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Holocaust: Concentration Camps, Survivors, and Historical Documents: Anti-Semitism

A research topic guide covering the Holocaust. This guide includes information on Anne Frank, concentration camps, and antisemitism.

Antisemitism

Streaming Media

Perspectives

Fear

An astonishing and heartbreaking study of the Polish Holocaust survivors who returned home only to face continued violence and anti-Semitism at the hands of their neighbors "[Fear] culminates in so keen a shock that even a student of the Jewish tragedy during World War II cannot fail to feel it."--Elie Wiesel FINALIST FOR THE NATIONAL JEWISH BOOK AWARD * NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY THE WASHINGTON POST BOOK WORLD Poland suffered an exceedingly brutal Nazi occupation during the Second World War, in which 90 percent of the country's three and a half million Jews perished. Yet despite this unprecedented calamity, Jewish Holocaust survivors returning to their hometowns in Poland after the war were further subjected to terror and bloodshed. The deadliest peacetime pogrom in twentieth-century Europe took place in the Polish town of Kielce on July 4, 1946. In Fear, Jan T. Gross addresses a vexing question: How was this possible? At the center of his investigation is a detailed reconstruction of the Kielce pogrom and how ordinary Poles responded to the spectacle of Jews being murdered by their fellow citizens. Anti-Semitism, Gross argues, became a common currency between the Communist regime and a society in which many were complicit in the Nazi campaign of plunder and murder--and for whom the Jewish survivors were a standing reproach. For more than half a century, the fate of Jewish Holocaust survivors in Poland was cloaked in guilt and shame. Writing with passion, brilliance, and fierce clarity, Jan T. Gross brings to light a truth that must never be ignored. Praise for Fear "That a civilized nation could have descended so low . . . such behavior must be documented, remembered, discussed. This Gross does, intelligently and exhaustively."--The New York Times Book Review "Gripping . . . an especially powerful and, yes, painful reading experience . . . illuminating and searing."--Los Angeles Times Book Review "Gross tells a devastating story. . . . One can only hope that this important book will make a difference."--Boston Sunday Globe "A masterful work that sheds necessary light on a tragic and often-ignored aspect of postwar history."--Booklist (starred review) "Astonishing . . . Gross supplies impeccable documentation."--Baltimore Sun "Compelling . . . Gross builds a meticulous case."--Publishers Weekly (starred review)

The Wicked Son

Part of the Jewish Encounter series As might be expected from this fiercely provocative writer, David Mamet’s interest in anti-Semitism is not limited to the modern face of an ancient hatred but encompasses as well the ways in which many Jews have themselves internalized that hatred. Using the metaphor of the Wicked Son at the Passover seder—the child who asks, “What does this story mean to you?”—Mamet confronts what he sees as an insidious predilection among some Jews to seek truth and meaning anywhere—in other religions, in political movements, in mindless entertainment—but in Judaism itself. At the same time, he explores the ways in which the Jewish tradition has long been and still remains the Wicked Son in the eyes of the world. Written with the searing honesty and verbal brilliance that is the hallmark of Mamet’s work,The Wicked Sonis a scathing look at one of the most destructive and tenacious forces in contemporary life, a powerfully thought-provoking and important book.

Beyond Chutzpah

In this long-awaited sequel to his international bestseller The Holocaust Industry, Norman G. Finkelstein moves from an iconoclastic interrogation of the new anti-Semitism to a meticulously researched expos#65533; of the corruption of scholarship on the Israel-Palestine conflict. Bringing to bear the latest findings on the conflict and recasting the scholarly debate, Finkelstein points to a consensus among historians and human rights organizations on the factual record. Why, then, does so much controversy swirl around the conflict? Finkelstein's answer, copiously documented, is that apologists for Israel contrive controversy. Whenever Israel comes under international pressure, another media campaign alleging a global outbreak of anti-Semitism is mounted. Finkelstein also scrutinizes the proliferation of distortion masquerading as history. Recalling Joan Peters' book From Time Immemorial, published to great fanfare in 1984 but subsequently exposed as an academic hoax, he asks deeply troubling questions here about the periodic reappearance of spurious scholarship and the uncritical acclaim it receives. The most recent addition to this genre, Finkelstein argues, is Harvard Law Professor Alan Dershowitz's bestseller, The Case for Israel. The core analysis of Beyond Chutzpah sets Dershowitz's assertions on Israel's human rights record against the findings of the mainstream human rights community. Sifting through thousands of pages of reports from organizations such as Amnesty International, B'Tselem, and Human Rights Watch, Finkelstein argues that Dershowitz has misrepresented the facts. Thoroughly researched and tightly argued, Beyond Chutzpah lifts the veil of controversy shrouding the Israel-Palestine conflict.

The Jew Is Not My Enemy

A liberal Muslim and critically acclaimed author explores the historical, political, and theological basis for centuries of Muslim animosity towards Jews, debunking long-held myths and tracing a history of hate and its impact today. More than nine years after 9/11 and 60 years after the creation of the state of Israel, the world is no closer to solving, let alone understanding, the psychological and political divide between Jews and Muslims. While countless books have been written on the subject of terrorism, political Islam, and jihad, barely a handful address the theological and historical basis of the Jew--Muslim divide. Following the terrorist attacks on Mumbai in November 2008, in which Pakistani jihadis sought out and murdered the members of a local Jewish centre, Tarek Fatah began an in-depth investigation of the historical basis for the crime. In this provocative new book, Fatah uses extensive research to trace how literature from as early as the seventh century has fueled the hatred of Jews by Muslims. Fatah debunks the anti-Jewish writings of the Hadith literature, takes apart the Arab supremacist doctrines that lend fuel to the fire, and reinterprets supposed anti-Jewish passages in the Quran. In doing so he argues that hating Jews is against the essence of the Islamic spirit and suggests what needs to be done to eliminate the agonizing friction between the two communities.

Jewcentricity

Advance Praise for Jewcentricity ""Adam Garfinkle punctures the myth of the omnipotence of the Jews with such intelligence and reflective sweep that we still can go on discussing the 'exaggerations' forever.""--Leslie H. Gelb, former columnist for the New York Times and president emeritus of the Council on Foreign Relations ""Jews, as the saying goes, are news. Why is that? In this elegant, witty, learned, insightful, always interesting, and occasionally alarming book, Adam Garfinkle explains the world's fascination with the practitioners of its oldest mono-theistic religion.""--Michael Mandelbaum, author of Democracy's Good Name: The Rise and Risks of the World's Oldest Form of Government ""One would have thought that everything that could be written or said about the relationship between Jews and their environment has been written and said. It was a pleasure, though hardly a surprise, that Adam Garfinkle, thinker, scholar, editor, and iconoclast at large, has been able to offer us fresh insights into this complex issue and apply his original mind to the subject matter.""--Itamar Rabinovich, former Israeli ambassador to the United States and former president of Tel-Aviv University ""There is a lot to argue about and ponder in this riveting manuscript. It is bound to cause a stir.""--Robert D. Kaplan, author of The Arabists: The Romance of an American Elite ""One way of looking at this brilliant book is to see it as an extended commentary on an old joke that defines a philo-Semite as an anti-Semite who likes Jews. Garfinkle shows, with many examples, what both characters have in common--a wildly exaggerated notion of the importance of Jews in the world. Garfinkle's argument is scholarly, lucid, witty, and very persuasive. It deserves a wide readership.""--Peter L. Berger, director, Institute on Culture, Religion and World Affairs at Boston University

Hating the Jews

With attacks by Muslims against Jews in Western Europe reaching all-time highs, Jews are now facing levels of genocidal anti-Semitism not seen since WWII. Muslims committing attacks on Jews seek to substitute their own claims of victimhood for the Jews' plight, defining themselves as the "new Jews." Their demands for recognition are accompanied by acts of public disobedience, violent street protests, and petty crime. The Arab-Israeli struggle has been brought to Europe and extended to cover a hatred of Europe's Jews as well as those resident in Israel. Gregg Rickman, the United States' first Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism, provides this first-person account and in-depth examination of the rise of anti-Semitism in the twenty-first century.