Yehuda Bauer, Historian of the Holocaust (Part 1)
Introduction
Over
the last quarter century, the Holocaust has become the
subject of an ever-growing body of research. Holocaust
educational centers have proliferated in the United States
and other parts of the world. Scores of guides for teaching
the Holocaust have been created, and memoirs of Holocaust
survivors continue to appear. For teachers who are just
beginning to become acquainted with this subject, the
subject may seem overwhelming. Also, teachers, who have
worked with Holocaust material in their classrooms for many
years, often feel that the more they know the less they know
of the subject because of the continual appearance of new
research and teaching aides.
Yehuda
Bauer’s A History of the Holocaust, Revised Edition
(2001) is an excellent book for teachers to begin
investigating the subject, with all levels of background in
the subject. Dr. Bauer’s History provides a
comprehensive overview of the Holocaust, 1933-1945, along
with relevant maps and statistical information. In addition
to chronicling the events of the Nazi era, Bauer considers
the origins and legacy of Nazism. As Dr. Bauer explains in
the “Preface”:
[W]e have to start with the
history, and the history has to be placed in the proper
context. Therefore, we must first look backward to the
history of the Jewish people and their relationship to the
non-Jewish world, and to antisemitism in ancient, medieval,
and modern times. The period of the Holocaust itself is
understood in this book to be essentially the period of 1933
to 1945. However, because the immediate after-effects
of
the Holocaust—the events of 1945 to 1948 and the
establishment of the State of Israel—are equally pertinent;
the immediate political, demographic, and sociological
consequences are also included and, in this edition,
broadened. (14)
The
next two issues of Dimensions Online highlight the
life of Dr. Yehuda Bauer and his work over the last four
decades. His research and methodology are incorporated in
A History of the Holocaust, Revised Edition. Also found
in his History are ideas for the themes, documents
and maps that are essential for teaching about the
Holocaust.
This is the first issue. It divides into two principal sections:
I. An Introduction to Dr. Bauer focusing on his latest publication A History of the Holocaust (Revised Edition)
II. A Portrait of the historian Yehuda Bauer
The second issue, to be published in the winter, will also divide into two sections:
III. Stories of Jewish Rescuers who Negotiated with the Nazis
IV. Classroom Applications Integrating Yehuda Bauer’s Materials and Methodology
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