AuschwitzAuschwitz
a New History
Title rated 4.15 out of 5 stars, based on 22 ratings(22 ratings)
Book, 2005
Current format, Book, 2005, 1st U.S. ed, All copies in use.Book, 2005
Current format, Book, 2005, 1st U.S. ed, All copies in use. Offered in 0 more formatsInsights gleaned from more than one hundred original interviews shed new light on history's most famous death camp, with the testimonies of survivors providing a detailed and chilling portrait of the camp's inner workings, in a companion volume to the PBS documentary. 60,000 first printing.
Insights gleaned from more than one hundred original interviews shed new light on history's most notorious death camp, with the testimonies of survivors providing a detailed portrait of the camp's inner workings.
Auschwitz is the site of the largest mass murder in human history. Yet its story is not fully known. In Auschwitz Laurence Rees provides a devastating and shocking portrait of the most infamous death camp the world has ever seen. He reveals new insights from more than 100 original interviews with Auschwitz survivors and Nazi perpetrators who speak on the record for the first time. Their testimonies expose the inner workings of the camp in unrivalled detail - from the techniques of mass murder, to the bizarre microcosms that emerged within the camp, such as the brothel and dining hall, where the lines between guards and prisoners became surprisingly blurred.
Auschwitz is a history we cannot afford to ignore, first because history that is ignored is liable to be repeated, and second because we should never allow ourselves to be persuaded that mankind is somehow today incapable of such unspeakably cruel acts. Auschwitz is not only the story of one singular camp where more than one million people were murdered, but also a timely reminder about the indelible human potential for committing evil.
Rees, who has spent 15 years writing books and working on BBC television programs about the Nazis, sees Auschwitz as the perfect microcosm to help readers understand one of the worst and least understandable crimes in history. The camp had a certain beginning (the first prisoners arrived in June 1940) and a definite end (it was liberated in January 1945); in between, Auschwitz had a complex and surprising history, made up of incremental, almost noiseless steps that mirrored changes in the intricacies of Nazi racial and ethnic policy. The study of Auschwitz, Rees notes, also affords the chance to understand how people behaved in some of the most extreme conditions ever recorded. The volume, based on hundreds of interviews with Nazi perpetrators and camp survivors, is a companion to the PBS documentary "Auschwitz: Inside the Nazi State." Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
Insights gleaned from more than one hundred original interviews shed new light on history's most notorious death camp, with the testimonies of survivors providing a detailed portrait of the camp's inner workings.
Auschwitz is the site of the largest mass murder in human history. Yet its story is not fully known. In Auschwitz Laurence Rees provides a devastating and shocking portrait of the most infamous death camp the world has ever seen. He reveals new insights from more than 100 original interviews with Auschwitz survivors and Nazi perpetrators who speak on the record for the first time. Their testimonies expose the inner workings of the camp in unrivalled detail - from the techniques of mass murder, to the bizarre microcosms that emerged within the camp, such as the brothel and dining hall, where the lines between guards and prisoners became surprisingly blurred.
Auschwitz is a history we cannot afford to ignore, first because history that is ignored is liable to be repeated, and second because we should never allow ourselves to be persuaded that mankind is somehow today incapable of such unspeakably cruel acts. Auschwitz is not only the story of one singular camp where more than one million people were murdered, but also a timely reminder about the indelible human potential for committing evil.
Rees, who has spent 15 years writing books and working on BBC television programs about the Nazis, sees Auschwitz as the perfect microcosm to help readers understand one of the worst and least understandable crimes in history. The camp had a certain beginning (the first prisoners arrived in June 1940) and a definite end (it was liberated in January 1945); in between, Auschwitz had a complex and surprising history, made up of incremental, almost noiseless steps that mirrored changes in the intricacies of Nazi racial and ethnic policy. The study of Auschwitz, Rees notes, also affords the chance to understand how people behaved in some of the most extreme conditions ever recorded. The volume, based on hundreds of interviews with Nazi perpetrators and camp survivors, is a companion to the PBS documentary "Auschwitz: Inside the Nazi State." Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
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- New York : Public Affairs, 2005.
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