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radiofreekitmo's review against another edition
4.0
A World Without Jews places Kristallnacht square at the center of the Nazi persecution and eventual attempt to exterminate the Jews of Europe. Confino argues that the events of Kristallnacht and subsequent laws severely limiting the activities of Jews within Germany made the idea of a world without Jews imaginable to Germans, even if they didn't yet know exactly what actions would create such a world. The book deals with the realms of imagination and memory, for example arguing that the primacy that the Nazis gave eliminating the Jews (before any other of the many groups they persecuted) was because of their construction of the Jews as the root of all evil, whose story had to be taken over and rewritten in order to create the Nazi new world order.
I found the book to be most interesting in its discussion of the persecution of Jews in Germany before WWII, including the burning of books and later the events of Kristallnacht. Its discussion of the events of Kristallnacht itself and of legislation against Jews that followed is much more detailed than many other books on the Holocaust, who do not give Kristallnacht such primacy. The sections on the imagination of Nazism during the war are still interesting, but become harder to prove. This is partly because Confino argues that he is working in the realm of the unsaid, in emotions and sensibilities rather than words. This by its nature requires a great deal of extrapolation on his part. But his detailed look at Germany before the war seems to bear out his earlier claims. It becomes much more difficult to continue this when the scale becomes that of Europe. By this point he is arguing that the Nazis saw (but didn't necessarily always express) the extermination of the Jews as a sort of genesis, a creation by way of destruction.
Overall, this book is an excellent look into the Nazi imagination that helps illuminate elements of the Holocaust in ways that I haven't seen before. It is incredibly well researched, and while the writing is on the scholarly side it should still be accessible to the interested layperson.
I found the book to be most interesting in its discussion of the persecution of Jews in Germany before WWII, including the burning of books and later the events of Kristallnacht. Its discussion of the events of Kristallnacht itself and of legislation against Jews that followed is much more detailed than many other books on the Holocaust, who do not give Kristallnacht such primacy. The sections on the imagination of Nazism during the war are still interesting, but become harder to prove. This is partly because Confino argues that he is working in the realm of the unsaid, in emotions and sensibilities rather than words. This by its nature requires a great deal of extrapolation on his part. But his detailed look at Germany before the war seems to bear out his earlier claims. It becomes much more difficult to continue this when the scale becomes that of Europe. By this point he is arguing that the Nazis saw (but didn't necessarily always express) the extermination of the Jews as a sort of genesis, a creation by way of destruction.
Overall, this book is an excellent look into the Nazi imagination that helps illuminate elements of the Holocaust in ways that I haven't seen before. It is incredibly well researched, and while the writing is on the scholarly side it should still be accessible to the interested layperson.
innashtakser's review against another edition
5.0
This is a wonderful book it which the author explains how radical Nazism really was. His main point is that the Nazis wished to eliminate the Jews from the world, precisely since Jews are so important to the Judeo-Christian culture, of which they were a part. The Nazis, according to him, wished to take over the Christian culture and recreate it, with themselves as the chosen people. Therefore everything that had to do with the Old Testament and with its living representatives - the Jews, had to disappear. Therefore, the author claims, the Holocaust was a logical development from the attacks on German Jews and the burning of books and of synagogues which took place in the 1930s. The wish not to see the Jews in the public space, supported by extreme violence, could not but develop into mass murder.
elephant's review against another edition
3.0
I think that people who are interested in the political and cultural climate of Germany and Europe that lead to the Holocaust will find this book very informative. I received this book free to review from Netgalley.
readmemarie's review
4.0
*Read for research for my dissertation*
This book was very informative and provided a lot of interpretations of events that happened. It also had a lot of detail for various policies that were introduced targeting Jews. Things were explained clearly and it regularly gave background information which helped provide more context. There was also a nice balance between a reflection on what happened from today's perspective, but also had photos/diary entries/speeches from the time. One of the best and informative books I've read for my dissertation on this subject - super helpful!
This book was very informative and provided a lot of interpretations of events that happened. It also had a lot of detail for various policies that were introduced targeting Jews. Things were explained clearly and it regularly gave background information which helped provide more context. There was also a nice balance between a reflection on what happened from today's perspective, but also had photos/diary entries/speeches from the time. One of the best and informative books I've read for my dissertation on this subject - super helpful!
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