I think the important thing about this book, is that it needs to be read! We need to start taking lessons from our past! The look inside the Holocaust and anti_seminism in this book pretty much blew my mind. It definitely deserves it’s place!

I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book provided by NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

I found this book to be an informative and necessary new resource about the Holocaust. Sadly, facts are no longer being treated as such, and one of the most horrific events in human history is being debated. We need to change this direction, and quickly, before we become doomed by ignorance of the past.

In 2018 Poland enacted a law that forbid anyone from suggesting that any Pole had anything to do with the Holocaust. Beside it being a handy dispensation from every and all “sins”, it. Is also a dangerous weapon. History is often rewritten these days for the purpose of building something up while tearing what might have been the prevailing sentiment down. It is deceptive and vile. What happened in history cannot be changed. It is. And, as is the case so often, the perpetrators of whatever crime was committed are long gone. The descendants cannot be held responsible for the actions of others. But to deny its very existence, to refuse to learn the hard lessons that should have been taught, to sweep it “under the rug” and provide universal absolution is adding insult to injury.

The author is very careful to point out that there were many in the various countries included in this book who strove hard to prevent and protect. He is not looking at this as a mass indictment. But the reality is there was culpability and collusion even more than might have been expected by Nazi occupations. The fact that many people were forced to carry out orders is bad enough. But to find how zealous many were is horrific. The sad truth is, for much of the world, it was just one more manifestation of something that was pervasive before the war and afterwards.

When one looks at the lies that were considered fact, it is hard to believe how maliciously naive people could be. The fact that there were many in Poland who believed Jews kidnapped Christian children as sacrifices and for vampiric activities. It brings a whole new understanding of the joke in a Roman Polanski movie when someone shows a cross to a Jewish vampire and the vampire replies- Oy, you’ve got the wrong vampire. It baffles how segments of the population believes Jews were vampires.

The great fear this book brings to the forefront is the danger of ignoring the lessons of history. The Holocaust or any other “ethnic cleansing” is based on ignorance and hate. By saying “not me” all blame is absolved. Some of the countries described, like Poland and Hungary still have strong undercurrents that would require very little to re-emerge. The country that has, perhaps, done the best job of facing their demons and trying to make sure it never happens again is Germany. We should all be as aware. It is not out of the realm of possibility that this or something similar could rise up again.

We must all be on guard. And the only way to do so is to be aware. Sometimes history is neither kind or pretty. But it cannot be ignored.

Five purrs and two paws up.

A fascinating read. The Holocaust is the most researched and written about genocide in history. Known facts should be beyond dispute. Yet Holocaust memory is often formed and dictated by governments and others with an agenda to fulfil, or by deniers who seek to rewrite the past due to vested interests and avowed prejudices. Legislation can be used to prosecute hate crime and genocide denial, but it has also been created to protect the reputation of nation states and the inhabitants of countries previously occupied and oppressed by the regime of Nazi Germany.

The crimes of the Holocaust are, of course, rightly seen mainly as the work of the Nazi regime, but there is a reality that some citizens of subjugated lands participated in, colluded and collaborated with those crimes, and on occasion committed crimes and atrocities against Jews independently of the Nazis. Others facilitated and enabled the Nazis by allowing industries to work with the Germans; some showed hostility, indifference and reluctance to assist Jewish refugees, or, due to antipathy, apathy, greed, self-interest or out-and-out anti-Semitism they allowed or even encouraged barbaric and cruel crimes to take place.

Survivors of the Holocaust often express a primary desire that lessons of the past must be learned in order to reduce the risk of similar crimes reoccurring. Yet anti-Semitism is still a toxin in the modern world, and racism and hostility to other communities – including those who suffer in or have fled war and oppression – can at times appear normalised and socially acceptable. This book seeks to explore aspects of the Holocaust as it is remembered and reflect ultimately on parallels with the world we live in today.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this book in exchange for an honest review.
This book is packed full of information on Holocaust, which countries were involved, and how legislation today has viewed hate speech and even Holocaust deniers. The up-to-date information information is a valuable part of this book. The author has done tremendous research and wrote an important and well written book.

I've read numerous books about the Holocaust over the years, and I was quite impressed with this one.

It's a highly emotional read, though an important one, as the Holocaust is something that should never be forgotten. It's a heartbreaking read in many ways, particularly the realization that the world didn't learn as much from this dark time in history as one would have hoped. This should be recommended reading, as we, as a society, need to do better.

This was such an interesting and highly emotive read. I am fascinated by the Holocaust, the macabre in general actually but one of the things that really fascinates me is the holocaust and the suffereing that human beings can inflict upon other human beings.
One of the things that I found really interesting about this book is that it didnt just talk about or blame the Nazis, I mean obviously they are hugely to blame but this book goes into details that others dont do which is to explain about the other people/countries that were also instrumental and grossly abhorant in the holocaust through collusion and attrocities against the Jewish people and other communities. Through the facilitation of the Nazis in business and industry , to refusal to assist the jews as well as cruel, hostile and barbaric crimes against humanity.
It was interesting to see the dark sides of other nations/groups of people for a period of history where one group of perpetrators is specifically mentioned and it was heatrtbreaking realising that this is still happening in the world to some scale, in relation to the Jewish population, anti semitism still exists, not to that extent but it is still there which just goes to show that the world has learnt nothing from this dark and disturbing era , but also holocausts are still happening all over the world now.
I dont think that I will ever forget this book.

This is a clear and concise overview of a difficult subject. Simon Bell takes as his starting point the Polish government's recent legislation that Poland wasn't responsible for what happened on its territory during World War Two, and then looks at the attitudes and actions of all the countries involved before, during and since the Holocaust, including the impact of Holocaust denial.

Definitely not an easy subject to read about, but this book is well worth reading. Recommended.

With thanks to NetGalley and Pen & Sword History for an ARC.