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War and Genocide: A Concise History of the Holocaust Paperback – 16 February 2009

by Doris L. Bergen (Author)
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 77 ratings
Edition: 2nd
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In examining one of the defining events of the twentieth century, Doris L. Bergen situates the Holocaust in its historical, political, social, cultural, and military contexts. Unlike many other treatments of the Holocaust, the revised, second edition of War and Genocide discusses not only the persecution of the Jews, but also other segments of society victimized by the Nazis: gypsies, homosexuals, Poles, Soviet POWs, the handicapped, and other groups deemed undesirable. In clear and eloquent prose, Bergen explores the two interconnected goals that drove the Nazi German program of conquest and genocide-purification of the so-called Aryan race and expansion of its living space-and discusses how these goals affected the course of World War II. Including first hand accounts from perpetrators, victims, and eyewitnesses, the book is immediate, human, and eminently readable.
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  1. ISBN-10
    0742557154
  2. ISBN-13
    978-0742557154
  3. Edition
    2
  4. Publisher
    Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
  5. Publication date
    16 February 2009
  6. Part of series
    Critical Issues in World and International History
  7. Language
    English
  8. Dimensions
    15.52 x 1.35 x 23.09 cm
  9. Print length
    296 pages
  10. See all details
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Product description

Review

A book that will likely be required reading in college-level courses for years to come... A detailed overview of the Holocaust. History In Review A meticulous, sensitive account of the Nazi race wars that combines a powerful narrative and explanatory drive at the same time as it illuminates individual lives and fates with searing precision. While giving full weight to the antisemitic core of Nazi racism, Bergen also shows why it claimed so many other groups of victims, and pursues it to its appalling climax in the wars of imperialist conquest and exploitation launched in 1939. This is a distinctive and remarkable achievement, as assured as it is readable. -- Jane Caplan, University of Oxford This precise textbook accomplishes much: it provides a wide-angle view of what the Holocaust was and is in clear historiographical terms, challenges students to think through facts and interpretations surrounding the historical study of the Holocaust, and complements-and is short enough to allow the inclusion of-primary sources in a course. I will use it as long as I can. -- Jeanne Grant, Metropolitan State University

About the Author

Doris L. Bergen is Chancellor Rose and Ray Wolfe Professor of Holocaust Studies at the University of Toronto.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Rowman & Littlefield Publishers; 2 edition (16 February 2009)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 296 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0742557154
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0742557154
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 15.52 x 1.35 x 23.09 cm
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 77 ratings

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Doris L. Bergen

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5.0 out of 5 stars When in conversation about a subject as emotionally charged as ...
Reviewed in the United States on 22 October 2015
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When in conversation about a subject as emotionally charged as the Holocaust, many individuals find themselves in a precarious balance between appeals of pathos and the empiricism of statistics in trying to convey their ideas.Though the depth per subject may not be ideal, the chronological, textbook-like approach and grasp on the importance of personal accounts roots War & Genocide as a must-have for any individual interested in learning about the Holocaust. Because Bergen chose to cover the entirety of the Holocaust with a mind towards generalities for the sake of conciseness, there is a lack of deep interpretation that would be appropriate for something as complicated as the Holocaust. Indeed, content-wise, Bergen’s War & Genocide only serves as an introduction piece to the Holocaust. However, as opposed to other scholarly texts that tend to tackle such a massively complex event per aspect, the chronological approach of War & Genocide allows for a intellectual progression that is the most natural and intuitive for novice scholar of the Holocaust. Though Bergen is limiting her ability to provide deep analysis due to her motivation to be concise, she excels in writing a history of the Holocaust by producing a logical flow within a series events that many may consider to lack logic. Thanks to the inclusion of such intimate stories of the intense struggles of multiple victims, a reader may have the opportunity to fully grasp just the degree of loss that the world experienced during the Holocaust. It is these emotional appeals, and Bergen’s capacity to include them in what is regarded as only an introductory text, that make War & Genocide a uniquely effective book in intellectually and empathetically appealing to the reader. . The major decision by Bergen to prioritize conciseness when writing War & Genocide binds the text’s purpose into that of a introductory reading, not containing the analytical proficiency that would be appealing to the more experienced Holocaust historian to mull over. However, this concession is in exchange for a chronologically-based retelling of the events of the Holocaust that a novice reader will become grateful for its ease to intuitively follow. In conjunction with the inclusion of emotionally appealing personal accounts of victims, any individual is encouraged to read Bergen’s War & Genocide if they wish to gain an understanding of the Holocaust on both an emotional and empathetic level. However, they should also be prepared to look for further readings if they find any aspect especially appealing, for the conciseness on the text will leave any with such a specific scholarly focus wanting more.
4 people found this helpful
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Christopher Michael Gallo
5.0 out of 5 stars A great book that thoroughly describes the preconditions, the sequences, and the results of the Holocaust in only 296 Pages!
Reviewed in the United States on 21 January 2010
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I bought this book because it was a requirement for my German history class at college. If I had excess funds I would probably not think twice about buying this book even if it were not a requirement for my course because it describes the Holocaust very well, Amazon provides a very reasonable price, and that it is not a very condense book as it is less than 300 pages long. This book was very interesting to read and I learned many news things about the Holocaust, some of which were that Jews were not the only ones persecuted and/or systematically murdered by the Nazis as the Gypsies along with homosexuals, Freemasons, Jehovah's Witnesses, Communists, and Soviet prisoners of war were victims as well. I highly recommend this book to anyone above the age thirteen to buy and/or read this book because you will most likely learn numerous more facts about the Holocaust than you currently know, you will not have to read many books on the subject to understand the Holocaust well, you can buy it for a fair price on Amazon, and that it is very concise.
5 people found this helpful
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Swanster
4.0 out of 5 stars Limited POV, but very well-written and comprehensive
Reviewed in the United States on 6 October 2015
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Over all, War & Genocide contains a very well-rounded description of not only the Holocaust of World War Two, but also several of the causes preceding it. Bergen also incorporates several victims of the Holocaust that are not normally included in these brief overviews, including the Romi (gypsies) and Afro-Germans of the Rhineland. However, she only addresses the war and Holocaust through a Germanic viewpoint, and often digresses from the main point of her book. Easy to read and comprehend, I would definitely suggest this book for both students and those wishing to individually further their knowledge of the Holocaust.
Throughout the book, Bergen returns to the concept of “race and space” that she outlines in her preface. Although other scholars have presumably explained the same concept, Bergen does this in a way that is easier to understand, and formulates her arguments in much the same way. “Race and space” refer to Bergen’s idea that the Nazis were fighting a war on two fronts: a war against the “pollution” of their race by Jews, Communists, asocials, homosexuals, and Romi; and a war to gain more space to put their pure Aryan race and allow them to spread said purity over Europe. It was this concept, Bergen argues, that allowed the atrocities of the Second World War to occur with little to no resistance from those within the party.
The book is separated into eight chapters, the first two explaining the scene onto which the Nazis (mainly Hitler) arrived, and the latter sectioned into years during which the Nazis were in power. While this ensures that the reader has a chronological flow of events, and makes sense in terms of topic placements, the chapters often become rather comprehensive. For example, in chapter five, “Experiments in Brutality, 1939-1940”, Bergen details the euthanasia of mentally and physically disabled people and the war against Poland. While these two subjects do make sense given the title heading—both were the forerunners of later brutality in the concentration camps and in the war against Russia—there was quite a bit of information in those thirty-four pages. Despite this book having the subtitle “A Concise History of the Holocaust”, Bergen tends to explain different parts of the war or society in detail, often leaving the connection to the Holocaust more or less to the reader. That being said, these extra tidbits give a much better impression overall as to how or why the Holocaust happened.
One of the main problems with War & Genocide is that it gives an extremely Eurocentric—that is, Germanic—view of the Holocaust. Although Bergen mentions Africa, it is only in relation of Afro-Germans and the prejudices that came from Germany’s participation in colonialism and their brutal tactics with the natives of Africa. Granted, the Holocaust was mainly a European phenomenon—however, there are no statements from people of colour that were victims of the Holocaust, and America (despite their part in both the war and liberation) is mentioned only briefly, in the story of the St. Louis. France, too, is more or less delegated to a three-page side note in the westward flight from the Nazis. All of the given causes of World War Two are also pinned on Germany, in general, and Hitler and his closest associates, in particular. Although they are briefly addressed, little attention is given to any reasons that other countries may have been tempted into the war.
On the other hand, Bergen often includes personal statements from German and Polish Jews of all social classes, as well as several statements from an “Aryan” who served in the Hitler Youth, offering a glimpse into the mind of those often deemed the “enemy” when discussing the Holocaust. Personally, I have yet to read anther book that incorporates “the other side” into the reading as just another aspect of the war and Holocaust, and not as an enemy or brainwashed stooge of Hitler. Many of the Jews that she interviews have amazing stories of how their countrymen and –women helped them escape from the Nazis, or how they escaped the brutality. While many are inspirational, others seem ridiculous; however, overall, they bring a human aspect into this book that is found in few others. Unfortunately, there are not many statements from those who were neither German nor Jewish—the “innocent bystander”, as it were, is left neglected.
Another part of this book that is well done is the pictures. Often, books about the Holocaust or World War Two abound with pictures of mass graves, concentration camps prisoners, the aftereffects of Mengele’s experiments, and the like. While Bergen’s book does include these sorts of pictures, she also makes sure to include pictures that remind the reader that, above all, the people who were involved in the Holocaust, either as a victim, a bystander, or a perpetrator, were humans. One of the most poignant pictures for me depicts a young woman scribbling out a final letter before she is transported to Chelmo (184). While also a useful accoutrement to the actual writing, Bergen proves herself to be quite masterful at choosing pictures that simultaneously inform and bring the reader closer to the actual events.
War & Genocide is a very well written book. While it has various flaws, they are negligible in grand scheme of the book. Bergen has proved herself to be an accomplished historian, stating the facts and interpreting them, while also being a fairly good writer—that is, making the book as enjoyable to read as “a concise history of the Holocaust” could be.
3 people found this helpful
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Cameron Patterson
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Textbook for Price
Reviewed in the United States on 19 May 2020
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I was required to purchase this book for a class on European genocide. I think that it presents the facts in an easily digestible manner.
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Sarah Lumbard
5.0 out of 5 stars A perfect introduction to the Holocaust
Reviewed in the United States on 17 February 2016
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This is a perfect introduction to the Holocaust and a quick read. Highly recommend before diving into more of the history. That said, it does assume that the reader has some background in the history so if you know nothing, then not the best place to start.
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