Der Holocaust als offenes Geheimnis : die Deutschen, die NS-Führung und die Alliierten

This work contains two parts. Pt. 1 (pp. 15-79), "Vom antijüdischen Konsens zum schlechten Gewissen: Die deutsche Gesellschaft und die Judenverfolgung 1933-1945", by Bajohr, argues that without societal participation and broad approbation of the Nazi dictatorship, the persecution of Jews would not have taken such a drastic course. The anti-Jewish consensus perceived Jews as strangers, thus there was virtually no objection to their plunder and forced emigration. The unleashing of power during World War II was related to far-reaching conceptions of realignment, including radical moves against the Jews by the Nazi leaders and Hitler, and to boundless possibilities of the involved institutions. Pt. 2 (pp. 81-129), "Das NS-Regime und das internationale Bekanntwerden seiner Verbrechen", by Pohl, traces the Allies' knowledge of the Nazi crimes. Notes that information about the mass murder of Jews became known from the summer of 1942, and that other crimes, e.g. the murder of psychiatric patients, barely attracted attention. In Berlin a campaign of counter-propaganda maintained that the Allies were more responsible for civilian deaths than Germany, and equated murdered German civilians with murdered Jews. From 1943, Nazi state institutions planned a defense for after the war, pretending not to have been informed and pointing to the SS as the guilty party. In the German culture of commemoration these legends continue, despite efforts of historians to state otherwise. As for the Allies, there are doubts concerning their willingness to help the persecuted Jews. Includes bibliographical references (pages 131-151) and index. 156 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm