Bystanders : conscience and complicity during the Holocaust

Defines a bystander as a passive spectator of the Holocaust, who stands closer to the perpetrator than to the victim. The behavior of bystanders has both historical and ethical significance for any understanding of the Holocaust, which would have been impossible without the bystanders' passivity. Focuses on Germany, but states that the conclusions drawn are relevant for other parts of Nazi Europe as well. With the incremental development of their anti-Jewish policy, the Nazis succeeded in getting all Germans involved in the Holocaust. Indifference to the victims of the Holocaust was not only a product of prejudice; it was conditioned by Nazi totalitarianism, modernity, and the average person's wish to conform. Contrasts rescuers (such as the people of Le Chambon-sur-Lignon) with the bystanders. Concludes that the ethical person, as opposed to the passive bystander, is one who recognizes his responsibility for all his neighbors and is not self-centered. Includes bibliographical references (pages 177-180) and index. xviii, 185 pages ; 25 cm.