Why the Germans? Why the Jews?: Envy, Race Hatred, and the Prehistory of the Holocaust (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9780805097009)

A provocative and insightful analysis that sheds new light on one of the most puzzling and historically unsettling conundrums

Why the Germans? Why the Jews? Countless historians have grappled with these questions, but few have come up with answers as original and insightful as those of maverick German historian Gz Aly. Tracing the prehistory of the Holocaust from the 1800s to the Nazis' assumption of power in 1933, Aly shows that German anti-Semitism was--to a previously overlooked extent--driven in large part by material concerns, not racist ideology or religious animosity. As Germany made its way through the upheaval of the Industrial Revolution, the difficulties of the lethargic, economically backward German majority stood in marked contrast to the social and economic success of the agile Jewish minority. This success aroused envy and fear among the Gentile population, creating fertile ground for murderous Nazi politics.

Surprisingly, and controversially, Aly shows that the roots of the Holocaust are deeply intertwined with German efforts to create greater social equality. Redistributing wealth from the well-off to the less fortunate was in many respects a laudable goal, particularly at a time when many lived in poverty. But as the notion of material equality took over the public imagination, the skilled, well-educated Jewish population came to be seen as having more than its fair share. Aly's account of this fatal social dynamic opens up a new vantage point on the greatest crime in history and is sure to prompt heated debate for years to come.

Author: Gotz Aly
ISBN-10: 0805097007
ISBN-13: 9780805097009
Publisher: St. Martins Press-3PL
Language: English
Published: 04/15/2014
Pages: 304
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 1.35lbs
Size: 9.30h x 6.50w x 1.20d

Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 02/15/2014
Booklist 03/15/2014 pg. 46
Christian Century 03/19/2014 pg. 42
Publishers Weekly 04/14/2014
New York Times Book Review 06/08/2014 pg. 38
Choice 01/01/2015 pg. 882
New York Review of Books 01/08/2015 pg. 44