From Library Journal
This most complete study to date of American press reactions to the Holocaust sets forth in abundant detail how the press nationwide played down or even ignored reports of Jewish persecutions over a 12-year period. The conclusions amplify but do not seriously challenge previous studies; what is more significant here is the effortfar from completeto explain press actions. While revealing more about major newspapers and correspondents than about the mass of smaller ones, and saying far too little about newsreels and American Jewish newspapers, this raises larger questions concerning the relationship between press coverage, public knowledge, and government policy that deserve serious consideration. Readers may wish that Lipstadt explained more and indicted less. Still, there is plenty of important data in this volume for serious students. Jonathan D. Sarna, History Dept., Hebrew Union Coll.
Jewish Inst. of Religion, CincinnatiCopyright 1985 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
Product Description
In this book, Deborah Lipstadt argues that, from 1933 to 1945, the American press failed to treat the destruction of European Jews as urgent news. When newspaper did report on the horrors being perpetrated, they adopted a skeptical posture, burying small stories with ambiguous headlines on inside pages. Lipstadt documents how the demand for "objectivity", the cynicism or gullibility of reporters, the incredulity of editors, and an atmosphere of isolationism helped to shape the news - and influenced policymakers who might have saved countless lives. Analyzing this naive (or worse) press coverage within the context of American journalistic practices in the 1930s and 1940s, she explains how and why the press missed one of the biggest stories of the century.