Holocaust: The Nazi Persecution and Murder of the Jews

A comprehensive history of the Nazi persecution and murder of European Jews, paying detailed attention to an unrivalled range sources. Focusing clearly on the perpetrators and exploring closely the process of decision making, Longerich argues that anti-Semitism was not a mere by-product of the Nazis' political mobilization or an attempt to deflect the attention of the masses, but that anti-Jewish policy was a central tenet of the Nazi movement's attempts to implement, disseminate, and secure National Socialist rule - and one which crucially shaped Nazi policy decisions, from their earliest days in power through to the invasion of the Soviet Union and the Final Solution. As Longerich shows, the 'disappearance' of Jews was designed as a first step towards a racially homogeneous society - first within the 'Reich', later in the whole of a German-dominated Europe.

Table of Contents:
Introduction Historical Background: Anti-Semitism in the Weimar Republic PART I: RACIAL PERSECUTION, 1933-1939 1: The Displacement of Jews from Public Life, 1933-1934 2: Segregation and Comprehensive Discrimination, 1935-1937 3: Interim Conclusions: The Removal of Jews from German Society, the Formation of the National Socialist 'People's Community', and its Consequences for Jewish Life in Germany 4: The Intensification of the Racial Persecution of Non-Jewish Groups by the Police Apparatus, 1936-1937 5: Comprehensive Deprivation of Rights and Forced Emigration, late 1937-1939 6: The Politics of Organized Expulsion PART II: THE PERSECUTION OF THE JEWS, 1939-1941 7: The Persecution of Jews in the Territory of the Reich, 1939-1940 8: German Occupation and the Persecution of the Jews in Poland, 1939-1940/1941: The First Variant of a 'Territorial Solution' 9: Deportations PART III: MASS EXECUTIONS OF JEWS IN THE OCCUPIED SOVIET ZONES, 1941 10: Laying the Ground for a War of Racial Annihilation 11: The Mass Murder of Jewish Men 12: The Transition from Anti-Semitic Terror to Genocide 13: Enforcing the Annihilation Policy: Extending the Shootings to the Whole Jewish Population PART IV: GENESIS OF THE FINAL SOLUTION ON A EUROPEAN SCALE, 1941 14: Plans for a Europe-Wide Deportation Programme After the Start of Barbarossa 15: Autumn 1941: Beginning of the Deportations and Regional Mass Murders 16: The Wannsee Conference PART V: THE EXTERMINATION OF THE EUROPEAN JEWS, 1942-1945 17: The Beginning of the Extermination Policy on a European Scale in 1942 18: The Further Development of the Policy of Extermination after the Turning of the War in 1942-1943: Continuation of the Murders and Geographical Expansion of the Deportations Conclusion Notes Bibliography Index

About the Author :
Peter Longerich is Professor of Modern German History and Director of the Research Centre for the Holocaust and Twentieth-Century History at Royal Holloway, University of London. He has published widely on the subject, in English and German, including The Unwritten Order: Hitler's Role in the Final Solution, and The Systematic Character of the National Socialist Policy for the Extermination of the Jews. The latter formed part of his Expert Opinion in the notorious David Irving v. Penguin/Lipstadt trial. His latest book is a biography of SS leader Heinrich Himmler, which is also to be published by Oxford University Press.

Review :
`Review from previous edition Skeptics who maintain there is little of value left to learn about the Holocaust should read this superb and provocative work...A vital addition to the field of Holocaust studies.' Booklist `Peter Longerich's book has long been recognised as invaluable in understanding how Nazi persecution of Jews escalated into the politics of total genocide. It is splendid that this important book will now be accessible in an English edition. ' Ian Kershaw `A landmark in Holocaust hisory.' William Chislett, El Imparacial Madrid