BOOK
The Nazi Holocaust
Landau, Ronnie S. The Nazi Holocaust. Chicago: Ivan R. Dee, Inc., 1994. 335 pages. ISBN: 1566630525.
REVIEW
Ronnie Landau has given students of the Shoah a concise, readable survey of the events not only of the Nazi years, but also of key thoughts and developments preceding the 20th Century genocide of the Jews of Europe. His study is divided into four major sections:
Introduction: Here Landau offers the significance of the Holocaust against three systems of evaluation – historical, educational, and moral. Landau discusses the struggle between understanding the Holocaust from its Jewish perspective and drawing a universal meaning without detracting from the former. He speaks of a “competition in suffering” – he states that Jews have written 90% of the books on the subject. He stresses the need to view the Shoah in human terms, not as some abstract otherworldly event – all persons involved were faced with choices they answered from their own human perspectives.
The Background and Context: Landau introduces his readers to the Jews and their history, beginning with such fundamental questions as “Are the Jews a race?” “Are the Jews a religious or cultural group”, and “Are the Jews a nation?” He then moves through an outline of Jewish history from the classical period through the Diaspora to the Middle Ages. Two of the key readings in this part of the book are a narrative of the Bogdan Chmelnicki massacres and an excerpt from one of Martin Luther’s sermons against the Jews (The Jews and Their Lies) – the latter makes for a great comparison exercise with the events of the Night of Broken Glass, November 9-10, 1938. The emancipation period is covered, and then the section ends with a description of the events leading to the rise of the Nazis to political supremacy in Germany.
The Holocaust: a History: Landau provides a narrative of the progression of events in the Nazi program of anti-Jewish legislation and persecution. He describes the Nuremberg Laws and includes an excerpt in the appendix. Kristallnacht is also covered, as is the ghettoization of the European Jews. Landau then follows the spiral downward from the invasion of the Soviet Union to the filling of the camps and the annihilation of the Jews and other target groups.
Themes, Issues and Protagonists: The author uses this section to deal with participants in the Shoah – those who were victims, perpetrators, and bystanders. Landau discusses various revolts and forms of resistance on the part of the Jews, and follows that with an account of the bystanders, such as the United States and Britain and the Catholic and Protestant churches. He surveys German public opinion during the period of Nazi ascension and rule, and includes a table on the growth of the Nazi presence in the Reichstag. He concludes the main body of the book with a chapter entitled “The Aftermath and Impact of the Holocaust”.
Landau has included seven appendices that augment the main reading. Of particular note is a short reading, “Euphemisms of Death”, which will be addressed later. The previously mentioned excerpt from the Nuremberg Laws is good, as is the platform of the National-Socialist German Workers’ Party (c. 1920). The final appendix is a listing of the loss of Jewish life in nations across Europe.
Following the appendices are two other valuable resources, a chronology of events (1933-45) and a glossary of basic terms associated with the Shoah as well as of people noteworthy to this time. I will speak more of the latter resource below.
In addition to the text, which I have found very worthwhile not only as a resource for my classes but as a quick way to refresh my basic knowledge on specific topics, Landau’s “add-ons” have proven even more useful in the classroom setting. Below I will detail how I make use of some of the literature he has provided. I would strongly recommend this book as a classroom text, or certainly as a capable survey resource for any teacher who wants to go beyond what is normally found in a standard world or US history survey textbook.
PASSAGE/QUOTE FOR CLASSROOM USAGE
I use a few passages from Landau when I am discussing the long- and short-term causes of the Holocaust. The reading on the Chmelnicki massacres has been copied as an overhead film and is displayed for the class to read. It is amazing how quiet it gets as students get a few minutes into the reading. Afterward, there generally aren’t too many questions. However, I feel the point isn’t really to elicit discussion from this passage; on the contrary, students now have a preconceived notion of the horrors they will learn about that took place from 1933-45 in Europe – they’ve seen the precursors.
In regard to precursors, the aforementioned Luther passage is an amazing prelude to any discussion on the role of the church, on Luther’s “worship” by the Nazis (this writing in particular), and of Kristallnacht. In fact, to lay this literature next to any account of the toll of November 9-10, 1938 is somewhat eerie. My students gasp as they see that Luther himself seems to have had a role in the perpetration of the Night of Broken Glass…
I use the reading from Appendix A, “Euphemisms of Death” (pages 289-90). In the reading a memorandum from a welder on a line at a truck factory is presented. The author is writing to his supervisor concerning his technical opinions on modifications needed for vehicles used by the Germans. In effect, the modifications are designed to find a better way to kill through carbon monoxide poisoning. Some of the major concerns are lighting within the compartment where the victims will be loaded, and outfitting the vans with drains for clean-up after the operations.
Ask students what choices the welder had? In reference to the “Assessing and Defining Responsibility” exercise (see the review for Victoria Barnett’s Bystanders…), how culpable is the welder for murders in the Shoah? Do we do things in the course of our average day that might cause injury (financial, physical, etc.) to a person we know? That perhaps we don’t know? To whom is our ultimate responsibility due? To our boss? Our family? Our god? Our fellow man? Ourselves? Debate this…
I also make use of the glossaries of terms and names, found on pages 327-35.
RATIONALE FOR USAGE/UNIT RELEVANCE
As this book is a comprehensive, albeit not exhaustive, look at the Holocaust and its causes and events, it is appropriate for any presentation of the Shoah to audiences that might range in age from junior high through college. Of course, use by younger audiences should be filtered at times. High school students would have no trouble grasping the magnitude of certain presentations in the text, and class discussion will enhance their internalization of key points.
CLASSROOM METHOD OF USAGE
As mentioned elsewhere, this book ties in well with the Internet-based text of Gary Grobman, The Holocaust – A Guide For Teachers. I will use the previously stated passages in the segment of my course where I discuss the mentality of the perpetrators (Appendix A) and also during our discussion of the victims. I give the information in the glossary as a matching section on our unit exam. Students are given a narrowed version of the lists, and asked to be prepared to identify pertinent vocabulary and people for a later time.
STUDY QUESTIONS/DISCUSSION GUIDE
Below are examples of test questions I might give that cover the glossary Landau provides. This might also be given as a worksheet assignment. The present format of blocks of five questions works well for a test where the objective portion will be given using a scantron for student responses. To increase the difficulty, or with the use of a different scantron form allowing for choices A-O (15 questions/responses), these questions could certainly be reorganized.
Matching (1 point each): Match the person to their identifying statement.
A. Mordechai Anielewicz D. Hermann Goring
B. Adolf Eichmann E. Herschl Grynszpan
C. Joseph Goebbels
1. Young Zionist who led the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising in April-May, 1943.
2. Nazi Minister of Propaganda
3. Young Jew living in Paris who assassinated a German diplomat, touching off Kristallnacht as a Nazi response.
4. The ultimate “desk murderer”; presided over the deportations of millions of European Jews.
5. Ran the German economy and oversaw the expropriation and sale of Jewish property.
Matching (1 point each): Match the person to their identifying statement.
A. Reinhard Heydrich D. Heinrich Himmler
B. Paul von Hindenburg E. Rudolf Hoess
C. Pope Pius XII
6. President who approved the appointment of Hitler as Chancellor in 1933.
7. Commandant of Auschwitz.
8. Head of the SD; created the Einsatzgruppen.
9. Never exercised the power to speak out publicly against Nazism.
10. Head of the SS; oversaw the concentration camp system.
Matching (1 point each): Match the vocabulary word to its definition.
A. Anschluss D. Blitzkrieg
B. Concentration camp E. Death camp
C. Deportation
11. The idea that all German-speaking people should be united politically.
12. Centers for perceived enemies of the Nazis.
13. A center whose whole purpose was to annihilate its inmates.
14. A term to describe the speed and intensity of a German invasion.
15. Removal of persons from their normal places of residence.
Matching (1 point each): Match the vocabulary word to its definition.
A. Einsatzgruppen D. General Government
B. Gestapo E. Ghetto
16. Administrative area in southern Poland.
17. German secret police.
18. Primarily responsible for the massacre of Russian Jews, communists, and intelligentsia.
19. Quarters of European towns where Jews were segregated.
20. Jewish representative body formed by the Nazis as a go-between and disseminator of Nazi policy.
Matching (1 point each): Match the vocabulary word to its definition.
A. Labor camp D. Lebensraum
B. SA (Sturmabteilung) E. SS (Shutzstaffeln)
21. Protection squads; controlled all functions of the camps.
22. The idea that Hitler should colonize all lands to the east.
23. Nazi stormtroopers.
24. The German regular armed forces.
25. Centers filled with POW’s and foreign nationals, all of whom were slaves.