The Myth of Rescue - Why the Democracies Could Not Have Saved More Jews from the Nazis (Hardcover)

In this revisionist history Rubinstein (History/Univ. of Wales, Aberystwyth) sets out to debunk as "illogical and ahistorical" the work of several established historians who raise the question of Allied culpability during the Holocaust. The key issues involve closed-door immigration policies that turned central and eastern European Jewish refugee movements into one long Voyage of the Damned; discussed but never executed attempts to bomb the railway lines to such concentration camps as Auschwitz; and aborted financial negotiations to ransom Jewish lives. Rubinstein's major thesis is that Hitler was too committed to genocide to be distracted by such efforts, but the author should have presented more documentation to prove that the Allies did what they could once they confirmed the reality of the Final Solution. His thesis is further weakened by many diversionary tactics, such as the presentation of Gallup polls showing that 80 percent of wartime Americans opposed anti-Semitism (but nearly 68 percent opposed immigration). The data in no way relieve the US State Department, Great Britain, and organizations like the Red Cross of culpability in not minimizing the number of Holocaust victims. Such serious charges as those in in Lucy Dawidowicz's work, that German extermination trains and railways were repeatedly spared by Allied bombers, are not addressed. There is too much here on what we already knew, such as that "the Jews were the central obsession of Hitler's life," and too little on the paucity of efforts to save Jews in Europe during the war. Some valuable historical modifications may be lost due to a tone and strategy that make the author sound too much like an apologist for the Allies' inaction. (Kirkus Reviews)

One of the most widely known and seemingly well-established aspects of the Nazi Holocaust is that the Allies did little or nothing to rescue Europe's Jews, allegedly denying refuge to those fleeing Hitler's death machine, turning their backs on pleas for help, and refusing to bomb Auschwitz and other concentration camps. In The Myth of Rescue William D Rubinstein presents the highly controversial argument that all the schemes for rescuing Jews during the Holocaust were incapable of succeeding.

General

Imprint:	Routledge
Country of origin:	United Kingdom
Release date:	June 1997
First published:	1997
Authors:	W.D. Rubinstein
Dimensions:	234 x 156 x 25mm (L x W x T)
Format:	Hardcover
Pages:	298
ISBN-13:	978-0-415-12455-3
Categories:	Books > Humanities > History > History of specific subjects > Military history Books > Social sciences > Sociology, social studies > Ethnic studies > Jewish studies Books > Social sciences > Warfare & defence > War & defence operations > Battles & campaigns Books > Humanities > History > World history > From 1900 > Second World War Books > Social sciences > Sociology, social studies > Social issues > Ethical issues & debates > General Books > Humanities > History > European history > From 1900 > Second World War > The Holocaust Books > History > European history > From 1900 > Second World War > The Holocaust Books > History > History of specific subjects > Military history Books > History > World history > From 1900 > Second World War
LSN:	0-415-12455-7
Barcode:	9780415124553

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