Wednesday, September 05, 2007

Auschwitz: A History by Sybille Steinbacher

Auschwitz: A History by Sybille Steinbacher is a relatively short history of the town of Auschwitz and the concentration camp. The Jewish community which was there from the 13th century is described. Most of the book is taken up with the creation of the camp originally as a prison for political prisoners then it's evolution into the death camp. The bureaucratic operations as well as the various areas of the facilities are analyzed. This includes the satellite camps set up for various German businesses. The book concludes with a discussion of the various trials of personnel after World War II. There's also a brief discussion of the neo-Nazi attempt to discredit the history of the camp. Book contains a bibliography as well as a list of primary sources. Surprisingly no endnotes.

Recommended!

For more Holocaust book reviews, take a look at My Holocaust bookshelf.

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