In examining one of the defining events of the twentieth century, Doris
L. Bergen situates the Holocaust in its historical, political, social,
cultural, and military contexts. Unlike many other treatments of the
Holocaust, this revised, third edition discusses not only the
persecution of the Jews, but also other segments of society victimized
by the Nazis: Roma, homosexuals, Poles, Soviet POWs, the disabled, and
other groups deemed undesirable. In 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 firsthand accounts from
perpetrators, victims, and eyewitnesses, her book is immediate, human,
and eminently readable.