Ethics and Extermination: Reflections on Nazi Genocide [Paperback]

Michael Burleigh (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0521588162 | ISBN-13: 978-0521588164 | Publication Date: September 28, 1997 | Edition: First

This series of essays by one of today's most original and prolific scholars on German racial policy concern three interrelated aspects of Nazi Germany: relations with "the East," "euthanasia," and extermination. The collection includes important and wholly new contributions to the German-Soviet war and other national tragedies; to the controversial question of whether the Nazi analogy has any relevance to contemporary ethical discussions; and to the contemporary historiography, including works of fiction and literary criticism, of the Holocaust.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"...Burleigh's work stands out for three reasons. First, he never loses sight of the fact that all those involved--perpetrators, victims and those...who ended up being both--were human beings. His use of the evidence that illuminates individual experience is consistently superb and often painfully memorable. Second, he writes without jargon in an unaffected and often arresting style. And third, he does not strike facile moralistic poses. All these qualities are abundantly in evidence in his powerful chapter on the Nazi-Soviet war: a tour de force which evokes the horror of that conflict more vividly than anything I have ever read." Niall Ferguson, The Sunday Telegraph

"...Burleigh's essays are solidly researched and sound in judgment. ...undergraduate and graduate students may find some of the essays helpful." Richard Weikart, German Studies Review

"These essays are distinguished and distinctive contributions...they reveal much about the personal reference points of a leading authority on Nazi Germany, while further consolidating his scholarly achievement." Paul Weindling, Canadian Journal of History

"...it would be a mistake to ignore Ethics and Extermination, a powerful and informative volume... This well-written...volume provides much historical detail, new information, and clarifying theoretical argument regarding the nature and conditions of the Holocaust..." Paul Hollander, Partisan Review

This well-written and sometimes justifiably polemical volume provides much historical detail, new information, and clarifying theoretical argument regarding the nature and conditions of the Holocaust." Partisan Review

Book Description

This series of essays by one of today's most original and prolific scholars on German racial policy concern three interrelated aspects of Nazi Germany: relations with 'the East', 'euthanasia', and extermination. The collection includes important and wholly new contributions to the German-Soviet war and other national tragedies; to the controversial question of whether the Nazi analogy has any relevance to contemporary ethical discussions; and to the contemporary historiography, including works of fiction and literary criticism, of the Holocaust.

Product Details

• Paperback: 274 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press; First edition (September 28, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521588162
• ISBN-13: 978-0521588164
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,124,222 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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13 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars FROM THE HANDICAPPED TO THE JEWS, April 25, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Ethics and Extermination: Reflections on Nazi Genocide (Paperback)

Michael Burleigh, an English historian, is the author of an earlier book on the Nazi "euthanasia" campaign of 1940, when Nazi officials, doctors, nurses, and hospital administrators joined together in the persecution of handicapped Germans. Over 70,000 people were murdered in about one year.

In this book Burleigh reflects on the "mind set" of the Nazi murderers, their attitudes towards their victims, and the ethical assumptions they made. He also comments with intelligence and perception on post-WW II reactions.

This book is insightful and interesting and rewarding for both general and scholarly readers. Burleigh brings wisdom and humanity to this all too dreadful subject.