Large Part of German Society Backed Holocaust, Author Says
A significant proportion of German society supported the Holocaust, which was led by sane men, not lunatics, the author of a critically acclaimed book about that period said Sunday.
“There can be no Holocaust without a significant participation of all segments of society,” Raul Hilberg, a University of Vermont political science professor, said at the opening of the 10th annual Conference on Teaching the Holocaust.
“Germany was not a centralized state in which everything was decided in Berlin. If anything, it was decentralized,” he said.
Hilberg is the author of “The Destruction of the European Jews,” a critically acclaimed book published in 1961, and he has edited other books on the Holocaust.
Hilberg spoke at a three-day conference, called “Liberation: 40 Years After,” which was one of many events around the world marking the 40th anniversary of the Allied liberation of Nazi death camps.
The American observances will culminate April 21-23 with the Inaugural Assembly of the American Gathering of Jewish Holocaust Survivors in Philadelphia.
Sign up for Essential California
The most important California stories and recommendations in your inbox every morning.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
