Dan Stone, ed. The Historiography of the Holocaust. Houndsmills: Palgrave Macmillan, 2004. xi + 573 pp. EUR 19.99 (paper), ISBN 978-1-4039-9927-6.

Reviewed by Stefan K. Berger (School of Languages, Linguistics, and Cultures, University of Manchester)
Published on H-German (June, 2007)

Taking Stock

Over the last decades few areas of scholarship have seen a rush of publications comparable to that of the Holocaust. Holocaust studies are now firmly established at many universities throughout the world, and it has become a major trans- and interdisciplinary field of study in its own right. Hence a volume that attempts an overview of the major areas of Holocaust research is entirely welcome. Even if, as Dan Stone admits in his introduction, it is impossible to be exhaustive and comprehensive, in his new volume he takes an excellent stab at the subject matter and unites a great band of contributors whose articles are extremely well written and present a lucid and revealing picture of what has been achieved over time.

The majority of the essays deal with the history of the Holocaust in terms of its social, cultural, and economic dynamics. Oded Heilbronner assesses the role of antisemitism in the Holocaust and Jeremy Noakes discusses the role played by Adolf Hitler. Frank Bajohr sheds light onto the economics of the Holocaust. Tim Cole talks about research on the ghettos. Dieter Pohl provides insights into the Holocaust in Poland. Martin Dean looks at collaboration in the Holocaust in eastern Europe more generally. Christopher Kobrak and Andrea H. Schneider revisit the debates surrounding big business and the Third Reich. Christopher Browning takes a close look at the decision-making process in the Holocaust. Jürgen Matthäus reviews historiography on the perpetrators, while Andrew Charlesworth investigates the topography of the Holocaust. Tony Kushner looks at the literature reviewing the reactions in Britain and the United States to the Holocaust and John Klier undertakes a similar exercise for the Soviet Union. Robert P. Ericksen and Susannah Heschel write on the German churches and the Holocaust. Dan Michman poses interesting questions about the literature concerned with Jewish leadership during the Holocaust and Robert Rozett deals more specifically with questions of Jewish resistance. Lisa Pine analyses the impact of gender and family. Ian Hancock evaluates the literature on the Sinti and Roma. Donald Bloxham analyses the literature on the legal profession's attempt to "come to terms" with the Holocaust.

Some of the contributors also discuss the ways in which the Holocaust has been represented and discussed over time. Thomas Fox writes knowledgeably on the treatment of the Holocaust under Communism. Florin Lobont deals with the impact of antisemitism and Holocaust denial on post-Communist Eastern Europe. Josh Cohen reviews post-Holocaust philosophy. Zoë Waxman discusses questions of testimony and representations. Dan Stone looks at memorials, museums, and the question of memory. Dirk Moses concludes the volume by contextualising Holocaust research in the wider literature on genocides. Overall, the major sub-fields of Holocaust research are all treated with great professionalism and insight and this volume will surely become a set text for many courses on the Holocaust throughout the world.

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Citation: Stefan K. Berger. Review of Stone, Dan, ed., The Historiography of the Holocaust. H-German, H-Net Reviews. June, 2007.
URL: http://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=13320

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