The World Must Know: The History of the Holocaust as Told in the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

by Michael Berenbaum

The World Must Know depicts the evolution of the Holocaust comprehensively, as it is presented in the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.D., honors the six-million Jews and millions of other victims of the Nazis during World War II―a memorial to the past and a living reminder of the moral obligations of societies and individuals. The World Must Know documents the compelling human stories of the Holocaust as told in the Museum's renowned Permanent Exhibition. This second edition is based on the substantive increase in knowledge of the Holocaust over the past dozen years and information from archives that had been inaccessible to researchers until after the collapse of the Soviet Union and the communist regimes of Easten and Central Europe. This revised edition is enhanced with new insights and updates based on archival information that had been inaccessible to researchers until after the collapse of the Soviet Union and the Communist regimes of Eastern and Central Europe. It includes new photographs, redrawn charts, a new section on the Holocaust in Greece, an updated bibliography, and a new foreword by the museum director. "The World Must Know by Michael Berenbaum is a skillfully organized and clearly told account of the German Holocaust that consumed, with unparalleled malevolence, six million Jews and millions of innocent others―Protestants, Catholics, Poles, Russians, Gypsies, the handicapped, and so many others, adults and children. This important book, a vital guide through the unique corridors of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., merits the widest of audiences." ―Chaim Potok, author of The Chosen and The Promise Published on behalf of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

Genres: Holocaust, History, Nonfiction, World War II, Historical, War, World History

260 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1993

Reviews

[JD Waggy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Don't try to read this all at once. For one thing, it's really long, so that would be a chunk of time.

But mostly, it's heavy. It's literally heavy--hundreds of glossy, full-color and black-and-white photos splash across thick pages, so the book itself weighs something significant. It is also metaphorically heavy as a fairly comprehensive overview of the Holocaust, from early Nazi beginnings to the aftermath of the war and the toll of so much death and horror. The book is patterned after the museum, but you don't need to have gone to the museum to appreciate and learn from the book. I did go to the museum a few months before reading this, incidentally, and it does add force to the suckerpunch that this is, but it wasn't necessary.

I read the second edition, which allows for more up-to-date scholastic input and more photographs and artifacts to be included. If you're at all interested in or curious about the Holocaust, I highly recommend this. But go slow. We must know, but hurts like hell to do so.

[Susan Snodgrass · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was not an easy book to read. It is horrifying to read. It will cause you to weep. It , however, is a necessary read. For the life of me, I cannot even begin to imagine how one man could hate an entire race of people so much that he devised such an incredibly cruel 'final solution' to rid the world of Jews. It is absolutely horrific! When you sit down and begin to read how Hitler felt and how he surrounded himself with men who, along with himself, devised this cruelly and intricately planned method, it completely boggles your mind! How heaven must have wept! I have tears as I write this review. The photos in this book are just, well, unimaginable. Prepare your mind to see them because they cannot be unseen. This was the most despicable time in history, in my opinion.

[Chris Schmutz · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was in Washington DC on business, and one Saturday afternoon when I walking my brains out as I'm want to do when alone and in an amenable city. I left the Air and Space Museum on my way to the Secret Service building because I wanted to see money being made, and decided instead to just keep walking down the street. Subconsciously I knew EXACTLY where I was going - to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. As a student of European History, military conflicts, and having been a resident of Germany for 16 months after which I returned to Germany on many occasions, I've always been astounded at the dicotomy of social issues and conflicts in and around Germany that led to both world wars and ultimately to the Holocaust.

I wasn't shocked by anything I experienced there because I'd spent a lifetime studying the Holocaust to try to better understand our world. It did move me, though. This book is very well done, and does an okay job at depicting what there is to experience at the museum.

Side note - here's how stupid I was despite all the exposure to Jews in history and in my hometown growning up (45% Catholic, 30% Mormon, 20% Jewish, 5% in the process of switching between these), I didn't really get one basic point. After purchasing this book at the gift shop, I walked up to the nice elderly security guard on my way out and asked, "Where could I get a copy of the Jewish Bible or Torah." He first looked a little surprised - maybe someone with my nose and coloring should know these things by instinct, but he quickly realized I was just an ignorant gentile, and gently reminded me that "Any bible contains the Jewish scriptures as the first books of what you know as the Old Testament." And then he recited their names - Genesis, Exodus, ... much faster than my poor seminary-aged memory could remember. I stood there for literally 8 seconds after he finished (an eternity for intelligent beings) trying to figure out just how stupid I could get after having been so well educated within those walls and so well exposed to Jews all my life. I walked out hunched with my tail between my legs. They were all so nice there.

Its sad that some 20 years later - a couple years ago - someone holding that same security guard post was shot and killed by an idiotic maniac that really doesn't get what that whole museum was all about - peace, education, reconcilliation - all with the goal to remind the world of the past ... that we might learn without repeating the worst deeds of mankind.

Don't read the book if you're not in to non-fiction, history, or desire to understand this one facet of 20th Century politics & social conflicts. Otherwise its a fine book.

[Lisa Horvath · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a staff member at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum, this furthered my knowledge about the museum, its exhibitions as well as the Holocaust itself. For those interested in this museum or topic, I would consider it as an addition to the bookshelf. It is informative, especially as it elaborates on the museum's Permanent Exhibition, by providing additional information and insight on artifacts, images, and information panels in the exhibition space. Additionally, survivor testimony is threaded throughout, serving as a narrative and break from the textbook-like narrative.

[Dayna Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

A magnificent look at the Holocaust from beginning to end. The pictures and illustrations are magnificent and the text is extremely well written in a manner that is very understandable. A great overview of the Holocaust that will definitely make you want to learn more. Fortunately, the book contains an amazing resource list to guide further inquiry.

[Sarah Gatewood · Rating 5 out of 5]

My review is for the second edition. Finished this book about the Holocaust in less than a week. It is by a very well known Holocaust author in conjunction with the US Holocaust Memorial Museum. I highly recommend this book. This is a very comprehensive book and would be a great for someone that wants to learn more about the Holocaust, but not wanting to read multiple books.

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Many of these photos also appear in "The Holocaust Chronicles." If you don't want to read the latter book because it is so large and comprehensive, you can still get a decent understanding of the Holocaust through this book.

[Fritz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the whole thing after visiting the Holocaust museum.

What can I say? It's just tragic that people can do such horrible things to each other.

[Aaron Polish · Rating 5 out of 5]

very sad, pictures show it all as well as the writing, my aunt was there in the Holocaust but made it alive, those Nazis are ass holes.

[Makena · Rating 5 out of 5]

The text is an important asset in explaining history. The references mentioned, and the pictures, were moving and humbling.

[Melissa Rudder · Rating 4 out of 5]

Michael Berenbaum’s book The World Must Know examines the atrocities of the Holocaust, as told in the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. In his study, he examines the development of the Holocaust, the spread of Hitler’s influence, the roots of anti-Semitism, the horrors of ghettos, concentration camps, and death camps, the actions of nations and peoples indirectly affected by the Holocaust, and the overall aftermath of the Holocaust.

Berenbaum’s book is a good introduction to the Holocaust because he gives his reader a general idea of the Holocaust’s events and developments while highlighting specific details to cast into sharp relief the horrific cruelty and inhumanity of the events. He presents statistics and personal accounts. He discusses the general development of the Final Solution and looks at its unique development in different countries. Upon finishing this history, readers will feel confident in their knowledge of the Holocaust and unconfident in their understanding of humanity.

My one complaint with Berenbaum’s history is that parts of it tend to be generalized. I was particularly irked by his obviously uninformed statement that “Unlike earlier generations of immigrants who came in search of the American dream, the survivors’ experience of America was bittersweet.” I mean, what is that? But, for the most part, Berenbaum’s generalizations don’t seem to interfere with the important elements of his account.

The Holocaust is noted by many as one of the most devastating events in world history, and especially the twentieth century. The World Must Know seeks to impress upon the world the horror that was the Holocaust, and has the potential to do so successfully.

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

The holocaust is an astounding chapter in the total story of man's inhumanity. I have read this tome insatiably since opening the covers.
It is generously illustrated with exhibits substantiating much of the text. I obtained it on loan from a college student neighbor who consented to loan it upon completion of his semester's study. I got it for a scant weekend and must return it today--to my disappointment in being unable to study every page.
AFTERTHOUGHTS:
I have been intrigued to learn how Adolph seized the government and won the whole German people to his agenda. All this is documented thoroughly in the book. Key elements were:
Mass psychology and deception,
Selection of an historically unpopular minority (Jews) as scapegoats for the world-wide depression;
Recruitment and indoctrination of idealistic, impressionable youth to extirpate all resistance by force;
Suspension and repression of natural human rights.

Every individual, and even small group, is succeptible to overwhelming force.

Adolf did not effect the Holocaust by himself! He had many guilty accomplices (see: Nuremburg trials).
All of these techniques could be employed against any other unpopular cause (e.g. Mormons) at any time again--unless everyone is sensitized to the threat.

[Laurie Garcia · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great overall history of the Holocaust focusing on different aspects of the Holocaust such as ghettos, concentration camps and resistance. It features photographs and documents related to the Holocaust as well. I highly recommend this book.

[Nikki · Rating 5 out of 5]

A powerful book that puts a face on the 'numbers' of dead that we have all learned about. Well written to explain how Hitler was able to convert others to his plans. This book will not fade from one's mind, once read.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank-you, God, that we have hope not in humanity which will fail us and destroy us every time, but we have hope in You.

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I strongly recommend all of Michael Berenbaum's books. They are highly informative, brilliantly written, and help to teach the world about Shoah. After all, (to quote him)the world must know.

[Cory Gimmestad · Rating 4 out of 5]

I tough book to read with very graphic pictures and desciptions. I had to push myself to continue reading. This book is organized well. It was worth the read but not for the faint of heart.

[Alyssa Riley · Rating 5 out of 5]

You'll be haunted with images after reading this devastating book.

[Beth A · Rating 5 out of 5]

OMFG, really, OMFG-that's all I can say at this point.

[Trisha · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you like depressing photos and history, here's a book for you1

[James · Rating 2 out of 5]

A decent high school or younger age basic holocaust reader.

[Missi · Rating 4 out of 5]

very informative

[Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Definitive book on the Holocaust; a "must" read.

[Patty Abrams · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a brief history of Jews in Europe and more extensive telling of the Holocaust with lots of photos from the museum. I thoroughly enjoyed learning more of the story.

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was given to me by a Holocaust survivor . It still leaves me speechless.

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Will leave you speechless

[Shevawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

A comprehensive history of the Holocaust, weaving testimonials, photos, poems, etc of those who lived during this terrible time of human history. A must read.

[Steven H · Rating 5 out of 5]

AN ESSENTIAL SUPPLEMENT TO THE HOLOCAUST MUSEUM

Jeshajahu Weinberg (1918-2000), Founding Director of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, wrote in the introductory section of this 1993 book, “[The] Museum is the American memorial to the victims of the Holocaust… the museum fulfills its … function primarily through … mass education rather than merely through sculptural aesthetics… The museum has been built to tell America and the world the factual story of this most terrible event in modern history, and to illuminate the crucial moral lessons it entails… The main task… [is to] tell the American public as clearly and comprehensively as possible what happened in that darkest chapter of human history…

“The museum does not undertake to explain why the Holocaust happened. This question has yet to be answered by the historians, and it is doubtful whether such answer will ever go beyond the limits of unprovable hypothesis and speculation… The museum restricts itself meticulously to answering the question of HOW it happened… only a survivor of the Holocaust can fully know and understand what happened in those terrible years, but the world has to know the story of the Holocaust… and in order to be remembered it has to be seen---and told… By no means does this thematic distinction preclude the inclusion of materials pertaining to other genocidal events, such as the Middle Passage of African slaves … in the museum’s library and archives or in its educational activities.

“To preclude definitively revisionist declarations by antisemitic pseudo-scholars who try to ‘prove’ that the Holocaust never happened, the museum … restrict[ed] itself … solely to genuine artifacts and documentary photographic material with proven provenance… Moreover, all visual details of the exhibition, as well as its textual explanations, were thoroughly scrutinized by leading Holocaust historians to ensure their factual accuracy. To educate its visitors, the museum does not have to indoctrinate moral conclusions. They are inherent in the historical story which the museum relates.”

Author Michael Berenbaum states in the Introduction, “Here we seek to introduce you to the museum through the study of the Holocaust… This work does not seek to replicate the experience of the museum… Instead, the book is meant to stand… as an explanation of the Holocaust for those who seek to learn the history … independent of a visit to the museum… Within the … Museum… All of the Nazis’ victims are included and respected. At the center of the tragedy … is the murder of European Jews… historians have recognized … the victimization of the Gypsies… also homosexuals, political prisoners, Soviet POWs, and slave laborers… The museum… is an American institution, chartered by the Congress and built on federal land… Survivors speak of one commandment that …seared the souls of those who remained: Do not let the world forget.”

He recounts, “On the night of May 10, 1933, thousands of Nazi students, along with many professors, stormed universities, libraries, and bookstores …throughout Germany. They removed hundreds of thousands of books and cast them onto bonfires… The authors of some books were Jews, but most were not. Like many propaganda efforts, the book burnings were designed as a spectacle featuring torchlight parades, frenzied dancing, ritualistic chants, and massive bonfires… Jewish authors whose books were burned included Albert Einstein [and] Sigmund Freud… The works of Nobel Prize winner Thomas Mann, Germany’s best-known writer… were cast into the flames. Mann would soon leave Germany, one of more than two thousand writers and artists who could no longer regard Nazi Germany as home.” (Pg. 24)

He reports about the 1935 Nuremberg Laws, “German Jews were stripped of citizenship… For the first time in history, Jews were persecuted not for their religious beliefs and practices, but because of their so-called racial identity, irrevocably transmitted through the blood of their grandparents… The Nuremberg Laws were later imposed on lands occupied by the Nazis…” (Pg. 33)

He notes, “With the exception of a few pastors who resisted Nazi domination, the Protestant churches were also caught up in the zealous nationalism sweeping Germany… An opposition group, known as the Confessional Church, spoke out against the regime’s Nazi racial and anti-Christian teachings. It was led by the Reverend Martin Niemöller, the most prominent of hundreds of pastors … arrested beginning in 1936… He is reported to have said: ‘First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out---because I was not a socialist. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out---because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out---because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me---and there was no one left to speak for me.’” (Pg. 40-41)

He observes, “The United States, a nation of immigrants, was reluctant to become a haven for Jewish refugees. Reflexive nationalism went hand in hand with widespread antisemitism. The depression lingered on, and … new immigrants represented competition in the job market. That these were victims of Nazi persecution fleeing for their lives did not seem a sufficient reason to let in more than a trickle of refugees.” (Pg. 56)

He explains, “456 Danish Jews were sent to Theresienstadt [in Czechoslovakia]… the Danes … insisted that the Red Cross visit the ghetto… the Nazis permitted the visit. But they arranged an elaborate hoax… The ghetto was beautified. Gardens were planted, houses painted… the head of the Jewish Council of Elders greeted the guest in black suit and top hat. A band played light music… When the delegation came to the soccer field, a goal was scored on cue… A children’s opera… was performed for the guests. The hoax succeeded so well that a propaganda film showing how well the Jews were living under the benevolent protection of the Third Reich was made…When the filming was over, most of the cast, including nearly all of the children, were deported to Auschwitz.” (Pg. 88)

He recounts, “Historians disagree as to when the Holocaust began and whether the idea of murdering all the Jews took shape slowly over time or was rather a premeditated plan that existed at the very beginning of the Nazi regime. Did Hitler’s desire to rid Germany of the Jews, which he stated to clearly in ‘Mein Kampf,’ lead inexorably to his determination to kill all the Jews in Europe?... Until 1939, the basic aim of Nazi policy was the forced emigration of Jews. That policy failed when few countries were willing to offer the Jews a haven … The mass killing of Jews began immediately following the German invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941.” (Pg. 103) He continues, “The Holocaust served no political or territorial purpose… The Jews posed no territorial threat to the Nazis. Their murder yielded no geopolitical benefit… The killing of Jews was not the means to an end, but a fundamental goal in and of itself.” (Pg. 105)

He states, “The Final Solution was implemented in stages, although the various forms of killing overlapped as primitive methods gave way to what was considered state-of-the-art technology. Killing by bullets was followed by gassing in mobile killing vans, which were in turn supplanted by stationary gas chambers of much greater capacity.” (Pg. 122) Later, he adds, “There is no reliable evidence that human fat was used to manufacture soap, or that human skin was treated to make lamp shades, book bindings, purses, or similar objects in Auschwitz. But human bodies were used for experiments conducted by SS doctors.” (Pg. 151)

He points out, “In those areas of Eastern Europe that were covered by dense forests, Jews could flee to the forests … to form their own fighting units or join … mobile fighters who would stage fleeting attacks on the enemy. In Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, and Greece, Jews fought as equals alongside native partisans in a unified fighting movement. In the Soviet Union, Jews were welcome participants… Some partisan units consisted mainly of Jews.” (Pg. 177)

After the British liberated the Bergen-Belsen camp, “The British were horrified by what they found. Mass graves were dug, bulldozers were brought to shovel in the dead. Local civilians were marched into the camp…[and] were taken on a tour… the colonel in charge of medical efforts spoke to them: ‘… What you will see here is the final and utter condemnation of the Nazi Party. It justifies every measure the United Nations will take to exterminate that party… It is your lot to begin the hard task of restoring the name of the German people… But this cannot be done until you have reared a new generation amongst whom it is impossible to find people prepared to commit such crimes… [with] the instinctive good will to prevent a repetition of such horrible cruelties.’” (Pg. 186)

At the Nuremberg Trials, “The defendants did not deny they had done these things. A few professed ignorance, claiming they did not know what was happening…The most common defense was to deny responsibility: those in the dock had merely followed the orders of a superior. If anyone was responsible, it was those further up the chain of command. Judges and generals invoked the personal oath of allegiance they had sworn to Hitler…. They had given their word of honor to the Führer.” (Pg. 200)

He concludes, “The Holocaust cannot be reduced to order, or even to a sense of overriding meaning. The event defies meaning and negates hope. How, then, are we to approach it? Our first task is comprehension, understanding what at first seems incomprehensible… Our second task is to deal with the Holocaust and the absence of meaning: to confront the fact that mass murder was a self-justifying goal of state policy… We tend to back away from the real story, to shield ourselves from the darkness as a way to preserve our self-esteem as human beings, to fortify our confidence in humanity itself… Our third task is to live in the aftermath of the Holocaust: to live authentically, creatively, meaningfully… The Holocaust… shatters … religious faith in God and secular faith in human goodness and progress…. The Holocaust cannot be allowed to numb us to evil, but it must sensitize us and alarm us. It must sharpen our insights into the importance of human rights and human dignity everywhere.” (Pg. 220-222)

This well-illustrated book will be ‘must reading’ for anyone studying the Holocaust.

[Judy Egnew Ness · Rating 5 out of 5]

We visited the US Holocaust Memorial Museum recently and got this book in the museum store. This is not one of the innumerable publications that explores in-depth the history, politics, and cultural ideologies leading up to the Nazi regime. Instead it focuses on the experiences of the Jews, Romas, and others who were murdered in the holocaust. What should we remember? What would they wish us to remember? What must we know to understand to prevent this kind of mass-destruction from happening again? These days it is more important than ever to study and understand history (and our and our ancestors') part in historical events. I recommend this book to anyone who does not want things like this to be repeated.

[Lisa Konet · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been on a streak reading books about biographies, memoirs (etc) about the Holocaust and various concentration camps throughout Europe. I feel this another very important book to document that this period in global histrory DID HAPPEN and for anyone to deny the atrocities is extremely ignorant.

I like that this book is a detailed document about the memories and exhibits at the Holocaust Memorial Musuem. This book made me angry that anyone one person/group of people could treat others this way. Not everyone Jew or supposed Jew survived. It made me weep for the cruelty.

I feel this is a very relevant book to honor those past and that discrimination and negative opinions/judgments about any class of people is wrong.

Very recommended read at my library.