by KrijnThijs (Editor), Christina Morina (Editor)
Of the three categories that Raul Hilberg developed in his analysis of the Holocaust-perpetrators, victims, and bystanders-it is the last that is the broadest and most difficult to pinpoint. Described by Hilberg as those who were once a part of this history, bystanders present unique challenges for those seeking to understand the decisions, attitudes, and self-understanding of historical actors who were neither obviously the instigators nor the targets of Nazi crimes. Combining historiographical, conceptual, and empirical perspectives on the bystander, the case studies in this book provide powerful insights into the complex social processes that accompany state-sponsored genocidal violence.
Format: Illustrated
Pages: 374
Edition: Illustrated
Publisher: Berghahn Books
Published: 01 Nov 2018
ISBN 10: 1789200938
ISBN 13: 9781789200935
This collection stands as an extraordinary and incisive contribution to understanding the processes of extreme violence. Probing the Limits of Categorization is an important book that promises to provoke fruitful discussion. - Peter Fritzsche, University of Illinois and author of An Iron Wind: Europe under Hitler
With its disciplinarily diverse contributions, this book offers a captivating and discerning overview of the 'bystander' in recent Holocaust studies, rethinking questions that have intrigued historians of the Holocaust for decades. This volume is a thought-provoking and important contribution to the field. - Caroline Mezger, Center for Holocaust Studies, Institute for Contemporary History