Unanswered Questions

In 1982, Holocaust historians examined and interpreted Hitler's genocidal policies regarding European Jewry in a colloquium organized by the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales, of which Furet is director. These essays are the result of that scholarly exchange and feature Saul Friedlander, Raul Hilberg, Amos Funkenstein, Bela Vago, Michael R. Marrus and Robert O. Paxton, et al. Christopher R. Browning contends that historical interpretations of the Final Solution differ over the role that Hitler and his ideology played in the decision-making process, as well as the timing of the decision. Yehuda Bauer refreshingly documents solid pockets of valiant Jewish resistance. This symposium is completed by Pierre Vidal-Naquet's excellent piece on Holocaust revisionists, pseudo-intellectuals who disseminate anti-Semitism through books and propaganda that claim that the Nazi genocide never occurred. Boldly addressing one of the most perplexing and tragic events in history, these essays are a superb source for the scholar and layperson alike. (Feb.)