Why We Watched: Europe, America, and the Holocaust

by Theodore S. Hamerow

This book answers the most pressing question about the Holocaust: Why did the West do nothing as Hitler's killing machine took hold? The Allies stood by and watched Nazi Germany imprison and then murder six million Jews during World War II. How could the unthinkable have been allowed to happen? Theodore Hamerow reveals in the pages of this compelling book that each Western nation had its own version of the Jewish Question―its own type of anti-Semitism―which may not have been as virulent as in Eastern Europe but was disastrously crippling nonetheless. If just one country had opened its doors to Germany's already persecuted Jews in the 1930s, and if the Allies had attempted even one bombing of an extermination camp, the Holocaust would have been markedly different. Instead, by sitting on their hands, the West let Hitler solve their Jewish Question by eliminating European Jewry.

Genres: History, Holocaust, Nonfiction, World War II

544 pages, Hardcover

First published August 17, 2008

Reviews

[Alida · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really, really wanted to give 5 stars to this book but it suffers from an acute case of redundancy. It is a pity because this book should be read by as many people as possible. The problem is that there are 16 chapters but not all of them are needed. Prof. Hamerow made his case, and brilliantly I might add, in 9 chapters; the rest is just repetition that becomes tedious.

His main point is very simple and yet incontrovertible: WE watched AND let the Holocaust happen because in the battle between compassion & goodness and self-interest (inflated by prejudice, ignorance, racism, fear and political calculation), goodness & compassion lost.

That being said if you are willing to forgive the redundancy, this is a VERY worthwhile book to read. It traces the history of secular anti-semitism from the late 1800 and how this prejudice informed policies in every government worldwide until the end of WW2.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

This could have been shorter, but was overall good at showing tension between doing something about the killing of European Jews and beating the Nazis in the war. Allied governments often chose the latter when those goals conflicted.

[Karolyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good, but could have been shorter. Somewhat redundant-

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Relevant even for today

[Vince · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty solid book. The author examines anti semitism in the USA and abroad and explains why it affected the Allies response to the Holocaust. The only problem with the book is most of the author's points keep using the same evidence, polling data on anti semitic trends in the USA at the time etc. After awhile it becomes redundant. I would also have liked to see an closer examination of many of the schemes that were put on the table at the time. For examople could the railway tracks to the extermination centers have been bombed. What would have been the cost. Could the Allies have just ignored the Arabs in the region and allowed unlimited immigration to Palestine etc.

[Craig Bolton]

"Why We Watched: Europe, America, and the Holocaust by Theodore S. Hamerow (2008)"

[Laporta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good history for anyone interested in the Holocaust or even the failure of states to act when genocides occur.

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book opened my eyes to the extent of anti-Semitism at the time of the Holocaust and increases my understanding of the desire for a place of safety for Jews worldwide.