The Holocaust: An End to Innocence

How did it happen? Why did we allow it to happen? Could it happen again? These are the three questions most often asked about the Holocaust, the whirlwind of murder during which the Nazi-led government of the Third Reich systematically slaughtered 6 million Jews, along with millions of victims from other targeted populations Gypsies, Slavs, the mentally retarded, the insane, homosexuals, and the physically deformed. In The Holocaust: An End to Innocence, Rossel examines the Nazi rise to power, the role of prejudice and propaganda in the Holocaust, and echoes of the Holocaust that plagued the world before, during, and after the Nazi period and continue to plague us to this day. The Holocaust, he maintains, did not happen to the Jews alone. It is a tragedy that exposed the depths of evil we human beings are capable of visiting upon one another. Yet, the book is not without hope. As philosopher George Santayana wrote, we must know what happened for those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. At the very least, understanding the Holocaust enables us to recognize when blowing winds of prejudice threaten to become tornados and hurricanes to sweep away the innocent. For, as Rossel states in the Foreword, every echo of the Holocaust offers us the opportunity to rise above the worst that is in us and to exercise the best that is in us.

Seymour Rossel, a long-experienced and gifted educator, here gives yet another important contribution for readers of every age and background. This book is a rare and valuable overview of an enormously challenging subject. Every chapter is accessible, intelligent, and compelling. – David Altshuler, PhD, Founding Director, Museum of Jewish Heritage