Approaches to Auschwitz: The Holocaust and Its Legacy

by Richard L. Rubenstein, John K. Roth

Distinctively coauthored by a Christian scholar and a Jewish scholar, this monumental, interdisciplinary study explores the various ways in which the Holocaust has been studied and assesses its continuing significance. The authors develop an analysis of the Holocaust's historical roots, its shattering impact on human civilization, and its decisive importance in determining the fate of the world. This revised edition takes into account developments in Holocaust studies since the first edition was published.

Genres: Holocaust, History, Nonfiction, Social Justice, Religion, Judaism

512 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1987

Reviews

[Paul Bryant · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an essential book for all students of the Holocaust. The authors include most of the crucial aspects and the hard questions. They do not flinch when the evidence forces them to ask devastating questions. Here's an indication of the contents and a few quotes:

1) Historical roots – the Jew as Outsider in the Greco-Roman and Early Christian worlds

2) The triumph of Christianity and the “teaching of contempt” : Martin Luther
"The crucial question is not why malicious people were so violently anti-Jewish but why some of the greatest thinkers and most pious saints within Christianity adopted that posture."

3) The Nazis in Power : towards total domination (a step by step process)

4) War and the Final Solution - how the Nazis proceeded with their plans

5) Responses to the Holocaust : Christians, Churches and Jews
"Whether through failure to take Christian identity seriously, zealous commitment to a religion identified as Christian but fundamentally antithetical to Jesus' teachings, or some disposition in between, apostasy abounded in Christian civilisation from 1933 to 1945… Many Christians followed Hitler without the slightest feeling that they had betrayed their religious identity." [A whole book ought to be written about this amazing statement.:]

6) Business as usual? The use of slave labour by German companies during the Holocaust

7) What can and cannot be said : literary responses to the Holocaust

8) The silence of God : philosophical and religious reflection on the Holocaust [I found this chapter the most compelling of all. Here's one item for reflection: in the 1970s Reeve Brenner polled 1000 Israeli survivors to discover the effect of the Holocaust on their religious thinking. 700+ replied; 69% believed in God before the Holocaust; 47% stated the Holocaust had no effect on their faith. Of the 53% whose faith was changed, three quarters lost their faith and for the remainder their faith was strengthened. The believers were asked if the existence of Israel was worth the Holocaust, and all said “no”.

9) The aftermath : the legacy of the Holocaust. How about this horrendous detail - in 1946, Poles murdered 70 survivors of the Holocaust in Kielce on the basis of the false rumour that the Jews had kidnapped a Christian boy and killed him in a ritual murder. Bishop Wyszynski of Lublin refused to intervene and said he was not convinced the Jews didn’t commit the ritual murder! This Bishop then went on to become a cardinal and primate of Poland.
So, after you have the basic facts of the Holocaust from (for example) Yehuda Bauer, this is the book to read next.

[Matt Davenport · Rating 4 out of 5]

An exhaustive (and therefore sometimes exhausting) detailing of the history of the Holocaust and specifically the socio-cultural effects of the world that enabled the Holocaust an the effects permeating into the modern world now. It was a fascinating read by a fantastic historian, though I read it in chunks over a several months. The chapters are incredibly dense and take a good bit of time to get through if you really want to absorb the information, but if you're looking to have a really good, deep understanding of the Holocaust and it's impact this is a great place to start.

*Acted as the de facto main textbook for my "Hitler and the Holocaust" course at Baylor.

[Brad Young · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gives a psychological and sociological analysis of how everyone could end up in this story

[Albie]

Approaches to Auschwitz: The Holocaust and Its Legacy by Richard L. Rubenstein (2003)

[Crystal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent and enthralling textbook for Holocaust Study