THE FALLACY OF RACE AND THE SHOAH

Ottawa; University Of Ottawa Press, 1998. Softbound. 4to. XXII, 358 pages. 26 cm. First edition. Profusely illustrated with over 100 photographs in color. Naomi Kramer, the Education Director of the Montreal Holocaust Memorial Centre, and Ronald Headland, music teacher at Vanier College, use the example of the individual to approach universal issues that inevitably arise in discussing the Holocaust - evil, courage, human dignity, moral responsibility, and the existential qualities of humankind. This book consists of two main sections - the first involves interpretation and reflections on the meaning of one individual's experiences during the Shoah. The second section sets forth the historical content in which these experiences occurred. It contains a comprehensive historical summary of the Shoah and represents a succinct synopsis of existing secondary literature and primary sources. A bibliography and extensive glossary of terms relating to both Jewish life and the Shoah are included. The strength of the book lies in its combination of micro- and macro-histories. Its micro-history section, entitled ``One, '' comes in the form of the personal testimony of Holocaust survivor Peter Kleinmann. It provides detail and individual nuance to the general, impersonal events of the Shoah. From sweet, pre-war memories of Jewish communal life in Munkàcs, to his death march from Gross-Rosen to Flossenbürg, Kleinmann's voice quietly evokes a small, tragic piece of the puzzle of Holocaust suffering. His experience of being saved from certain death only by a chance encounter with his brother who was a prisoner processing other prisoners in Flossenbürg, reminds us of the often arbitrary, slight difference between survivor and victim. Subjects: Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945) . Antisemitism - Germany - History. Racism - Germany - History. Jews - Persecutions - Germany - History - 20th century. Light shelf wear to covers, upper edge lightly soiled. Light blue highlighting of scattered sentences in the later "Ghetto: Identification and Isolation" section; otherwise clean and fresh. Good condition. (HOLO2-97-3).