A Holocaust Controversy: The Treblinka Affair in Postwar France

by Samuel Moyn

How has the world come to focus on the Holocaust and why has it invariably done so in the heat of controversy, scandal, and polemics about the past? These questions are at the heart of this unique investigation of the Treblinka affair that occurred in France in 1966 when Jean-Francois Steiner, a young Jewish journalist, published The Revolt of an Extermination Camp. A cross between a history and a novel, Steiner’s book narrated the 1943 revolt at one of the major Nazi death camps. Abetted by a scandalous interview he gave, as well as Simone de Beauvoir’s glowing preface, the book shot to the top of the Parisian bestseller list and prompted a wide-ranging controversy in which both the well-known and the obscure were embroiled. Few had heard of Treblinka, or other death camps, before the affair. The validity of the difference between those killing centers and the larger network of concentration camps making up the universe of Nazi crime had to be fought out in public. The affair also bore on the frequently raised question of the Jews’ response to their dire straits. Moyn delves into events surrounding the publication of Steiner’s book and the subsequent furor. In the process, he sheds light on a few forgotten but thought-provoking months in French cultural history. Reconstructing the affair in detail, Moyn studies it as a paradigm-shifting controversy that helped change perceptions of the Holocaust in the French public and among French Jews in particular. Then Moyn follows the controversy beyond French borders to the other countries―especially Israel and the United States―where it resonated powerfully. Based on a complete reconstruction of the debate in the press (including Yiddish dailies) and on archives on three continents, Moyn’s study concludes with the response of the survivors of Treblinka to the controversy and reflects on its place in the longer history of Holocaust memory. Finally, Moyn revisits, in the context of a detailed case study, some of the theoretical controversies the genocide has provoked, including whether it is appropriate to draw universalistic lessons from the victimhood of particular groups.

248 pages, Paperback

First published August 22, 2005

About the author

Samuel Moyn is professor of law and history at Harvard University. He is the author of The Last Utopia: Human Rights in History, and Christian Human Rights (2015), among other books, as well as editor of the journal Humanity. He also writes regularly for Foreign Affairs and The Nation.

Reviews

[Deborah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent book, but difficult reading. It is a scholarly treatment of a controversial book published in France in 1961. The book was about the revolt of Jewish prisoners at Treblinka. The author was the son of Jewish man who was murdered at Auschwitz. His identity as a Jew was very troubled by what some viewed as the "willing" participation of Jews in their deaths in the camps and so he was very interested in this revolt.

Apparently, French identity vis-a-vis collaboration with the Nazis was also in crisis. Mainstream French discourse on the Holocaust was that all of France was victimized by the Nazis and focused on "deportation" of both Jews and non-Jews. This author was one of the earliest to argue that there was a distinction, that there were concentration camps where people often died and death camps where people were sent to their deaths upon arrival(this distinction is factual) and that Jews were singled out for the death camps as part of the Final Solution to exterminate the Jews of Europe.

I'm writing this review because this book provided excellent coverage of the arguments regarding Jewish identity vis-a-vis whether Jews were "willing" participants in a manner different from other prisoners and of French identity vis-a-vis collaboration with the Nazis. The book does not take a position, but rather covers the public discourse of the time.

It is, however, a heavy read. It took me about a year to finish this book (!!!!) but I kept coming back to it because I found it worth reading. What made it a heavy read for me is that it covers the many writers and philosophers who participated in this argument, which became a major political issue in France. Not being familiar with the players made it hard to keep track of who was making what point. Also, many of the arguments were nuanced and required some stepping back and reflecting on some of the finer points.

Again, this is an excellent book, but it is scholarly and requires some mental work to read.