Gegenläufige Gedächtnisse : über Geltung und Wirkung des Holocaust

Analyzes the Holocaust as a rupture of civilization: the Nazis exterminated the Jews without any rational motive, and even against their own interests in the war effort. Thus they destroyed the ontological basis of the Enlightenment: its faith in reason. Failure to understand this truth at the time led to paralyzing confusion in Jewish and world opinion, whereas dawning realization of it in the ghettos led to the desperate attempts by the Judenräte to win time by compromise. Discusses three approaches to the Holocaust: that of the victims, who ask "why" - basically, a historical approach; the anthropological approach, dealing with the psychological "how", which tends to lead to abstraction and universalization; and the more recent question "how many?", involving relativization of the Holocaust through comparison with the suffering and genocide of other peoples. Examines shifts of power in postwar Europe and contrasting views of history in East and West. Chronicles the freedom struggles of French and British colonies and their effects on the Jews. Suggests that Muslims trivialize the Holocaust because they adhere to a theocentric worldview; the Holocaust as a rift in civilization matters only in an anthropocentric view. But in the West, too, the growing trend of pluralism, universalization and dehistoricization obstructs historical understanding. Includes bibliographical references (pages 109-123) and index. 128 pages ; 21 cm.