The Shoah in Ukraine: History, Testimony, Memorialization

1 rating: 5.0

A book by Ray Brandon

"Bitter memories and the specter of the Holocaust continue to haunt Jewish-Ukrainian relations.... Only a full admission of the disturbing facts of the past and a full respect for the perpetuation of the memory of the former Jewish communities may at … see full wiki

Tags: Book

Author: Ray Brandon

Genre: History

Publisher: Indiana University Press

1 review about The Shoah in Ukraine: History, Testimony,...

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A needed anthology

May 30, 2008

by T_Kunikov
posted in Cafe Libri: Reviewing Books & More

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This anthology is made up of chapters written by a variety of authors/specialists on either the Holocaust or Ukraine. Some of these chapters are most likely taken straight from books that these authors have previously published (i.e. Bartov's chapter is pretty much from his lastest book entitled "Erased"), which detail various aspects of the Holocaust in Ukraine before, during, and after the Second World War. Today, most of the attention has been focused on either the Holocaust in Poland or the Soviet Union in general, not so much on specifically Ukraine. This book aims to correct that missing page in western historiography on the Holocaust.

Being from Ukraine I found much of the information within the pages of this book engrossing to read about. Specifically, the history of Jews and Ukrainians in Galicia was very intriguing. I found it interesting that the Ukrainians in this area were affected by German/Austrian anti-Semitism which differed from that of other areas within Ukraine which was more affected by Polish and Russian anti-Semitism. There is an entire chapter which chronicles the destruction of Ukrainian Jewry village/town/city by village/town/city and year by year, an excellent reference. One of the chapters also notes how much more research is needed in regards to the role of Police Battalions, which in Ukraine actually killed more Jews than Einsatzgruppen C and D combined! Something that undoubtedly few know about. As with any book worth its salt this one raises as many questions as it answers, questions which hopefully will be answered in the near future as our knowledge and understanding of this event within the borders of Ukraine grows. Highly recommended for those with an interest in either the Holocaust or Ukrainian history during this time period.

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