In Understanding the Holocaust, Professor David Engel of New York University examines the encounter between Germany's Third Reich and the Jews of the twenty European countries that fell under Nazi domination between 1933 and 1945.The results of this encounter stretch human comprehension to the limit and raise frightening questions about the human condition. When it was over, two-thirds of Europe's Jews, some 5.8 million people, had died - and their deaths had occurred amid the most gruesome of circumstances.
Engel explores the reasons behind the Holocaust and attempts to enter into the minds of the participants. From the origins of the idea behind the killing campaign to the notions of modernity that many blame for creating the possibility for such a happening, Engel offers an illuminating analysis of the twentieth century's great tragedy.
Lecture 1 What Is "The Holocaust" and What Can Be Learned by Studying Its History?
Lecture 2 The Origins of a Murderous Idea
Lecture 3 Why Germany?
Lecture 4 From Idea to Action: The Twisted Road to Auschwitz
Lecture 5 Facing Persecution
Lecture 6 The Ghetto Regime
Lecture 7 Killing Begins
Lecture 8 Organizing Death
Lecture 9 German Successes and Failures
Lecture 10 Fighting Death: The Problem of Consciousness
Lecture 11 Strategies for Living and Dying
Lecture 12 Their Brothers' Keepers?
Lecture 13 While Six Million Died
Lecture 14 The Holocaust and the Modern Condition