1st Edition
Violence, Memory, and History Western Perceptions of Kristallnacht
This edited collection delves into the horrors of November 1938 and to what degree they portended the Holocaust, demonstrating the varied reactions of Western audiences to news about the pogrom against the Jews. A pattern of stubborn governmental refusal to help German Jews to any large degree emerges throughout the book. Much of this was in response to uncertain domestic economic conditions and underlying racist attitudes towards Jews. Contrasting this was the outrage expressed by ordinary people around the world who condemned the German violence and challenged the policy of Appeasement being advanced by Great Britain and France towards Adolf Hitler’s Nazi German government at the time. Contributors employ multiple media sources to make their arguments, and compare these with official government records. For the first time, a collection on Kristallnacht has taken a truly transnational approach, giving readers a fuller understanding of how the events of November 1938 were understood around the Western world.
Introduction: Violence, Memory and History Colin McCullough and Nathan Wilson 1. Anti-Semitism and Racism in Britain: Assessing the Reaction to and Legacy of Kristallnacht. Jodi Burkett 2. "One Country Alone Says Nothing": French Press Reactions to "La Nuit de Cristal" Paul Moore 3. "An Accident in the Way of the Franco-German Policy of Appeasement": Kristallnacht in France, 1938 Emmanuel Debono 4. Between "Just Punishment" and "Unthinkable Fascist Crimes": Reactions to Kristallnacht in Civil War Spain Alejandro Baer 5. Uneven Perceptions: Kristallnacht in the Yiddish and French Language Press of Montréal Pierre Anctil 6. Hitler’s Assault on Civilization: Anti-Semitism and English Canada’s Response to Kristallnacht. Norman Erwin 7. "No Repercussions Down Under"? Australian Responses to Kristallnacht. Kim Richard Nossal 8. The Historiography of Kristallnacht. Alan E. Steinweis
Biography
Colin McCullough is a L.R. Wilson Post-Doctoral Fellow at the Wilson Institute for Canadian History at McMaster University.
Nathan Wilson is a History Ph.D. candidate at York University. He teaches at OCAD University and Durham College.