Journal of Contemporary History ( IF 0.670 ) Pub Date : 2021-03-08 , DOI: 10.1177/0022009421993921 Olof Bortz 1
Raul Hilberg’s landmark study of the Holocaust, The Destruction of the European Jews, was published in 1961. This article tells the story of the early response to Hilberg’s book. For the first time, journalists, scholars, intellectuals and representatives of Jewish communities engaged in a debate about the history and political significance of the Holocaust. This debate preceded the controversy surrounding Hannah Arendt’s articles on the trial of Adolf Eichmann and had more far-reaching consequences. Countless reviewers in the American press praised Hilberg’s analysis of the bureaucratic administration of genocide. They noted his conclusion that all of German society was involved in the ‘destruction process’ and its implications for the contemporary West German leadership. Scholars also lauded Hilberg’s book, although some of them criticized his inclusive perpetrator category and argued that he overlooked the importance of Nazi ideology and dictatorship. Hilberg’s claim that Jewish victims abetted their persecutors gave rise to a debate in Jewish journals and newspapers. Writers and historians objected to Hilberg’s purported ignorance of their experiences and of Jewish history. As this article shows, the reception of Hilberg’s work marks a crucial step in the formation of the Holocaust as part of historical consciousness.
中文翻译:
对劳尔·希尔伯格(Raul Hilberg)的大屠杀历史(1961–7)的早期反应
劳尔·希尔伯格(Raul Hilberg)对大屠杀“欧洲犹太人的破坏”的里程碑式研究,于1961年出版。本文讲述了希尔伯对这本书的早期反应。第一次,犹太社区的记者,学者,知识分子和代表参加了关于大屠杀的历史和政治意义的辩论。这场辩论是在围绕汉娜·阿伦特(Hannah Arendt)关于审判阿道夫·艾希曼(Adolf Eichmann)的文章的争议之前展开的,其后果更为深远。美国媒体上无数评论家赞扬希尔伯格对种族灭绝的官僚管理的分析。他们注意到他的结论,即整个德国社会都参与了“破坏过程”及其对当代西德领导层的影响。学者们还称赞希尔伯格的书,尽管其中一些人批评了他的包容性犯罪者类别,并辩称他忽略了纳粹意识形态和独裁统治的重要性。希尔伯格关于犹太人受害人教J迫害者的说法引起了犹太期刊和报纸的辩论。作家和历史学家反对希尔伯格所谓的对自己的经历和犹太历史的无知。正如本文所显示的,对希尔伯格作品的接受标志着大屠杀形成过程中作为历史意识的一部分迈出了关键的一步。