A country-by-country chronicle of the impact of the Holocaust on world history. Covering 22 countries and the United Nations, this work traces the contentions and controversies involved in coming to terms with the events leading up to the Holocaust, from prewar attitudes and perceptions to the political, economic and cultural legacies in the 1990s. Each essay offers a concise history of the Jews in the country - particularly presence of anti-semitism and the condition of Jewish-gentile relations in the prewar and interwar periods. Following that is a look at the countries experience of the Holocaust, including the reactions and activities of pre-Holocaust groups; the activities of Jewish religious and communal organizations; efforts to assist Jews, from immigration policies and public protests to clandestine support; the size, composition and leadership of resistance movements; and the degree of collaboration within each country.
The essays proceed to recount the treatment of Holocaust survivors upon their return; postwar trials of war criminals; the changes in the culture and economy of the postwar Jewish community and its position in the society; the political, literary and historical responses to the Holocaust; and the evolving attitudes toward Jews and Jewish culture.