The Holocaust : A Chronology and Documentary

The Holocaust: A Chronology and Documentary traces the events of the years 1933 through 1946, from the advent of Adolf Hitler's rise to political power through the year following the end of World War II. Through eyewitness testimony, excerpts and summaries from documents, and additional relevant material drawn from Jewish, Allied, German, and other sources, the experiences of the victims, victimizers, and bystanders are presented in an honest manner. As the past vividly unfolds, a number of issues emerge. We see that many European governments and people had a long history of legislative, political, economic, social, and finally murderous attacks on Jewish civilians under their control, and that there were many factors other than Adolf Hitler and his collaborators that made the Holocaust possible. The true role of the Allied nations is also presented. It is shown that members of the Allied governments knew of the Final Solution almost as soon as it was begun, and that the attitudes of many important American and British officials concerned with foreign policy and refugees paralleled those of the Nazis and their collaborators. Also brought to light are the decency and heroism of the thousands of individuals in both the Allied nations and occupied Europe who treated the Jews with respect and the Holocaust with the urgency it deserved, and the variety of ways the Jews reacted to the Nazis and their collaborators. Since the inclusion of the author's opinions are kept to an absolute minimum, this unique historical overview enables readers to evaluate the events, the people, and the attitudes of the time with a fresh, uncluttered eye.

One of the 1997 recipients of the American Historical Association's James Harvey Robinson Prize for the "most outstanding contribution to the teaching and learning of history in any field," Robert A. Michael is a Professor of European History at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, where he has taught the Holocaust for twenty-one years.