Research Catalog

The Germans : absent nationality and the Holocaust / Yehuda Cohen.

Title: The Germans : absent nationality and the Holocaust / Yehuda Cohen.
Author: Cohen, Yehuda, 1931-
Publication: Brighton [England] ; Portland, Or. : Sussex Academic Press, 2010.

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Request for On-site Use Request Scan How do I pick up this item and when will it be ready?	Text	Request in advance	DD76 .C54 2010	Off-site

Details

Description

xii, 191 pages; 24 cm

Summary

"Why were the Germans of all people the perpetrators of the Holocaust? This examination of in-group identity issues and the essence and unique development of Germans' national identity has direct relevance for those who seek an answer to this question. The answer lies in a 'triangle' of the fateful encounter of Germans and their problematic historical development, Nazi race theory, and the success of German Jewry." "The author focuses on weaknesses in German identity which led to the attraction of a blood-based race theory as a national ethos - a narrative of German racial superiority which was invalidated by the very presence and prominence of Jews in German culture and society. Eliminating this 'affront' was an existential issue for Germans that impelled a Judenrein Europe - whether by expulsion or extermination. Such a linkage has been overlooked because scholars have concentrated on the Holocaust as a Jewish experience, with anti-Semitism being deemed primarily responsible. But as this new interpretation of the historical circumstances forcefully indicates, it was the German national experience that was the prime mover in the Holocaust enterprise."--Jacket.

Series Statement

Heritage, society and national identity in the European Union

Uniform Title

Heritage, society and national identity in the European Union

Subject

Genre/Form

History

Bibliography (note)

Includes bibliographical references (pages 181-187) and index.

Processing Action (note)

committed to retain

Contents

pt. 1. The state of Holocaust studies -- An overview of Holocaust studies and its causes : is there a fundamental scholarly bias? -- The roots : anti-Semitism or German theory of race? -- pt. 2. Fateful triangle : German nationality, race theory, Jews -- The first apex : the problematic nature of the German national identity -- The second apex : race theory reexamined -- The third apex : German Jews -- The fateful triangle : some insights for the future -- pt. 3. German identity in the post-Holocaust era -- German self-image vis-à-vis the Holocaust -- Post-war German structure, attitudes, and identity -- Concluding chapter: Germans, the Holocaust, and German nationality : where do we go from here?

ISBN

9781845193584
184519358X
1845194454
9781845194451

LCCN

2009040230
99937661592

OCLC

318410022
SCSB-12385587

Owning Institutions

Harvard Library