Sources of the Holocaust

'Sources of the Holocaust is a tremendously rich collection of primary sources that together offer priceless insight into the Nazi extermination of the Jews of Europe. The scores of documents of various types that it contains provide a sense of immediacy and feeling for the horror that was the Shoah in a way that no secondary source could ever give. It is hard to imagine that anyone will want to teach a course on the Holocaust without having students read and discuss this collection.' - David I. Kertzer, Dupee University Professor, Brown University 'Steve Hochstadt's brilliant study probes the causes of the Holocaust through the centuries, and it documents its perpetration with painstaking accuracy. Sources of the Holocaust is a lasting contribution to the history of persecution and genocide.' - Judith Magyar Isaacson, author of Seed of Sarah: Memoirs of a Survivor 'A valuable volume of sources.' - Louise Willmot, Manchester Metropolitan University 'Hochstadt's new collection of holocaust related sources is a highly valuable addition to the field. Its broad range of materials ensures the inclusion of both key documents and lesser known materials that are both significant and shocking. Its combined chronological and thematic organization will allow scholars to make new historiographical connections, as well as providing teachers and students with a clear, accurate and concrete documentary base from which to teach and learn about the different historical stages and lessons of the Holocaust.' - Anna Reading, London South Bank University 'This is a very useful, wide-ranging set of texts that set the issue in its widest historical context. The commentaries are very helpful.' - Professor Conan Fischer, University of Strathclyde 'A very good, wide ranging collection. The best of its kind.' - Dr Patrick Finney, University of Wales, Aberystwyth '...those who want to understnad the way the war actually worked will learn a great deal' - The Australian Jewish News 'This source book belongs on the shelf next to the great classics of teaching Holocaust.' - Jewish Book World 'Scholars and readers searching for a primer of sources related to the history of anti-Semitism from its earliest origins and the Holocaust will profit greatly from this book.' - German Studies Review '...it is clear that this volume offers a positive and effective...teaching contribution to approaching the Third Reich's racial policies between 1933 and 1945.' - Matthew Feldman, Archives

In this collection of Holocaust documents and sources, the words of Nazi leaders and common soldiers, SS doctors and European collaborators show how and why they planned and participated in mass murder, while the victims speak of their persecution and resistance.The Holocaust was the central event of the twentieth century. How can we understand the Nazi drive to murder millions of people, or the determination of concentration camp prisoners to survive? In this new collection of original documents and sources, Steve Hochstadt brings the reader into direct contact with the Holocaust's human participants. The words of Nazi leaders and common soldiers, SS doctors and European collaborators show how and why they became involved in mass murder, while those of the victims help us to imagine their torments.

Sources of the Holocaust moves from the origins of Christian anti-Semitism to today's controversies over restitution to reveal the ideas that made the Holocaust possible, the detailed Nazi plans to destroy human lives, and the ability of those targeted to mount resistance. Hochstadt's authoritative commentaries on each source, based on the latest research, describe the people who produced these documents, and provide a full history of the Holocaust. At the same time, Hochstadt offers fresh ideas on major perpetrators, the significance of resistance, and the meaning of the word 'Holocaust'.

Both shocking and compelling, this volume of authentic accounts of Holocaust experiences offers new insights into one of the most terrible episodes in human history.