The recent Arab-Israeli conflict in Gaza, beginning on 7 October 2023, is yet another outbreak of ancient hatreds and antagonisms in The Middle East. Debate rages over whether the Israeli action can be correctly defined as genocide. Loud voices have been raised across the world in support of both Israelis and Palestinians. For a single volume background to the Arab-Israeli conflict by Ian Black, see the work reviewed by me here: Enemies and Neighbours: Arabs and Jews in Palestine and Israel 1917-2017 by Ian Black – Scott’s Book Review
One horrific programme of human extermination that is not contested as such, except by the eccentric David Irving, is The Holocaust. A comprehensive account of how Germany annihilated Jewish communities across Europe was first published by Raul Hilberg in 1961. It spurred discussion, galvanized further research, and shaped the entire field of Holocaust studies. A revised and expanded edition of the work extends the scope of Hilberg’s study and includes 80,000 words of new material, particularly from recently opened archives in Eastern Europe, added over a lifetime of research. It is the work of a scholar who has devoted more than fifty years to exploring and analyzing the realities of the Holocaust.
Spanning the twelve-year period of anti-Jewish actions from 1933 to 1945, Hilberg’s study encompasses Germany and all the territories under German rule or influence. Its principal focus is on the large number of perpetrators―civil servants, military personnel, Nazi party functionaries, SS men, and representatives of private enterprises―in the machinery of mass murder.
This monumental work of historical research remains worthy of your attention. Check if it is in stock at your local library here Home | South Lanarkshire Libraries (sllclibrary.co.uk)
1536 pages in Yale University Press
First published 1961
ISBN-13 : 978-0300095579
Raul Hilberg