The Holocaust: A New History

by Doris Bergen

This complete history incorporates the voices of the Holocaust, not only the perspectives of the victims, but also the perpetrators and bystanders. Bergen reveals the common misunderstanding that the Holocaust was aimed solely at Jews. In actual fact the Holocaust claimed the lives of 12 million people and incorporated many different social and ethnic groups. The Nazi program of destruction not only focused on Jews, but the disabled, Gypsies, Poles, Soviet POWs, homosexual men, Afro-Germans and Jehovahs Witnesses. The Second World War enabled this carnage by conquering territories and people, turning soldiers and doctors into trained killers, and creating a veneer of legitimacy around vicious acts of ethnic cleansing and genocide. Bergens pathbreaking study uses cutting-edge and original research to reveal how these attacks were linked in a terrifying web of violence and brings to light the real extent of the most notorious and far reaching campaign of genocide in modern history.

Genres: Holocaust, History, Nonfiction

336 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

Professor of Educational Psychology

For the Professor of Holocaust Studies see Doris L. Bergen

Reviews

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent, concise historical introduction. War mixed with genocidal intent, where authoritarian Nazi perpetrators of Holocaust racialized Jews and Roma, scapegoating a variety of groups in efforts to seize and occupy nations in (Eastern) Europe. Antisemitism did not preclude diverse Jewish pre-war communities. Eugenic policies and genocide followed unjust laws; persecution, discrimination, segregation, and mass murders involved many groups over years. Read this and other texts to learn about tactics, deceits, bystanders, and secret operations. Then appreciate the heroic resilience and resistance of victims and survivors.

[Trixy Lemell · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is an easy to read book that covers a lot of information bit I felt that there was so much repetition and filler. About a quarter of the book could have been done away with and instead replaced with my stories about those who lived and died through the event. On top of that the stories told were so matter of fact that it was just text book information which seemed so disconnected from the subject.

But still, a lot of information.

[AC · Rating 5 out of 5]

An outstanding (and brief) review of WWII and its particular (though by no means exclusive) focus on the Holocaust.

[Nathan Albright · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a concise history, and those who have read a great deal about the Shoah and its immense destructiveness to European Jewry as well as various other groups of people will likely find elements of this book that they wish were covered in greater detail or at all.  For example, the author only writes a bit about Jewish resistance and the problem of semi-collaboration (although this is a big issue for postwar Judaism) and does not discuss (perhaps suprisingly) Schindler at all, perhaps because of the popularity his efforts have at present.  Nevertheless, such matters are an inevitable matter of having written a concise history of such a sprawling and massive tragedy.  The author sets out to briefly set out the scope of her work and does a good job at sticking to that, reminding readers that the efforts of theodicy in the face of the horrors of genocide are far beyond the scope of a small book like this one.  Whether or not readers accept that or not is up to them, but as a reader of this book I was pleased at the level of depth this book was able to reach despite being very slim in its length.

This particular book contains eight chapters and runs close to 250 pages, making it brief but not too brief.  The preface of the book discusses Hitler's goals with war and genocide in purifying the German "race" and in providing Germans more "space," and she sticks with that approach throughout.  After introducing her thesis, the author moves on discuss the preconditions of antisemitism, racism, and prejudice in Europe in the time before Hitler (1) as well as the importance of leadership and will in Hitler, the Nazi party, and Nazi ideology (2).  After this the author discusses the way that Hitler's revolutionary ideology became routinized in prewar Germany (3) and in the open aggression of Hitler in his ultimately successful search for war (4).  After that the final four essays examine the course of genocide during the Second World War, beginning with the experiments in brutality in the war against Poland and the euthenasia program (5), moving on to expansion and systematization in the next phase of the war (6), examining the peak years of the slaughter in 1942 and 1943 in the various concentration and death camps (7), and finally the death throes of Nazi Germany and the killing frenzies that took place at the end of the war (8).  The author then discusses the legacies of atrocity that remain after the Holocaust.

The author, in writing this book, appears to be viewing the Holocaust as a case study in how routine prejudice and hatred towards various groups can, in certain circumstances, lead to acts of genocidal violence.  Admittedly, when one tends to think of genocidal violence, there are usually issues of identity where there are longstanding prejudices and rivalries between different groups of people.  Additionally, there is generally some sort of fierce competition over land and other scarce resources that leads these groups to come into conflict with each other when they would otherwise simply be content to be prejudiced but leave others well enough alone (which is my general default option when it comes to dealing with "others").  But what is fateful is when there is leadership that turns latent hostility and existing conflict and turns it into something more sinister and destructive where it is thought that the world would be better off without such people as one is hostile towards.  Once that happens, it is but a short step to the sort of violence that this book writes so movingly and so concisely about, something that we would wish never would happen again but which is not as far away as we might tell ourselves.

[James King · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent overview of the Holocaust. It is written using ample personal stories and photographs which makes the impact of the Holocaust seem much more real. Bergen sets out four goals for this book and begins to unpack them over the next 300 or so pages. The first goal is to demonstrate that the Holocaust was global in its reach and worldwide in its consequences. Bergen believes that the Holocaust was something that did not simply happen one day, nor was attempting to solve a specific problem and the Holocaust was the solution they came up with, but instead it was a solution that happened slowly, step by step, over time with many people and governments complicit to varying degrees. The third goal is to show that the Holocaust must be examined in the context of World War II. Bergen maintains that without the war there can be no Holocaust. Finally, while Jews were the primary targets of the Holocaust, it is an oversimplification to believe that other groups were not targeted. She points to several other groups whose fate was intertwined with that of the Jews, specifically Gypsies, which she uses a less pejorative term of Roma to represent. These are lofty goals and she succeeds in all but the first. Her case for the Holocaust being global in reach and worldwide in consequence is simply stretching her case too thin.

If you are interested in understanding the Holocaust and answering questions like how could this have happened, then this is a very good book and worth the time to read and study.

[Tom · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is as concise and relevant history I think I’ve ever read. I read it for a class, but feel like it should be required reading for everyone. The author does an amazing job of making arguments to break apart some ideas about World War II and the nazis held by most in the west today. She also lays out stark statistics but balances them with stories to individualize the kinds of horror and heroics that occurred during The Holocaust. Anyone with an interest in this era of history should read this book.

[Saffron · Rating 5 out of 5]

An in-depth and important read. Combined with collective accounts, timelines and significant turning points, it highlights both the depravity of War, but also the small acts of kindness or hope that highlight true humanity. A really important read, and a must for those who wish to be more educated on The Holocaust.

[Jules Goud · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you are looking for a book that gives you an overview of the Holocaust, this is the book you should read.

Bergen explains the Holocaust well and I think that it is important that everyone reads this book.

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read for a graduate course on teaching the Holocaust. I referenced the book multiple times during my teaching practices, which was made easily with the book’s organization and brief-ness.

[Nikolas · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't know what to say, really. How can this murder continue to happen? Do we learn nothing?

[Allison6876 · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent overview of the Holocaust. Examines causes and events in a concise manner.

[Kaitlyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had to read the book for a class. While I would have never picked this book up on my own it still was surprising and very good. I read this in conjunction with a professor lecturing on it as well and learned a lot more on the Holocaust than I thought I knew. A thing to note is this topic is EXTREMELEY emotionally draining.

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's hard to say that you can really "like" an informational book about the Holocaust, but this book is worth the read, even just if you skim it and look at the pictures. I read excerpts to my class as we read "The Devil's Arithmetic."

[Erika · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best educational account of the Holocaust I've ever read. It has everything you would need to know.

[Kelly Lipscomb · Rating 5 out of 5]

Should be a required read for all students taking courses on history in high school, college and up.

[Lewis Biszant · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very long and bland. Felt like I was reading a history book. Had to read for class.