The Holocaust:Dan Stone, Histories of the Holocaust (New York: Oxford University Press, 2010), pp. 256. Price $35.
Abstract
Several generations of post-war historians have striven to make sense of the gruesome events that struck the European Jewry with the advent of Nazism in Germany and the Nazi occupation of Europe. It is indisputable that the historio-graphy of the Holocaust is colossal and that Professor Dan Stone of Royal Holloway has undertaken the mammoth task of making an assessment of the pre-vailing trends of Holocaust historiography is in itself very commendable. In a continent, where neo-Nazi groups are increasingly augmenting their strength today, it is enormously important to look back in time at the gory set of events that not merely crashed the living worlds for the Jews in Europe but also altered the map of the Middle East forever. Stone clarifies from the very onset that he would focus not on the victims but instead on the perpetrators of the Holocaust. He pursues this täterforschung (per-petrator research) while discussing the decision-making process during the Holocaust. He equally clarifies that he would not touch upon the phenomenon of ‘Holocaust denial’ either. However, he brings into light several other pertinent issues. He discusses not merely the German culpability but also the role played by other European countries that