The Holocaust and the Historians

Abstract

The impact of the Holocaust has been interpreted by historians largely according to the present needs of their audiences. Jewish historians, both in Israel and outside, see these events as the culminating tragedy of their people before the rebirth in statehood. German historians are more con cerned with the attempt to overcome their knowledge of guilt and therefore concentrate, not so much on Jewish sufferings, as on Nazi rule. Christian historians and theo logians have sought to eradicate the long tradition of Christian prejudice against Jews, which some of them see as cul minating in the Holocaust. Historians of nazism are divided into rival schools and have yet to reach any firm conclusions on such topics as the genesis of the Final Solution. Was the persecution of the Jews something unique or just the prelude to other genocidal measures against unwanted groups of society? The impact of ideology in governmental policies and the weakness of the traditional barriers to the corruptions of absolute power are subjects which need to be reexamined in the light of the Holocaust experience.