Origins Of The Holocaust (World Almanac Library of the Holocaust)

Gr. 7-10. The Holocaust was not an "accident." This first volume in the new World Almanac Library of the Holocaust series adds essential background history to the many accounts of the Nazi genocide. Downing goes back nearly 2,000 years to show the roots of anti-Semitism and the long persecution of the Jews, from false accusations about "blood libel" (killing Christian children for their blood) that emerged in the twelfth century and Martin Luther's call to set synagogues on fire, to blaming the Jews for Germany's defeat in World War I. The clear overview connects that history with the rise of the Nazi Party and Hitler's vision of the Aryan master race. The documentation is minimal (a short bibliography and list of Web sites), but the book design is spacious, with many photos, clear maps, and boxed insets; a detailed chronology and a glossary are appended. Hazel Rochman
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