In examining one of the defining events of the twentieth century, Doris
Bergen situates the Holocaust in its historical, political, social,
cultural, and military contexts. Unlike many other treatments of the
Holocaust, this history traces not only the persecution of the Jews, but
also other segments of society victimized by the Nazis: Gypsies,
homosexuals, Poles, Soviet POWs, the disabled, and other groups deemed
undesirable. With clear and eloquent prose, Bergen explores the two
interconnected goals that drove the Nazi German program of conquest and
genocide--purification of the so-called Aryan race and expansion of its
living space--and discusses how these goals affected the course of World
War II. Including illustrations and firsthand accounts from
perpetrators, victims, and eyewitnesses, the book is immediate, human,
and eminently readable.