The Years of Extermination: Nazi Germany and the Jews, 1939-1945

An authoritative and magisterial survey on the Holocaust by one of the world’s leading experts “A masterful synthesis that draws on a lifetime of learning and research.”

―Publishers Weekly (starred review)

The extermination of the Jews triggers disbelief. This volume presents a thorough historical study of the events that extends beyond the usual analysis of German policies, decisions, and measures that led to this most systematic and sustained of modern genocides. It includes the reactions of the surrounding world―authorities, populations, churches, social elites―related facets of everyday life throughout the continent, and their individual expressions.

The history of the victims is an intrinsic part of this overall context; their attitudes found expression in both collective responses and individual testimonies. Here, the individual voices are weaved into the narrative and are the main carriers of disbelief: Some of them end in liberation; most are cut short by extermination.