Kristalnacht or the Reichstag fire - occurred; rather, you are told they happened and then learn of the cnosequences. It's a very just-the-facts approach, leavened with some insightful analysis, especially with regards to the role that "ordinary Germans" played (there is no overheated "willing executioners" section, ala Daniel David Goldhagen) and how Austria's treatment of Jews, especially at Mauthausen, provided a "final solution" blueprint.
My favorite part of the book, though, was its judicious use of anectdotes and case studies. Whenever I started to think I was reading a political science text, the author would remind us of the human dimension, using the letters, diaries, and testimony of actual Holocaust survivors.
The feeling I came away with is that there's something infinitely dark and impenetrable about the Holocaust. Despite the hundreds of books written about Hitler, which try to explain him through pop-psychology (was the Holocaust caused by his poor potty training? an oral fixation? latent homosexuality? his failed love affair with Geli Raubal?), Friedlander does not try to explain "how" or "why" the Nazis could have perpetrated such a crime. Rather, there is an acceptance of something akin to unknowable evil that I can't entirely disagree with.
The book starts with art and culture, and shows the Germans chipping away at Jewish rights. Banning a book here, a play there, a concert here, a movie there. It's very gradual, and that's what this book shows in clear, concise detail: the gradual yet inevitable path from petty insults, to the loss of some rights, to the loss of all rights, to utter annihilation.
The book comes with a great pedigree, and I was a little worried I was in for a scholarly (see, "unreadable") book. But actually, this volume is quite short (about 330 pages) and quite quick.
The brevity comes at a cost, however. There is little context for overall events, and almost nothing of the mechanics of history. You never get to meet the personalities that made this atrocity possible. Hitler, Goering, Himmler, Heydrich, and Goebbels never become anything more than names (albeit infamous names). You never know how certain events - such as Kristalnacht or the Reichstag fire - occurred; rather, you are told they happened and then learn of the cnosequences. It's a very just-the-facts approach, leavened with some insightful analysis, especially with regards to the role that "ordinary Germans" played (there is no overheated "willing executioners" section, ala Daniel David Goldhagen) and how Austria's treatment of Jews, especially at Mauthausen, provided a "final solution" blueprint.
My favorite part of the book, though, was its judicious use of anectdotes and case studies. Whenever I started to think I was reading a political science text, the author would remind us of the human dimension, using the letters, diaries, and testimony of actual Holocaust survivors.
The feeling I came away with is that there's something infinitely dark and impenetrable about the Holocaust. Despite the hundreds of books written about Hitler, which try to explain him through pop-psychology (was the Holocaust caused by his poor potty training? an oral fixation? latent homosexuality? his failed love affair with Geli Raubal?), Friedlander does not try to explain "how" or "why" the Nazis could have perpetrated such a crime. Rather, there is an acceptance of something akin to unknowable evil that I can't entirely disagree with.
August 16, 2011
In this first volume Friedlander concentrates on the policies of the Nazi regime toward the Jews during the years 1933-39, but also integrates the social context, both the attitudes of German society in general and the reactions to and perceptions of Nazi policies on the part of the Jewish population. He focuses on the measures enacted by the Nazis to increase legal discrimination against the Jews, and the ambivalence with which these measures were received by institutions or religion and higher learning, as well as by the general population; all of whom for the most part failed to protest strenuously. Friedlander is nuanced in his analysis, describing a "split consciousness" in which most Germans, although hostile to the Jews, disapproved of brutality toward them, yet favored some degree of purging of "un-German" aspects of their culture and society.
Friedlander focuses on the cultural and physical, or biological, as the two essential aspects of "redemptive anti-Semitism," which he treats as the key to understanding Nazi attitudes and policies toward the Jews in the pre-war period. The author describes this as a "quasi-religious" ideas centered on the sacredness of German blood and soil. This worldview designated the Jews as sources of physical and cultural degeneration which must be cleansed from Germany before their pollution spread too far. Mixed marriages and the involvement of Jews in intellectual and cultural activities thus became paramount dangers. Hitler presented himself to the German people as a prophet and savior who would protect them from corruption, at first hiding the violence and extremity of his views from both German and foreign publics for predominantly practical reasons.
Friedlander emphasizes the impossibility of predicting the speed and degree to which the situation would deteriorate. In this he attempts to counter the all-too-frequent criticisms leveled at Jewish communities for their lack of action, the questions of why the Jews did not "know" that they were going to be killed and take action by fleeing or resisting more vigorously. While very sympathetic to this effort, I find it unfortunate that Friedlander chose to downplay the welfare programs, support groups, and other organizations by which the Jews did attempt to deal with the situation as it existed, and instead takes an approach that re-emphasizes perceptions of Jewish passivity. Friedlander argues, however, that given the situation and taking into consideration factors such as the slowness of many Germans to become involved in anti-Jewish activities, the economic obstacles to emigration, and natural reluctance to assume the worst, it is reasonable of the Jews to have expected to have more time to consider their options and arrange a response.
This position is typical of Friedlander's resistance to reductive explanations or modes of analysis. Another example of this quality is his attribution of causality to Hitler as an individual and to his ideology; yet, he does not do this with the intention of exculpating other Germans from responsibility for their roles in the fate of the Jews. Rather, Hitler and his ideology, like the atmosphere of anti-Marxism, nationalism, and other "major features of modernity" are portrayed by him as "essential conditions," but not sole causes, of the Holocaust. Friedlander's attitude may then be described as of the explanations, not excuses school of thought. This is particularly valuable in a field where the horrific nature of events understandably contributes to a tendency to devote much time and scholarly effort to assigning or refuting blame. Friedlander prefers to examine multiple aspects of the cultural, economic, political, and legal siutation in order to arrive at a highly sensitive elucidation of the context and content of Nazi persecution of the Jews and the Jews' own perceptions of the situation. This is an exceptionally rich and finely-tuned study.
Friedlander focuses on the cultural and physical, or biological, as the two essential aspects of "redemptive anti-Semitism," which he treats as the key to understanding Nazi attitudes and policies toward the Jews in the pre-war period. The author describes this as a "quasi-religious" ideas centered on the sacredness of German blood and soil. This worldview designated the Jews as sources of physical and cultural degeneration which must be cleansed from Germany before their pollution spread too far. Mixed marriages and the involvement of Jews in intellectual and cultural activities thus became paramount dangers. Hitler presented himself to the German people as a prophet and savior who would protect them from corruption, at first hiding the violence and extremity of his views from both German and foreign publics for predominantly practical reasons.
Friedlander emphasizes the impossibility of predicting the speed and degree to which the situation would deteriorate. In this he attempts to counter the all-too-frequent criticisms leveled at Jewish communities for their lack of action, the questions of why the Jews did not "know" that they were going to be killed and take action by fleeing or resisting more vigorously. While very sympathetic to this effort, I find it unfortunate that Friedlander chose to downplay the welfare programs, support groups, and other organizations by which the Jews did attempt to deal with the situation as it existed, and instead takes an approach that re-emphasizes perceptions of Jewish passivity. Friedlander argues, however, that given the situation and taking into consideration factors such as the slowness of many Germans to become involved in anti-Jewish activities, the economic obstacles to emigration, and natural reluctance to assume the worst, it is reasonable of the Jews to have expected to have more time to consider their options and arrange a response.
This position is typical of Friedlander's resistance to reductive explanations or modes of analysis. Another example of this quality is his attribution of causality to Hitler as an individual and to his ideology; yet, he does not do this with the intention of exculpating other Germans from responsibility for their roles in the fate of the Jews. Rather, Hitler and his ideology, like the atmosphere of anti-Marxism, nationalism, and other "major features of modernity" are portrayed by him as "essential conditions," but not sole causes, of the Holocaust. Friedlander's attitude may then be described as of the explanations, not excuses school of thought. This is particularly valuable in a field where the horrific nature of events understandably contributes to a tendency to devote much time and scholarly effort to assigning or refuting blame. Friedlander prefers to examine multiple aspects of the cultural, economic, political, and legal siutation in order to arrive at a highly sensitive elucidation of the context and content of Nazi persecution of the Jews and the Jews' own perceptions of the situation. This is an exceptionally rich and finely-tuned study.
April 9, 2013
W. G. Sebald said that no serious person ever thinks about anything other than the events of 1939-1945 in Nazi-Occupied Poland. This amazing piece of work will go on to be regarded as the standard text on those events. Essential reading for anyone wishing to understand the most inhuman chapter of modern history.
May 11, 2010
For my money this is is one of the great history books. Together with its sequel 'The Years Of Extermination' Friedländer has undoubtedly written a seminal history of the Holocaust, but I found this volume particularly magnificent, perhaps because it deals with six years which inevitably receive less attention than the six years that followed, and yet which, if anything are even more crucial to trying to understand exactly what happened and how, if not why. How Germany went from being merely a country in chaos, suddenly finding itself under the control of a fanatical political grouping, which many, including the diarist Victor Klemperer believed would be too stupid and divided to hang onto power for more than a few months, to becoming the perpetrator of cruelty, destruction and mass murder on a scale which remains almost inconceivable.
The power of the book lies not in the fact Friedländer is able to provide an explanation or a theory to explain what happened - indeed, such theoretical framework as there is in the book is neither a particularly important aspect of the book, nor propounded with any great conviction or force. It is almost as if Friedländer wants to say at the start of the book - look, here is what I have to say about theories and explanations - not that much really - now I'd like to get on with the business of describing what actually happened - in such a way that its authenticity will speak for itself.
And this where the power of the book actually lies: in the way that Friedländer explores with meticulous precision the depth and breadth of social and political processes and developments that took place, so that by the time these six years are up you are in a much better position to be able to absorb and 'understand' what happened next. For this reason I would council anyone against skipping this volume and diving straight into Volume Two.
But why is the book so uncommonly successful? It is not just because of the choice of subject matter - it is because of the way Friedländer has constructed and presented his material. Even if we take the quality and relevance his research as a given, Friedländer has imbued his text with three attributes in a way that leaves one wishing all history books could be even half this good - for while the narrative follows a chronological path essential for the reader to gain a sense of the development of the situation as a whole, at the same time, each chapter focusses on a different theme, whether it be the church, international affairs, German social strata, the race laws. The whole thing works so well that one is not conscious of reading a 'book of chapters' and the third attribute which binds it all together is simply Friedländer's way with words. He writes in a style which is both familiar and authoritative, slightly, but not distractingly personal, above all comprehensible and engaging.
So successful is this fusion of attributes that even the second volume can't quite match it - there the book is divided (chronologically) into a number of sections and each section replicates the structure of Volume One as whole. This is not intended as a criticism of Volume Two, hard to see how he could have done differently, but does underline the unique achievement of this volume. Five stars are not enough.
The power of the book lies not in the fact Friedländer is able to provide an explanation or a theory to explain what happened - indeed, such theoretical framework as there is in the book is neither a particularly important aspect of the book, nor propounded with any great conviction or force. It is almost as if Friedländer wants to say at the start of the book - look, here is what I have to say about theories and explanations - not that much really - now I'd like to get on with the business of describing what actually happened - in such a way that its authenticity will speak for itself.
And this where the power of the book actually lies: in the way that Friedländer explores with meticulous precision the depth and breadth of social and political processes and developments that took place, so that by the time these six years are up you are in a much better position to be able to absorb and 'understand' what happened next. For this reason I would council anyone against skipping this volume and diving straight into Volume Two.
But why is the book so uncommonly successful? It is not just because of the choice of subject matter - it is because of the way Friedländer has constructed and presented his material. Even if we take the quality and relevance his research as a given, Friedländer has imbued his text with three attributes in a way that leaves one wishing all history books could be even half this good - for while the narrative follows a chronological path essential for the reader to gain a sense of the development of the situation as a whole, at the same time, each chapter focusses on a different theme, whether it be the church, international affairs, German social strata, the race laws. The whole thing works so well that one is not conscious of reading a 'book of chapters' and the third attribute which binds it all together is simply Friedländer's way with words. He writes in a style which is both familiar and authoritative, slightly, but not distractingly personal, above all comprehensible and engaging.
So successful is this fusion of attributes that even the second volume can't quite match it - there the book is divided (chronologically) into a number of sections and each section replicates the structure of Volume One as whole. This is not intended as a criticism of Volume Two, hard to see how he could have done differently, but does underline the unique achievement of this volume. Five stars are not enough.
September 23, 2019
What can one say about the Holocaust without diminishing its true horror and wickedness? I will not try, but I will write a few words about this book which is the author's meticulously researched attempt to truthfully describe the events in Nazi-occupied Europe.
I spent nearly four months reading it – not because it was long and not because it was boring, even though it did get bogged down with minutia and meticulousness on occasion. Instead, it was such a long slog because of the frequent need I felt for respite. The details of how the leadership of one country planned, organized, and carried out, over many years, the attempted genocide of an entire class of people is disturbing in the extreme. Personally, I needed frequent breaks, which allowed me to read several other books while this one would sit temporarily abandoned on the shelf.
I really hoped that this book would teach me why the Holocaust happened. But, unfortunately, this question and a few other philosophical questions I have remain unanswered. I still do not understand, and simply cannot comprehend how the people, collectively, allowed the Holocaust to happen. Knowing that each and every one of us is cut from the same cloth (DNA), I realize that similar events could happen anywhere at any time under the right combination of circumstances. Indeed, much of what I see, hear, and read about in today's unhealthy and divisive political climate – much of it directed at unfortunate, displaced, and disenfranchised "undesirables" – echos the early tactics and rhetoric employed by the Nazis in their campaign against the Jews.
I spent nearly four months reading it – not because it was long and not because it was boring, even though it did get bogged down with minutia and meticulousness on occasion. Instead, it was such a long slog because of the frequent need I felt for respite. The details of how the leadership of one country planned, organized, and carried out, over many years, the attempted genocide of an entire class of people is disturbing in the extreme. Personally, I needed frequent breaks, which allowed me to read several other books while this one would sit temporarily abandoned on the shelf.
I really hoped that this book would teach me why the Holocaust happened. But, unfortunately, this question and a few other philosophical questions I have remain unanswered. I still do not understand, and simply cannot comprehend how the people, collectively, allowed the Holocaust to happen. Knowing that each and every one of us is cut from the same cloth (DNA), I realize that similar events could happen anywhere at any time under the right combination of circumstances. Indeed, much of what I see, hear, and read about in today's unhealthy and divisive political climate – much of it directed at unfortunate, displaced, and disenfranchised "undesirables" – echos the early tactics and rhetoric employed by the Nazis in their campaign against the Jews.
April 2, 2020
Zelfs voor een pil van 800 bladzijden wordt het reusachtige onderwerp van de Jodenvervolging onvermijdelijk samengeperst tot een flinke brok statistieken in woordvorm. De ruimte die er is voor persoonlijke anecdotes & micro-observaties - vooral in deel 1, dat de vooroorlogse jaren behandelt, laat iets doorschemeren van de verraderlijke geleidelijkheid waarmee achter een sluier van normaliteit het net van de Nazi-wet zich sloot om de Jood.
March 3, 2009
This is an unforgettable book. A comprehensive, detailed, definitive history of how hate become pandemic created war and cataclysm. I've read lots of holocaust writing, and seen a lot of film. But there is nothing else like this.
Though lengthy, I had to press on and finish. I'm so glad I did.
Though lengthy, I had to press on and finish. I'm so glad I did.
June 9, 2024
In ‘Nazi Germany and the Jews’, Saul Friedlander writes that “Whereas ordinary racial anti-semitism is one element within a wider racist worldview, in redemptive anti-semitism the struggle against the Jews is the dominant aspect of a worldview in which other racist themes are but secondary appendages.” (Friedlander, 2009) He thus coins the term, ‘Redemptive anti-semitism’ and attributes it to a wider, religious worldview with apocalyptic fears and roots throughout history. Friedlander points out the redemptive anti-semitism within the Nazi visual propaganda. For instance the propaganda video released in 1940, ‘The Eternal Jew’, which was both the name of the film and the idea, the Jew who tries to dominate the world. The idea of redemptive anti-semitism, the idea to redeem the world from the Jew.
Hitler rarely spoke about the Jews, he rather spoke about the Jew, making it more of an abstract principle. Some of this may be traced back to the Christian perceptions of ‘The Protocol of Elders of Zion’ which depicted a Jewish myth for Global dominance. Then again, it is arguable that there was no actual fear but that the document was used as a way to justify their stance against the Jews. On that note, there must have been a certain amount of peer pressure and groupthink. Interestingly enough, in 1923 the Nazi theorist Alfred Rosenberg published a version of the Protocols, which was later adopted by some circles in the Catholic church in Spain. Amongst Franco’s elite, Redondo Ortega, reprinted experts of the Protocols.
Bernd Rother concluded that there was anti-semitism in Spain, but if it occurred, it did not do so systematically nor did it come from the Spanish government but rather from certain circles within the Falange organisation, a minority not all but a few. Although Alvarez Chillida noted that “Anti- Jewish phrases began to be heard in Franco’s speeches” (Chillida, 2002), others on the other hand, believed Franco was not complicit but did not want to complicate his relationship with the Nazi’s either. “Although there was propaganda, it never turned into policy or hate.” (Kuznitzky, 2014)
At one point, Rother seems to mention Spain was reluctant to save their “own” national Jews. Spain, for example, repatriated (and thus saved) only 800 out of the 3,400 Jews. I disagree with this. Many of the Jews which were eventually send to the concentration camps through the path of Vichy France, ended up there for their participation against, or lack of participation with ’Franco’s Spain’, and not primarily for being Jewish. Or at least it is harder to make that point, especially seeing there were no special policies regarding the Jews in Spain. Many fought in the International Brigade, if they were caught, it was for doing so, not for being Jewish. “Over 7000 Jews from over 54 countries fought in the Spanish civil war.” (Praco, 1979) It is also interesting to note that Franco’s fascism resembles more Italian fascism than Nazism, both lacking the strong element of anti-semitism.
Today, more and more is being written about Jewish History from a ‘What if’ perspective. Personally I think alternate history, can offer historians a new way of looking at events. Robert Harris, author of the critically acclaimed ‘Fatherland’ famously said that crimes against humanity, if Hitler would have won, would have been brushed away largely for sake of global economic progress. In his latest book ‘The Holocaust Averted’, professor of Jewish History Jeffrey Gurock puts emphasis on turning points in history and wonders what would have happened with the Jews without the Holocaust. Would there even be an Israel today? I believe so, as Zionism was on a steady rise before the outbreak of the war. The Uganda scheme, although at first supported by the founder of the Zionist Organisation Theodor Herzl, deemed to be unattractive in the end. The whole religious aspect and importance of Jerusalem, where many Jews were already gathered, prevailed and the land, which was previously carved up by Sykes an Picot, was given to the Jews.
This brings us to Postmodern anti-semitism today. When talking to several Jews in Europe and observing both the political, social and economical climate concerning Israel, it is remarkable how the Jews have managed to create a new stereotype, from oppressed to oppressor, when it comes to dealing with neighbouring Arab countries and it’s citizens. Although did not the Arab League attack first? But the Jews took their land? But didn’t the Arabs fight on 'the wrong side’ in the war? Will it ever be clear and non-controversial? It is remarkable how several organisations have been set up with the sole purpose of openly boycotting Israel. That said, many Jews agree with the harshness of Israel and do not consider themselves a Zionist or Israeli Jew. Being a Jew is for instance, secular to being a person living in Spain. (except when getting married, then the Jewish status suddenly comes to the foreground) It is save to say anti-semitism today can be viewed in many cases as Anti-Israeli (or anti-zionism) rather than Anti-Jewish. “While antisemitism has been described as an irrational, age-old prejudice, anti-Zionism is often represented as a legitimate response to a ’rogue state’.” (Jaspal, 2016) It has therefore also taken a step away from Redemptive anti-semitism.
Hitler rarely spoke about the Jews, he rather spoke about the Jew, making it more of an abstract principle. Some of this may be traced back to the Christian perceptions of ‘The Protocol of Elders of Zion’ which depicted a Jewish myth for Global dominance. Then again, it is arguable that there was no actual fear but that the document was used as a way to justify their stance against the Jews. On that note, there must have been a certain amount of peer pressure and groupthink. Interestingly enough, in 1923 the Nazi theorist Alfred Rosenberg published a version of the Protocols, which was later adopted by some circles in the Catholic church in Spain. Amongst Franco’s elite, Redondo Ortega, reprinted experts of the Protocols.
Bernd Rother concluded that there was anti-semitism in Spain, but if it occurred, it did not do so systematically nor did it come from the Spanish government but rather from certain circles within the Falange organisation, a minority not all but a few. Although Alvarez Chillida noted that “Anti- Jewish phrases began to be heard in Franco’s speeches” (Chillida, 2002), others on the other hand, believed Franco was not complicit but did not want to complicate his relationship with the Nazi’s either. “Although there was propaganda, it never turned into policy or hate.” (Kuznitzky, 2014)
At one point, Rother seems to mention Spain was reluctant to save their “own” national Jews. Spain, for example, repatriated (and thus saved) only 800 out of the 3,400 Jews. I disagree with this. Many of the Jews which were eventually send to the concentration camps through the path of Vichy France, ended up there for their participation against, or lack of participation with ’Franco’s Spain’, and not primarily for being Jewish. Or at least it is harder to make that point, especially seeing there were no special policies regarding the Jews in Spain. Many fought in the International Brigade, if they were caught, it was for doing so, not for being Jewish. “Over 7000 Jews from over 54 countries fought in the Spanish civil war.” (Praco, 1979) It is also interesting to note that Franco’s fascism resembles more Italian fascism than Nazism, both lacking the strong element of anti-semitism.
Today, more and more is being written about Jewish History from a ‘What if’ perspective. Personally I think alternate history, can offer historians a new way of looking at events. Robert Harris, author of the critically acclaimed ‘Fatherland’ famously said that crimes against humanity, if Hitler would have won, would have been brushed away largely for sake of global economic progress. In his latest book ‘The Holocaust Averted’, professor of Jewish History Jeffrey Gurock puts emphasis on turning points in history and wonders what would have happened with the Jews without the Holocaust. Would there even be an Israel today? I believe so, as Zionism was on a steady rise before the outbreak of the war. The Uganda scheme, although at first supported by the founder of the Zionist Organisation Theodor Herzl, deemed to be unattractive in the end. The whole religious aspect and importance of Jerusalem, where many Jews were already gathered, prevailed and the land, which was previously carved up by Sykes an Picot, was given to the Jews.
This brings us to Postmodern anti-semitism today. When talking to several Jews in Europe and observing both the political, social and economical climate concerning Israel, it is remarkable how the Jews have managed to create a new stereotype, from oppressed to oppressor, when it comes to dealing with neighbouring Arab countries and it’s citizens. Although did not the Arab League attack first? But the Jews took their land? But didn’t the Arabs fight on 'the wrong side’ in the war? Will it ever be clear and non-controversial? It is remarkable how several organisations have been set up with the sole purpose of openly boycotting Israel. That said, many Jews agree with the harshness of Israel and do not consider themselves a Zionist or Israeli Jew. Being a Jew is for instance, secular to being a person living in Spain. (except when getting married, then the Jewish status suddenly comes to the foreground) It is save to say anti-semitism today can be viewed in many cases as Anti-Israeli (or anti-zionism) rather than Anti-Jewish. “While antisemitism has been described as an irrational, age-old prejudice, anti-Zionism is often represented as a legitimate response to a ’rogue state’.” (Jaspal, 2016) It has therefore also taken a step away from Redemptive anti-semitism.
September 13, 2023
I love horror books. Growing up, alongside the bleak crime stories of the 1920s and 30s, it was all horror. Violent horror. Cruel horror. Silly and ridiculous horror. Some of the worst books I've ever read are horror books that I still remember fondly.
This is the scariest book I have ever read.
This is volume one of an two book study on how Jews and others were treated once the Nazis took power. Plenty has been written, and will continue being written about the lunatic horrors of genocide, and it is heartbreaking and enraging, and it has been written about, and filmed, and talked about with so much urgency that sometimes people grow numb. They have seen and heard about it before. This book takes a different focus.
Here we get the slow movement of the outright collapse of civilization. There are strong-armed debates over curbing rights and changing laws, until it gets easier and easier to outlaw ideas, then people from humanity. We learn about how propaganda works on masses of scared, ordinary people looking for sonething other than themselves to blame for their unhappy struggles.
We experience the repetition of allegations and conspiracy theories, of the same phrases and labels over and over again, then watch how they begin to take over the very idea of national--even world consciousness. It was hard work, but once society is convinced whose fault everything is, it becomes easy to create monsters out of those unlike you.
Sounds familiar, doesn't it?
Volume two deals with the outcome of convincing people what is and is not human. It is, as i said, the scariest book I have ever read.
This is the scariest book I have ever read.
This is volume one of an two book study on how Jews and others were treated once the Nazis took power. Plenty has been written, and will continue being written about the lunatic horrors of genocide, and it is heartbreaking and enraging, and it has been written about, and filmed, and talked about with so much urgency that sometimes people grow numb. They have seen and heard about it before. This book takes a different focus.
Here we get the slow movement of the outright collapse of civilization. There are strong-armed debates over curbing rights and changing laws, until it gets easier and easier to outlaw ideas, then people from humanity. We learn about how propaganda works on masses of scared, ordinary people looking for sonething other than themselves to blame for their unhappy struggles.
We experience the repetition of allegations and conspiracy theories, of the same phrases and labels over and over again, then watch how they begin to take over the very idea of national--even world consciousness. It was hard work, but once society is convinced whose fault everything is, it becomes easy to create monsters out of those unlike you.
Sounds familiar, doesn't it?
Volume two deals with the outcome of convincing people what is and is not human. It is, as i said, the scariest book I have ever read.
December 28, 2009
Man am I happy to be done reading this book. It's good and I'm glad I read it. But it is mostly a book about names rather than a book about people. Very straightforward history stuff, not much in the way of personal background info. No established characters, if you will. Granted, it's not a novel or a memoir, so it's not like I expected The Diary of Anne Frank: Now With Lots of Facts or anything. I think one of the main problems is that this is an abridged/combined version of two longer books by Friedländer: The Years of Persecution and The Years of Extermination. The intro claims that this book isn't meant to replace those two, it's meant to get people to read this one and then seek out the full versions. I kind of doubt that people who read this book are going to do that. Otherwise why read an abridged version in the first place. I've never read the originals so I can't say for sure, but this felt, at times, clumsily abridged and combined. It also seems geared toward people who already have a good background knowledge re: the historical figures involved. Mine is pretty shaky, so the scant introduction to these people didn't help me remember who the hell they were when they were mentioned dozens of pages later. Sure, I could have Googled every name, but then I never would have finished this. Time was of the essence since this is a library book. That is probably late. In any case, I gained something from reading this, but think I would have been better off to read the original books, which I now, in all likelihood, won't.
October 20, 2024
Made really good points in the Introduction, however, those points were hard to see throughout the book. His argument could be more explicit throughout the book. Additionally, there was not nearly as many Jewish experiences highlighted throughout this book like he suggested in the Introduction. More Jewish voices might have strengthened his thesis.
August 26, 2016
Saul Friedländer's Nazi Germany and the Jews seems destined to become one of the magisterial works in the field. The second volume clocks in at around 800 pages, but this first one is a shorter book, that nevertheless manages to detail the path to the death camps through a discussion both of the political maneuvering at the highest levels of German politics as well as through telling vignettes from the lives of ordinary Germans, both Jewish and non-Jewish. Friedländer is far too canny and wise a historian to attribute some kind of Sonderweg (a la Goldhagen's unsatisfactory Hitler's Willing Executioners) to the Germans that purports to explain why they could "fall" for Nazism. Instead, one is left with, to me, an entirely appropriate feeling of perplexity at how so many people, not all of whom were anti-Semites or out and out evil, could fall in with the terrible plans of their leaders. (And of course, there are a few - sadly, a very few - shining examples of those who held out against the pressure to conform.)
If you're at all interested in the history of the period, I recommend it. (And fittingly, I am writing this review on September 1, 2009, the 70th anniversary of the German - and Russian - invasion of Poland that sparked the bloodiest conflict the world has ever known.)
If you're at all interested in the history of the period, I recommend it. (And fittingly, I am writing this review on September 1, 2009, the 70th anniversary of the German - and Russian - invasion of Poland that sparked the bloodiest conflict the world has ever known.)
August 10, 2022
The most detailed account of the most unspeakable, protracted crime of all time. Friedländer achieves a Herculean task: documenting and narrating the escalating persecution of European Jews from 1933 onwards in a readable manner. Crude historical facts and figures are interwoven with harrowing eyewitness accounts as well as the readers’ warnings and critiques, especially towards the moral inadequacy of the Christian leadership and mass popular complacency.
July 24, 2017
This book is the first of Freidlander's comprehensive history of the Holocaust, and is a lead-in to the second volume, The Years of Extermination. The Years of Persecution traces the gradual implementation of the Nazis final solution, and answers the "how could this have happened?" question, or at least, "how does this happen?"
January 30, 2021
Seriously well researched...
May 27, 2020
The worst (and best) (and worst!) part of this book is the way Friedlander describes the exacting thoroughness that the Nazis applied to their race policies toward the Jews. No detail was too small. No tidbit was unworthy of notice. No "general rule" was applied. Each and every case was considered in detail. One gentleman fought for YEARS to keep his job. The reason: he was illegitimate, but his mother at one time had mentioned a Jewish-sounding name as the name of his father. All efforts to track down the father to determine his racial origins came to naught. The "best candidate" for the father would have been 11 years old at the time the man in question was conceived.
In another case, a Jewish girl who was still attending a German public school (due to exceptions that were made for children of Jewish WWI war heroes, or who had one "Aryan" parent and who was raised "Christian") was "accidentally allowed" to attend a flag raising ceremony. Someone denounced the principal of the school to the Nazis. The school principal was investigated and censured for not protecting the honor of the German flag.
And on and on and on....
The stories are endless and mind-boggling in so far as they show the extent of the Nazi (and German) irrational hatred of the Jews. Step by step, the Jews were erased from any participation in government, education, science, culture, economy, community, politics, EVERY TINY LITTLE CORNER of possible existence in Germany.
I found myself writing "CRAZY" over and over in the margins next to Friedlander's quotes from Hitler, Goebbels, Himmler, and Heydrich regarding the Jews. But they were not the worst. Ordinary Germans rejecting, abandoning, and denouncing their Jewish colleagues, neighbors and friends - THAT was the worst. I just can't wrap my head around how an ENTIRE CIVILIZATION, including the church leaders, university professors, and anyone with any moral authority at all did not protest the policies and treatment of PEOPLE whom they considered "tainted" by "Jewish blood." Did the entire population lose their minds at once? And yet they still claimed to be the most advanced civilization on earth? I. Just. Can't. Get. My. Head. Around. It.
The people who are "antifa" today have got no historical perspective whatsoever. People were afraid of the chaos and randomness of attacks of the the German right-wing organizations, yes. But what antifa does - dressing up in masks and violently attacking people and property for disagreeing with their worldview - is EXACTLY what the Nazis did.
Your average run-of-the-mill Republican (aka, "racist," "misogynist," "sexist," "xenophobic," "knuckle-dragging," "bible-thumping," "dim witted," "gun-toting," "neanderthal" "science-denying," "deplorable") has got absolutely NOTHING on the rage and hatred apparently boiling in the souls of antifa members towards anyone whom they deem "impure." And our moral, political and ethical "betters" stand up for them. Which group is scarier?
In another case, a Jewish girl who was still attending a German public school (due to exceptions that were made for children of Jewish WWI war heroes, or who had one "Aryan" parent and who was raised "Christian") was "accidentally allowed" to attend a flag raising ceremony. Someone denounced the principal of the school to the Nazis. The school principal was investigated and censured for not protecting the honor of the German flag.
And on and on and on....
The stories are endless and mind-boggling in so far as they show the extent of the Nazi (and German) irrational hatred of the Jews. Step by step, the Jews were erased from any participation in government, education, science, culture, economy, community, politics, EVERY TINY LITTLE CORNER of possible existence in Germany.
I found myself writing "CRAZY" over and over in the margins next to Friedlander's quotes from Hitler, Goebbels, Himmler, and Heydrich regarding the Jews. But they were not the worst. Ordinary Germans rejecting, abandoning, and denouncing their Jewish colleagues, neighbors and friends - THAT was the worst. I just can't wrap my head around how an ENTIRE CIVILIZATION, including the church leaders, university professors, and anyone with any moral authority at all did not protest the policies and treatment of PEOPLE whom they considered "tainted" by "Jewish blood." Did the entire population lose their minds at once? And yet they still claimed to be the most advanced civilization on earth? I. Just. Can't. Get. My. Head. Around. It.
The people who are "antifa" today have got no historical perspective whatsoever. People were afraid of the chaos and randomness of attacks of the the German right-wing organizations, yes. But what antifa does - dressing up in masks and violently attacking people and property for disagreeing with their worldview - is EXACTLY what the Nazis did.
Your average run-of-the-mill Republican (aka, "racist," "misogynist," "sexist," "xenophobic," "knuckle-dragging," "bible-thumping," "dim witted," "gun-toting," "neanderthal" "science-denying," "deplorable") has got absolutely NOTHING on the rage and hatred apparently boiling in the souls of antifa members towards anyone whom they deem "impure." And our moral, political and ethical "betters" stand up for them. Which group is scarier?
January 8, 2013
Not an easy read but essential to get an understanding of Europe in the 20th century. The book is an abridgement of two larger books. At times the narrative is disrupted or names are mentioned out of context or so long since a previous mention that I had forgotten who the people were.
One of the main issues the book raises is how the holocaust was allowed to happen in supposedly civilised Europe - I kept thinking of Gandhi's quip that he thought European civilisation would be a good idea. In almost mind-numbing detail the book goes through how the Jews were rounded up in the Reich and in the occupied countries and shipped to Poland to ghettos and then to the camps for extermination. The book has no maps which would have been helpful - I suppose they were abridged out!
In my own understanding I had thought the holocaust was a secret only revealed when the Soviets liberated the extermination camps in Poland in early 1945. This is of course not true and may have been the result of re-writing of history in our education system or in society more generally to relieve feelings of guilt. This book makes it clear that while it may not have been publicly reported much in Europe due to Nazi control of the media, ordinary people all over Europe knew what was happening to the Jews departed to Poland. Reports were sent to the Red Cross and to various governments and to the Vatican.
One aspect of the holocaust not so well covered in the book is the involvement of ordinary people from many European countries in the exterminations. This is covered much better by Inga Clendinnen
in Reading the Holocaust.
Overall a book everyone should read, but probably not one for re-reading.
One of the main issues the book raises is how the holocaust was allowed to happen in supposedly civilised Europe - I kept thinking of Gandhi's quip that he thought European civilisation would be a good idea. In almost mind-numbing detail the book goes through how the Jews were rounded up in the Reich and in the occupied countries and shipped to Poland to ghettos and then to the camps for extermination. The book has no maps which would have been helpful - I suppose they were abridged out!
In my own understanding I had thought the holocaust was a secret only revealed when the Soviets liberated the extermination camps in Poland in early 1945. This is of course not true and may have been the result of re-writing of history in our education system or in society more generally to relieve feelings of guilt. This book makes it clear that while it may not have been publicly reported much in Europe due to Nazi control of the media, ordinary people all over Europe knew what was happening to the Jews departed to Poland. Reports were sent to the Red Cross and to various governments and to the Vatican.
One aspect of the holocaust not so well covered in the book is the involvement of ordinary people from many European countries in the exterminations. This is covered much better by Inga Clendinnen
in Reading the Holocaust.
Overall a book everyone should read, but probably not one for re-reading.
January 30, 2013
Disturbing, yet still fascinating in its detail. I used Friedlander's unabridged version as a source for a paper on the Shoah a few years back and it was dense but useful. This much shorter version isn't perfect (editing could have been more precise) but it stands to be as valuable for the student of Holocaust studies as the original. I must agree with another reviewer that Dr. F's constant use of personal names slows the reading and can interfere with the narrative flow without adding that much to the story. I understand, however, that Friedlander wanted to make this personal - these were actual people, families, neighborhoods, towns, cities, that were being systematically slaughtered.
Due respect should be given the author (and his 'life partner' who did the abridged version)that he shared the blame in this book. The US, France, the Swiss, the Catholic Church, and others - all stood by dispassionately as perhaps 8 million Jews, Gypsies, and Homosexuals were massacred. The shame should never be forgotten. A job well done for a subject matter that should never be far from our national consciousness.
Due respect should be given the author (and his 'life partner' who did the abridged version)that he shared the blame in this book. The US, France, the Swiss, the Catholic Church, and others - all stood by dispassionately as perhaps 8 million Jews, Gypsies, and Homosexuals were massacred. The shame should never be forgotten. A job well done for a subject matter that should never be far from our national consciousness.
May 26, 2021
El cuadro escrito que Friedländer nos presenta en este primer tomo coral y fáctico de la evolución de la pérdida progresiva de derechos de los judíos y otras minorías bajo un régimen que se cernía sobre ellos como una trampa de resorte. Los datos y testimonios muestran un impecable trabajo de investigación, misma que muestra cada faceta de la persecución tanto por archivos oficiales como por registros de diarios de los habitantes que en la mayoría de los casos, no sobrevivirían al nazismo.
La impavidez del mundo (léase, Occidente y los Estados Unidos) también recibe su parte de la responsabilidad que históricamente le recae y la crónica se transforma en una letanía de infamias que van desde la ignominia hasta el asesinato, pasando por los más atroces como los más sutiles niveles del proceso de deshumanización del "judío". La historia se pone cada vez peor, y apenas es el final del primer tomo.
La impavidez del mundo (léase, Occidente y los Estados Unidos) también recibe su parte de la responsabilidad que históricamente le recae y la crónica se transforma en una letanía de infamias que van desde la ignominia hasta el asesinato, pasando por los más atroces como los más sutiles niveles del proceso de deshumanización del "judío". La historia se pone cada vez peor, y apenas es el final del primer tomo.
March 4, 2009
This is an excellent work of history- rigorous, balanced, and insightful. The most remarkable aspect of the book is its ability to weave together the individual stories of people from all levels of the Nazi regime and from all of the parts of the society that it victimized. It is moving in many places, and remarkably thorough. If you enjoy serious works of history, this book will not disappoint.
September 16, 2016
More technical insight into the 1930s pograms that the Nazis implemented than I ever knew. Really gave me a lot of food for thought, especially given the fact that all of this could have been prevented at least somewhat if there rest of the world wasn't so damned racist at the time. The book was loaded with numerous dates and laws that were enacted during the '30s and after a while that can get a bit boring, but other than that it was quite enlightening.
February 5, 2014
An absolute must read for anyone studying WWII and the Holocaust. The reader is able to see the big picture of the horrific events of the war and the atrocities committed against the Jews. At times the book is incredibly difficult to take in, as it should be. I loved that it was a comprehensive history of the war but has victim testimony intermixed.
February 21, 2014
Nazi Germany and the Jews. A painstaking account of the Holocaust. This book felt endless, and I think that was exactly the way it should have felt. For readers like me, with pretty much zero background in this history, the author's constant introduction of new names and places will be hard but not impossible to follow.
September 18, 2009
A remarkable and must-read book. Thorough and scholarly and yet very readable. Full of information from the overall and historical viewpoint as well as the details that bring it all together. I am off to Volume II.
June 19, 2017
Nazis Jewish Policies
This book details the policies of Nazi Germany and Adolf Hitler up until the start of the war. It was very detailed and provided a lot of new information to me. I highly recommend this book.
This book details the policies of Nazi Germany and Adolf Hitler up until the start of the war. It was very detailed and provided a lot of new information to me. I highly recommend this book.
October 1, 2019
Was likely a better read in the original format. This book reads more like a list of events with little narrative. Make no mistake, it is still horrifying as it details things that the world must never forget.
August 27, 2020
Nazi Almanyası'na dair olup biten her şey belgeleriyle anlatılmış. Somut veriler oldukça kullanılmış ve okuyucu yormayan bir üslupla yansıtılmış. Okuduğum en detaylı Nazi dönemi kitabıdır. İkinci cildini okumayı sabırsızlıkla bekliyorum.
February 20, 2010
I had to read this book for a Holocaust and History class and have to say it was an interesting read as I never realized before all the laws and such that went into effect before the Holocaust.
October 7, 2012
Vivid and depressing, but a must read when it comes to the factors that led to Jewish persecution and the Holocaust.
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