Having been a fan of Richard J Evans
for many years, using his books to inform my teaching, and admiring his stance
against Gove`s ridiculously nationalistic views of the schools` history
curriculum, I read his review of Laurence Rees`s new work on the Holocaust with
interest (Witnesses for the prosecution, 13th January,2017). Whilst Evans does
admit both that Rees has "probably interviewed more people who lived through the
Third Reich than anybody else", and that "vivid descriptions of the horror" are
provided, this is clearly damning with faint praise. The view is expressed that,
hopefully, Rees will "continue making documentaries for many
years"!
Maybe the book isn`t all that the
"publisher`s blurb" claims, and perhaps Rees should have continued his analysis
beyond 1945, but to question whether the author`s reliance on testimonies is the
"right way to go about putting together a book" is surely too harsh, especially
on this subject?
At a time when anti-semitism is
increasingly raising its ugly head in British politics, so much so that
Francis Beckett correctly has to remind readers where its "spiritual home" lies
(Anti-Semitism is a right-wing problem,13th January), any book that adds to "the
mass of testimony and evidence" about what can result from years of
scapegoating, union-bashing, and right-wing governments, should be welcomed. Not
all works of history can be "the best book", but that doesn`t mean they should
not be read!
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